this stuff isn't mine, but a big source of inspiration for me has been the stuff casjam.com has put up. Check out his blog/podcast. You can also find some webinars he's done on youtube. You'll find some golden nuggets in there
I'm both, but offer a couple of productized design services. I'm actually right now in the process to figure out if if I'm able to replicate the same model for some dev services. Curious to find out.
As a freelancer, I understand where some of the comments "As a freelancer this won't work" are coming from. However, the last year I've flipped my freelancing model where I offer a more productized service with a clearly defined scope and set price. Instead of doing design work for $XXX/h, I'll deliver A,B,C within Timeframe Y, for Price $XXXX. With clearly defined services, I've actually been working for the last 12 months using a similar model, usually constraining myself to 4h/day with weekends off. My productivity + revenue have increased dramatically. Productizing your service makes it easier to market and generate leads, while it gives you the flexibility to work the way you want and actually free up time. Awesome post OP!
Totally. I think there is plenty of value in design and brand work. The types of startups that don't have the money, or need to get a professional designer to help them out aren't the types of customer any designer would want in the first place. So free resources like these simply fill the gap to make sure startups don't waste $5 on fiverr for crap, instead get something much nicer for free. WHen they have the money and are seeing their company get traction, their brand becomes important and they'll naturally shift towards designers. I think the company behind this resource understands that. bravo.
If you're serious about your brand, they seem to offer a custom solution. This is however great for having a quick placeholder to get you going. Don't think it devalues design at all. In fact, it clearly states these are designs that were unused and instead of just having them sitting idle, they are opening it up for those that need quick placeholders.