Ah what is soon becoming an age old question, to take freebies or not? It seems like marketing has taken over our whole lives to the point at which we feel cheated when something isn’t on sale or there isn’t something extra or ‘free’ thrown in on the side. Quite frankly, its just sad. What happened to hard work and feeling proud and accomplished for saving up to make that purchase. Now I’m just left thinking to myself “hmm…I wonder if I could have bought this online cheaper?”

Regardless of the fact that I continually feel cheated by mass marketing and mass production that is continually driving prices lower and lower, as demand makes the raise higher and higher, I have found a bit of retail salvation. Now that I am out on my own as a freelance graphic designer and don’t have endless budgets to spend, (keep in mind I’m saving up for a new Apple cinema screen) I find myself looking for ways to cut corners. But how do you cut corners without cutting quality of design? Really, its quite simple.

Tip #1: There is almost always a coupon code. I have found endless sites for coupon codes out there. One of my favorites just happens to have places like istockphoto.com, vistaprint.com and overnightprints.com on their list. Where is this place? Of course I will share the love! Go to: www.retailmenot.com and check it out, you can also get a discount at newegg.com, restaurants.com and bananarepublic.com while you’re there!

Tip #2: Freebies. It’s that simple. There are tons and tons and tons of free artwork out there. Now to all of my clients, I am not recommending that you go out and download as much free stuff as you can to build your own ad campaign. I’d like to think that corresponding with your favorite graphic designer, web designer and marketing team brings about new, exciting and fresh ideas that aren’t just floating around on the internet for anyone to scoop up for free. There is a reason we all paid the big buck for our college degrees! If you want to grab a few sweet things, check these out:

1. Free icons – tons of design styles courtesy of WebTreats, Etc

2. Free Textures – awesome textures for any new project, courtesy of WebDesignLedger

3. Free Vector Graphics – tons of different vector downloads, courtesy of Vector Tuts

That’s all for now. Happy designing!