I believe when using either option you should first check out not only their previous work but also get in touch with previous clients.

The original list of pros and cons seems fairly well complete.

The main points I would say are: That work is usually overseen at an agency. And that you can expect a variety of ideas from different perspectives.

Communication is often simpler and there is usually potential for a lower price due to lower overheads.

I think the potential for high quality work is available with either option.

As a small agency executive, my own agency is kind of in-between the two arguments here. While we are small (3 people at the moment, have had as many as 10 back in the late 90′s), provide one-on-one personal service, can do quick turn arounds, etc., we still have Fortune 500 companies as our clients, can handle large projects (we’ve done everything from business cards for the local bakery to 800 page catalogs for multi-national companies). Being small also has afforded me the opportunity to utilize all of my talents in one project, for example, I’ve planned, written, photographed, designed, produced, press checked, and taken every client call for a project when needed.

We also can do web, multi-media, photography, television commercials, and radio spots all in-house. And we currently work out of our house, have low overhead, and lower rates than an agency.

The majority of work I’ve seen from freelancers points directly at what the article states above: No one is supervising them. If you’ve never worked for an agency, there’s a lot of things and technical details about projects that they just never teach you in school. I’ve been extremely unhappy with the majority of the freelancers we’ve tried to use for work overflow. It’s really a shame, but technology has afforded just about anyone to call themselves a designer, undercut quality small agencies on price and take their work, and produce inferior design.

Design schools keep churning out graduates, 90% of which have no real talent, have not been taught many basic design skills, and have no real hope of succeeding long term in this industry. It’s diluting our value as designers. I’ve seen hundreds and hundreds of applicants when we’ve hired, and believe me, I know what I am talking about here.

To anyone who is a qualified former agency designer, who has legitimately gone out on their own, I don’t consider them to be freelancers. They own small businesses, produce great designs, and are an asset to the business. They’ve paid their dues in a corporate setting and know how to get the job done for you.

Personally, I think any of us as designers ought to lobby schools to either teach graphic design properly, or stop pushing graphic design as this “awesome job” where you do things like “merge a person’s face over a chimp’s” (real actual commercial for a national school with a design program)