Small businesses are tapping a brand new talent pool: freelance graphic designers

“This is one more step on the road to leveling the playing area between large and small companies,” stated Thomas W. Malone, a professor at the School of Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.” “A small-entrepreneur inside a company of one can turn to the internet just like a large company and get access to a myriad of services - and that’s largely due to this type of online platform.”

The growth of these web based marketplaces, are fueled by a number of trends. The current recession and recent wave of downsizing in the United States and Europe, have forced many companies to get rid of their in-house services and employ independent service providers. Additionally, mergers and lay-offs have forced many skilled professionals to join online freelance marketplaces.

Meanwhile, technological advances make remote work and virtual teams more achievable. Business processes are permitting companies to combine services with increased ease than ever before. A range of freelance marketplaces are making services easy to trade online, almost as much as QXL and Alibaba.com made goods easy to trade about ten years ago. One such graphic design marketplace that is gaining popularity in the Caribbean and on the international stage is Onlinestaffers.com.

Glenford Royer, manager of Onlinestaffers.com, stated his clientele was shifting from an early wave of technology-oriented companies toward classical smaller businesses, which now represent about 70 % of his clients, including mom-and-pop stores, hotels, property agencies and doctors. “We’re shifting from early adopters to mainstream,” he stated.

These platforms are developing new services beyond the mainstay tasks like web and software development to specialized services like graphics and logo design. Self-employed professionals are progressively dealing with projects like computer animation, t-shirt design, writing, design consultation, stationery design, marketing, design translation - and almost any “graphic design process” that may be carried out remotely. Some companies even are employing self-employed to setup and manage their corporate profiles on social networks like Facebook.

When Peter Berkley, manager of Herbal Roots, an agro processing company in Canada, desired to design a new product package for a new type of herbal tea, known as the Natural Best, he posted a project on www.onlinestaffers.com and hired a freelance professional from Barbados. He paid about $500, which they estimated is roughly a fraction of what he would have paid within Canada.

“This has provided our organization with an opportunity to work with global talent at an affordable cost,” Mr. Berkley stated. “Our little company is able to afford a really top-notch product packaging design and have fun with this cool product line.”

The Global Graphic Design Market

The world market for graphic design services is projected to exceed US$59 billion by the year 2016. This is primarily driven by regional economic activity of each market, as most of the graphic design firms are small and work locally. Such smaller players have the ability to respond quickly to the market requirements, adapt easily to new trends and can offer specialized services to suit each customer.

THE WORLDWIDE MARKET POTENTIAL

Worldwide Market Potential for Graphic Design Services (US $ mln): 2011

Region Latent Demand US $ mln % of Globe

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Asia & the Middle East 18,044 36.1

Europe 13,283 26.5

North America & the Caribbean 11,879 23.7

Latin America 4,106 8.2

Africa 2,033 4.1

Oceana 698 1.4

Total 50,044 100.0

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Source: Philip M. Parker, INSEAD, copyright 2010, www.icongrouponline.com

World Market for Graphic Design Services: 2006 - 2016

Year World Market US $ mln

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2006 42,111.22

2007 43,577.25

2008 45,106.22

2009 46,701.40

2010 48,358.80

2011 50,044.17

2012 51,793.43

2013 53,616.73

2014 55,517.79

2015 57,500.51

2016 59,569.02

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Source: Philip M. Parker, INSEAD, copyright 2010, www.icongrouponline.com

About Onlinestaffers.com

Onlinestaffers is the premier online marketplace for crowd sourced graphic design, connecting freelance designers from around the world, with corporate clients who need design projects completed in a timely manner. In addition to its design marketplace, Onlinestaffers provides an escrow system that protects both designers and clients from scammers, and offers a fully stocked logo store with high-quality logos available to buy and customize.

The average design job is under US$300, making Onlinestaffers.com amazingly cost effective for small businesses, which frequently require a broad range of design jobs to be completed but are not able to rationalize the cost and risk of hiring a professional design firm. The company was founded by entrepreneur Glenford Royer, and is located in New York City.