/re your last point, that's exactly what we noticed. A lot of companies think they need a full-time designer, but they could get away with contracting one multiple times throughout the year, leading to a much happier designer who gets to work on multiple projects.
I think a big bonus of this approach is that forces developers to improve their design skills. I'll never be an amazing designer, but taking these external design suggestions and adapting them to our ever-changing context has been challenging but productive. Rote copying of PSDs stunts the growth.
