I’ve always been interested in eventually working 100% remote, but I know that can be a bit difficult as a designer due to the nature of the field. I’m wondering if anyone here works remote, and if so, what’s your day-to-day like? Do you enjoy it?
Remote is far better for design production and scopes. Office environment makes design delivery slow and difficult as it is continuously interrupted by meetings and lunch breaks and other unexpected desk visits. I can produce in 1 week as remote what it takes 3 months in office.
I’m mostly remote due to an acquisition but the company that bought the company I was working for is across the states. And me being the only designer they acquired I just work at home, which works perfectly bc I have a child, and I work NY hours. (8a-3:30). The company has regular check ins, crit sessions, etc so it’s super helpful to be on the same page and my manager knows what I work on through JIRA and weekly 1:1s. I do have to make sure I stay on top of my tasks bc being at home sometimes tempts you to be more relaxed, but it works for me. I hope I can continue to do this. Only downside for me is socializing in person. Everyone I talk to is either through chat, video calls, etc.
Hey! I do remote full time. It has nice things and bad things like anything but mainly nice. The freedom, quiet, WLB, etc is very nice. The hard part is communication and if you have a shitty product manager, being far can be hell. In general you’ll have to be strong to be able to resist people shutting you down and forgetting you exist and also be capable of working without guidance. If you can do that you will be fine and happy. I’m currently looking for work in FAANG because I miss working closely with my peers and remotely is hard to make a good contribution since you are not there when the fire is burning.
I spent a good few years doing remote work. There are definitely clients who are okay with this arrangement but I’ve found that there needs to be trust built beforehand (by working onsite). Once trust is established, remote work can happen, which could then lead to word of mouth for more (hopefully remote) business. My day to day was spent in my home office banging out work for my clients with strategically scheduled check ins. I personally loved the freedom of working on my own schedule and being my own boss but that also meant that I had to manage everything else (scoping, billing, invoicing, client facing, the actual work, taxes, health insurance (which sucks for freelancers)). There’s also the factor of cabin fever and especially being alone all day. This can make or break it for some. I had to get out of the house a few times a day to keep my mind going / fresh. The potential upside however is you make a lot more $$$ since you’re charging higher rates. I generally built enough trust to charge like a design shop versus a sole proprietor, and this allowed me to scale my team when the occasion called for it. The potential downside comes when you’re greedy and can’t say no to any client. This can lead to burnout. Luckily I was never juggling more then 2-3 projects at any given time. I’ve since gone full time and still do remote freelance here and there. I find that arrangement to work better for me :)