I have been ‘designing graphics’ now for the past eight-or-so years, and professionally since 2005. I’ve worked in a variety of circumstances from in-house at a startup leading the creative team, to freelancing and heading up a handful of projects for a handful of clients at one time. Each method has its strengths and weaknesses and it would be foolish to say that one is better than the other for a company or a creative team. It comes down to preference and ultimately, the needs of everyone involved.

Companies all over the world hire a workforce of designers, copywriters and other creatives to make an in-house marketing or creative department. By hiring and then having the creatives on hand, the company can quickly and easily get things done in the realm of brand management, new product creation, visual communication and so on. This resource, however, may come at a cost if the company in question doesn’t have a constant need. Keeping these creatives on payroll with twiddling thumbs half the time can really eat up what could otherwise be a healthy bonus for everyone else. Still, if this company has a qualified and efficient marketing or creative director, he or she can keep his or her army of right-brained warriors in the trenches of creation rather than in the barracks of blogs, Facebook and font identification games (I’ve been there. It’s ridden with guilt.).

Another thing to consider with the in-house model is how limber the creative army is. My experience with working on an endless que of projects with the same big idea, the same brand, the same color scheme and one overall message to communicate is that my creative mind develops a little ‘flab’, if you will. Sometimes it can get plain boring. Not to say that there isn’t value in a team that does one thing really well.

Many companies either have a little less need or a little more gusto and insist on hiring firms and freelancers from the outside to provide a gamut of design needs. The really successful companies generally have a person on the inside (someone with experience in the creative side of business) to keep this exchange of creative product buzzing nicely. At any rate, the product that buzzes into play for these companies is often the award-winning, conversion-earning, president-and-CEO-pleasing stuff. It’s no secret that hiring out can often give a company and brand the punch it craves.

Many people fear this type of relationship, especially noting that in-housers take home a lower hourly rate than the firm or freelancer does. One thing that many decision makers fail to realize is that being an outside contractor is competitive and we (I happen to be one of these freelancers) often have incentives to make our workflows efficient, our rates reasonable and in the end, our clients happy. And while some projects may fetch a hefty price tag out-of-house, my experience is that most can save a company some money and a long-term commitment.

One of the reasons I love to do freelance is because it keeps the quiver sharp. While designing a website for a homebuilder, I may be crafting a logo for a pharmaceutical and designing a poster for a band and building a package for a sporting goods manufacturer. Almost any designer will tell you that the best way to keep things fresh is to step away from a project for a time. Stepping in and out of projects proves to keep me feeling like my work is objective and versatile—in the end fitting the client just right.

It may be tough for any company to make a choice between in-house and out-sourced design. Companies who value their brand and want to ensure that their collateral says the right things first seek a little consulting. Talk to other businesses in your market/industry about their designers. When hiring a designer or firm, be sure to request a design audit and strategy. Listen closely and hire a candidate that understands your needs and can deliver a product that has something more than just “hey, that looks neato!”

Everyday, I wake up and go to work, open my email and my task management software and begin whittling away at the projects in the que. I love my work and am constantly striving to improve the quality of my work and my own capacity to create. One technique that helps me keep my creative mind limber is to turn off the que and do something for myself.

Don’t get me wrong, I love the challenge that comes with doing any freelance project. The process defining and solving the problem in a creative and effective way is what keeps me going. But I feel that it is very important to break away from the needs of clients and work on my own problems, in a sense.

Recently, I took it upon myself to create a valentines gift for my wife. Knowing that she has been wanting me to get a little more exercise—for my own good, and for hers, I suppose—I set out to create a set of workout coupons. The concept was simple: about four books of coupons for running, pushups, sit-ups, etc., now to solving the problem. It was relaxing to skip the formal ‘client review’ stages, seeing that I was the client this time. Work moved quickly and I truly enjoyed crafting the coupons, the book covers and the box that they all sat in, striving to make this the kind of project I would be proud to show.

These types of projects really can be a sort of “designer’s therapy.” While it may be hard to find opportunities to do some self-made projects, some easy excuses include gifts for others, self branding and promotion (websites, business cards, thank you cards and so on), or some kind of propaganda.

Unfortunately, these types of projects don’t usually pay the bills (self promotion obviously can turn into profits), but keeping the quiver sharp really does have it’s paybacks. And hey, it feels pretty good to make something cool and keep it for yourself.

These days, all my creative energy is funneled toward one very specific vein of creativity: visual. As a graphic designer, I am always looking (and paying close attention) at art, design, textures, type, color, patterns, advertisements, opening credits and nearly everything visual. But this isn’t the end of my creative observation, nor is graphic design the end of my creative expression.

I’ve said it before, there is a lot of value in doing one thing and doing it well. Still, doing that one thing may start to suffer if it really is the only thing you do. As a creative professional—even one with a specialty—it is essential to allow one’s self to absorb more than that one thing to which one specializes in (whew!). I guess what I am trying to say is that creative energy (if you will) flows from so many places; it would be foolish to aimlessly create without letting that influence seep in.

Graphic design and visual art is not where my “creative career” began. In fact, I was always a terrible artist as a child (not that it ever stopped me). I began as a musician. I learned to play the drums when I was a kid and later the guitar. I played in bands, performed and wrote music, made recordings and was always working to polish those skills. In order to improve as a songwriter and musician, I, with my friends, would listen to music with a picky ear, looking for masters of their art. And to this day, music is a big part of my daily life; although I listen much, much more than I write or play anymore.

In high school I took film studies and video production classes and developed a love for film. I never became a great film maker, though I wanted to for a long time, but to this day I consider myself a great film watcher.

Now days, I spend most of my time making visual art and graphic design. I take the occasional photo, make a short every once and a while and even pull out the guitar and sing some of my old ‘hits’. I feel good about that. I feel that I have sort of ‘fallen’ into my place as an artist. Yet I cannot ignore the influence that other mediums of art have played in my selection of this focus, nor do I avoid absorbing the context that comes from an eclectic collection of creative hobbies.

All art is better understood when placed in context. It makes sense, then that art is better created when created in context. As we take in good art from a variety of veins—good books, good music, good films, good painting, etc.—we as artists can put our art into the context of our culture, something that can make all the difference in the realm of graphic design.

As I got to know the students in one of my foundations art classes, I wondered if those with obviously shallow tastes in entertainment would make it to the upper division courses. Just as I supposed, most of the less culturally aware found it hard to stick with it. Not to say that I am “Mister Culture”, but I do try to be selective and I feel that it has helped me succeed.