Hire a designer

There are tons of sites for hiring freelance designers; to ensure that the design you pay for is the one you imagined, we recommend that you come into an agreement with a clear and specific idea for your design. Don’t forget you can ask to see some samples of their work or other tees they’ve designed before sealing the deal. Make sure to clearly explain the type of design you want. Here are a few examples of the details you can share with your designer, keep in mind the more details you provide the easier it will be for the designer to create exactly what you’re looking for:  

• Provide the exact message of the design and the audience it’s intended for (provide the exact text)
• Explain the style you’re aiming for; feel free to find photos and images of ideas and other designs you like, so that you can give specific advice to your designer. (“I want to use a text style like in this design!”)
• Suggest colors you want to include in the design (ex. white text with light blue accents or provide exact color codes)
• Suggest specific fonts you like or want to be incorporated into the design
• Explain the color of the product/background the design will be printed on (ex. the design text should be bright white and blue  – it will be printed on dark garments like black and navy so I really want the design to stand out!)

Where to hire a designer

Below is a list of different design sites sellers have reported using. Each site enables you to post a listing or ad with the budget and description of your design and available designers will answer your listing. In most cases, you’ll want to ask for a vector file “.eps cs5 format,” with a clear background, or a high-quality PNG file (with DPI of at least 300 and a transparent background). Once you have the design you can upload it directly on our website through the Viralstyle Designer.

• Upwork – A website wherein you can hire freelance designers for specific design jobs; designer profiles show hourly costs and ratings from previous customers.
• Freelancer.com – A website that aggregates people who are specialists in their field (such as graphic designers) looking for additional work.  You choose the hourly rate you’re willing to pay.  
• Fiverr – A website where you can find people willing to create designs starting at $5!
• ODesk – A website to hire freelancers. You can either pay someone a flat fee or an hourly rate to create your design.
• Behance – A website that lets you hire creative freelancers.  Click “Post A Job” to get started. Though more expensive than the other options, the site also yields substantially more design submissions to choose from.
• Design Spring – A website featuring designers with extensive experience working with tee designs. You can submit a design brief and expect results within 48 to 72 hours. Design Spring is pricier compared to other sites but users have reported positive experiences using this site.

How much does it cost?

Usually, you can pay designers per hour or per design if they specialize in t-shirt designs. Prices can range greatly depending on the quality and experience of the designer; make sure to check their rates beforehand so there are no surprises when it’s time to pay the bill. Contracting a design can be as little as $5 or over $50…keep in mind more experienced designers (especially those who are familiar with designing for merch) usually produce the best results. That being said, if you’re just starting out and don’t have a large design budget to work with the most important aspect of the design is the message—many successful designs have been created simply using text. You can learn how to use free online tools here.