The future of work is here—a reported 63% of companies offer remote positions. This means finding remote graphic design jobs is easier than ever before.
If you’ve been dreaming about switching from your 9-5 cubicle for a more cozy home office desk and flexibility in your schedule, now is the time to give it a try. Don’t worry, there are plenty of both full- and part-time remote graphic design jobs available.
This article is here to help you find those opportunities. First, we’ll get right into those remote graphic design jobs sites, then give some more insight and tips for what to expect.
- Many companies are now hiring remote graphic designers, so it’s important to search for these opportunities in addition to traditional job postings.
- Networking and building relationships with other designers and industry professionals can help you find remote job opportunities.
- Freelance platforms and job boards can also be a good source of remote graphic design work, but be sure to thoroughly research potential clients and projects before accepting any job offers.
When you’re browsing the regular headhunting websites, it may seem as though there’s just no way you can get a remote graphic design job. There are not enough open positions for you to find the perfect one.
That’s just the problem of perception, though. There are dozens of remote graphic design jobs posted every day. All you have to do is browse the right website to find them. Here are the best ones:
1. FlexJobs
FlexJobs is one of the biggest remote graphic design jobs websites out there. The website has dozens of categories, and graphic design sees several job offers a day. It’s one of the fastest ways to find employment.
There are a lot of options as well.
You can find flexible jobs, full-time remote jobs, and freelance contracts at FlexJobs. The website has something to offer for everyone. With the average of 4 graphic design jobs posted a day, it’s only a matter of time before you find the perfect one.
Tip: Go over to the Art & Creative jobs to find positions for digital illustration and architecture design.
2. SolidGigs
Most remote graphic design jobs websites have you browse through dozens of jobs. SolidGigs is quite a different story. They will send you a weekly curated gig list that contains jobs you’d be interested in.
The company does the searching for you so you can focus on working with your clients, the thing you actually want to be doing. It’s not free, though. You’ll have to pay $19 monthly to get these gig lists sent to you.
It’s a bit of a pig in a poke, but you can test it out for only $2 — so the risk is very low.
3. Dribbble
As a designer-focused site to begin with, Dribbble is an excellent resource for finding remote graphic design jobs. With dozens of new job opportunities posted daily, you’ll find plenty of new work to apply for.
Beyond finding graphic design jobs, Dribbble is known for it’s design inspiration boards and freelance community.
4. We Work Remotely
We Work Remotely is another website that’s focused more on web design than on other graphic design jobs. They claim to be the #1 destination to finding and posting remote jobs.
You’ll see one or two new job offers a day on average, most of them full-time. You can be sure that the companies that post here are trustworthy because it costs $300 to post a job. That’s something fraudsters won’t risk paying.
5. Upwork
Upwork is one of the best places to find freelance work, especially when it comes to remote graphic design jobs. Companies and individuals post hundreds of small jobs a day.
The majority of the jobs posted are one-time projects like this:
Upwork is great for finding a side hustle, however finding a long-standing project or full-time employment may be more challenging.
The other downside is that Upwork is not free to use. You’ll have to pay a 20% fee on the first $500 you earn. Then the fee drops to 10%, and 5% after you’ve earned more than $10,000. Regardless, with the vast number of jobs, it’s probably worth giving a shot.
6. Freelancer.com
Freelancer.com is a website that’s very similar to Upwork. The site hosts job offers, most of them small. Again, great for a side hustle, but not the best place to find stable employment.
The plus side: you don’t have to pay any fees yourself, the employers do that. However, as a freelancer, you can’t answer to more than 8 jobs a month. Beyond that, you have to pay to make additional bids.
As you can see on the screenshot, relatively recent gigs already receive over 40 bids. As an experienced graphic designer, you’ll have no trouble competing on merit. But the problem is, some employers on the platform choose the lowest bid, not the highest quality.
7. Fiverr
Fiverr is a remote graphic design jobs website turned inside out. Instead of browsing jobs and applying for them, you post the gigs you can do, and compete for clients.
The marketplace can get quite competitive in some categories, but if you succeed, you’ll get a constant stream of clients on your own terms.
The best thing about Fiverr is the wide range of jobs you can do. From children’s book illustration to designing car wraps, any graphic designer can find a side hustle here.
What is a remote graphic designer?
Now that we’ve covered where to find these remote graphic design jobs, let’s get more into what a remote graphic designer is.
A graphic designer is nothing like a plumber or a carpenter. All of them are respectable professions, but a plumber or carpenter can’t work remotely. A graphic designer can.
There is nothing about the job of a graphic designer that would stop you from going remote and working from your home office. You may feel otherwise because of the so-called “water-fountain culture” and the number of decisions you come up with at meetings.
However, all of that can be taken online. Meeting in the conference room can be replaced with a group chat, the whiteboard can be replaced with a to-do list created with special software, and asking a coworker for help can switch from coming to their desk to texting them.
So that’s what a remote graphic designer is—simply a graphic designer who takes his craft home. A designer who creates illustrations, print, logos, website wireframes, and many more digital products from the comfort of their home.
All designers can find a remote employment opportunity that would match their ideal schedule. Whether you’re a UX designer, a landscape artist, a 3D motion artist, or an illustrator, there are plenty of remote graphic design jobs for you out there.
4 Types of remote graphic design jobs
While all designer professions are represented on the remote job market, there are no two similar offers. The peculiarity of working remotely presents you with a lot of options when it comes to your schedule. Here are the types of jobs you will encounter on your search for the perfect one.
A flexible position
If you find a flexible graphic designer job, you won’t have to change your office habits at all. A flexible job means you spend some time at the office while having the possibility to work from home. It’s a mix between working in the office and remotely.
This mix is not defined. This means each company has its own rules. In some companies, you can work remotely anytime as long as you come in for the important meetings. Others offer you to spend the last two days of the week working from home.
You’ll have to figure out the exact conditions personally. Ask that question during the interview, if you’re applying for this kind of job.
A full-time remote position
Full-time remote graphic design jobs require you to be working from home constantly. Perhaps a company that offers this job has headquarters in Sweden but is looking to hire talent from the US. You have no way to come to the office (except for some exclusive occasion), but the company still requires a 40-hour workweek from you.
It’s the most stable remote job you can find, but there’s one downside. Many companies that offer remote full-time positions require you to be online at certain times.
If you’re looking to diversify your schedule and, say, take Mondays off to work on Saturdays instead, that may not be possible.
Some employers from overseas want you to be available at the local daytime. That’s going to be a problem if the daytime is too different.
A part-time remote position
Part-time jobs can be a blessing. Most positions like this have a flexible schedule. This means you can work anytime and have a morning for yourself, for example.
However, part-time jobs can get ugly if you’re working for the wrong company. Join a small company that doesn’t care about reputation, and they can drop you once the business is going low.
Sometimes, these kinds of companies hire help when they have too many projects. They may quickly abandon workers once their in-house employees can handle the job.
This is why you should check up on the company’s reputation and sign a contract with them. Using a job platform as an escrow solves this problem as well.
Freelance job
Now, these are the types of remote graphic design jobs many people are dreaming about. Freelance workers are completely free in choosing what agencies and companies to work with. No more dealing with disturbing bosses, and no more depending on others to plan your day. Freelance is freedom.
However, it may take you months if not years to be completely booked. You’ll have to build a reputation on the job-hunting platform before you can become a successful graphic designer. And being one means spending more time working than looking for work.
With the remote graphic design jobs sites and tips you’ll find below, that’s going to be way easier.
Types of compensation
There is no standard when it comes to compensation in remote work. Jennifer Lidell from Pro Essay Writer says, “We pay our remote-employees by the hour, but I’ve seen every possible way of compensation in the industry. Few companies disclose that in the job offer, though. My advice for graphic designers is to make this their first question in the interview.”
Benefits of working remote jobs
Sometimes, you just wish you can be out of the dreaded office and that’s a benefit in and of itself. However, working remotely as a designer has many more benefits to offer.
No more commuting
If there’s a part of the day all of us agree to hate, it’s commuting to work. It takes anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour—sometimes more. An hour you spend leaning on other unwilling participants of the commute in the subway or stuck in a traffic jam.
Whatever is your preferred way of getting to work, nobody really likes it. This is why 23% of workers quit because of the commute. Cut it out of your schedule, and you’ll instantly get more productive.
This doesn’t mean you should jump straight from the bed to your laptop and start working. After all, you didn’t quit the office to become a workaholic.
Spend the time you have freed from commuting for exercising, going for a walk, or reading a book. This will charge you for the day.
Your schedule, your rules
Not all companies will give you full control over your schedule, but most allow some degree of freedom. If you find the right employer, you’ll be left to decide when and where to work.
After coming to the office at 9 AM sharp, that feels liberating.
Work anywhere
Always wanted to turn a room in your home into an office? Now is the time. Want to work from bars and cafes like Hemingway? Choose your favorite, or go on a non-alcoholic working bar crawl.
Missed the fresh air? Park benches and seaside deck chairs are your desk now!
With a remote graphic design job, the world is your oyster.
No distraction, just work
If you’re the kind of person who takes a lot of time to focus and can break that focus easily, you must hate the office banter. It’s nice to talk to a colleague from time to time, but when the local chitchats meet, it’s a disaster.
No such thing is going to trouble you when you get a remote job.
More time for family and friends
The office rat race leaves no room for your personal life. Getting a remote job shaves two hours off your day that you used for commuting. If you manage to do the day’s work in less than 8 hours, you get more time to spend with the people you love.
Remote graphic design jobs allow you to manage your schedule yourself and will help you get to your daughter’s school play without having to announce it to the boss two months ahead.
More money
It’s not just that you’ll be more productive when working from home. Add the daily lunch with coworkers, the gas money for the commute, and the takeout you get because you’re too tired to cook, and you’ll potentially gain a couple of hundred bucks a week.
That money stays in your pocket if you work from home.
Tax breaks
That’s not all the benefits when it comes to the money, though. If your home is your office, you can get a tax break. For instance, you can get a part of your mortgage payment or utility written off the taxes you owe.
Tips to finding success with remote graphic design jobs
Finding remote graphic design jobs can be easy if you do it right. Here is everything you need to know to find your dream job.
Browse many websites
Finding a job that fits all of your requirements is a numbers game. Register on all the websites that fit your requirements and look up the offers every couple of days. Be proactive and apply often.
The more options you have, the better.
Show off your skills
Treat your profile on Upwork or Freelancer.com as your CV and cover letter combined. You should fill it with information that would make the company say, “I want to work with that guy!”
List all the skills you have mastered and feature the tools you can use. Some companies filter freelancers by their skills so not having some of them listed may mean you’re not going to show up in search.
Prepare a portfolio
For most (if not all) remote graphic design jobs, a portfolio is a crucial element. Upload your best work (and only your best work) on the website or leave a Behance link.
State your terms
Whether you’re looking for full-time employment or freelance gigs, you should state your terms clearly.
This is especially true for full-time jobs. If you’re looking for a job with a flexible schedule and end up having interviewed by a company that wants you to work 9 to 5 on weekdays, you’ve just wasted your time.
Get ready for a Skype interview
Video call interviews can be even more challenging than offline ones. Sure, you don’t have to get to the company’s office, but there are a lot of technical issues that can go wrong.
If you have to adjust your camera and mic for ten minutes before the interview can start, it can leave a bad first impression. Test everything before you make the call, and come prepared.
Get ready for challenges
The last tip is about working, not finding a job. You need to prepare yourself for the challenges of working remotely.
At first, you may encounter problems with sticking to the schedule, getting distracted by your family, and feeling lonely because you spend so much time focused on work.
That’s something many remote workers go through. You have to know about possible problems and be ready to solve them in time.
Wrap up
There are dozens of remote graphic design jobs posted every day. There are only two things you need to get one—you should 1) know where to look, and 2) show solid proof that you’re a worthy candidate.
With the tips you receive in this article and the list of websites to browse, finding remote graphic design jobs is just a matter of time.
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