I have found that there is NO BIGGER HEADACHE in this business than dealing with contract designers. They have got to be the most unstable, unprofessional, unreliable group of people I have ever run across.

In my opinion, if you can find a good one in house, do it.

I would agree with you in some regards with some of the outsourcing out there.

However, the ones I have had the joy of working with have been Sharky's, Todd's, and Wades/Acura.

I intend to still use them for projects that can't be done inhouse.

T, here is my take on all of this:

Contract work is great - until they fuck up. There is nothing like putting your name on the line for something you can't control. If you are doing mission critical work (time constrained stuff) contract work often isn't the best route to go.

An in house person is great, except that when they leave, they take the house with them. You effectively go back many steps and start breaking in a new person.

My solution? Get yourself a good in house person, but don't be afraid to outsource some of your stuff to at least get contacts and find people that can do the work. I know that appears to add expense, but it will give you a variety of designs while still keeping the speed and controlability of someone in house. Plus you can have that in house person adjust, maintain, and modify outside designs quickly to keep looks fresh or add new features.

As a bonus, this gives you a list of contacts for when the next designer decides to leave, so you are not stuck if you need something short notice.

Alex

Well, there are exceptions to every rule, and the three you mention are very good exceptions. I have done business with two of the 3 and would highly recommend Sharky and Todd.

Thank you JMM and Anthony.

For the reasons you mentioned, it is exactly why I said Design COMPANY rather than designER. A company has more riding on something than a designer. I have salaries, bills and other overhead. I cannot afford to have unhappy clients. I try to make sure that we meet or exceed or clients goals and deadlines. We have only missed a few in the past, and our clients were notified ahead of time.

Thanks Anthony - JMM :)

Happy New Year.