In-house graphic designers are still in demand. Big brands still need graphic designers to create new products and produce regular visual content for their marketing and social media strategies. However, if you’re a new business on the block, you might wonder, can a graphic designer be outsourced instead of hiring them in-house? Here’s our ultimate guide to outsourcing graphic design!
Can A Graphic Designer Be Outsourced?
Definitely yes! It’s the norm nowadays. You can hire graphic designers anywhere in the world. For instance, if you live in the USA, you can hire a graphic designer from Europe, Asia, or Australia in a few clicks! You can search for your trustworthy graphic designer by browsing freelance graphic design sites or subscribing to an unlimited graphic design service!
What Are The Types of Graphic Designers to Outsource?
Freelance Graphic Designers
One of the most common outsourced graphic designers is the freelance group. You can find them on freelance graphic design sites or portfolio sites.
One advantage of hiring freelance graphic designers is you have thousands of options before making a final decision. You can search for someone in the same time zone or region. Or, they could also speak the same language or create designs based on your preferences. Another benefit of hiring freelancers is after one project, it can be one and done. You can move on to the next freelancer for another project!
However, working with freelancers can be challenging because of several limitations, such as time differences, language barriers, design variations, and so much more. Additionally, some freelancers have developed a reputation for not showing up for their clients or not submitting work on time.
Remote Graphic Designers
If you notice a spike in your design volume and need a regular graphic designer by your side, a remote graphic designer works just as well as an in-house graphic designer. Freelance graphic designers work on a contract basis. Meanwhile, remote graphic designers can be on your payroll without going to the office.
To clarify, an outsourced, remote graphic designer is someone you hire overseas. Some rates overseas can be much more affordable for businesses with low budgets.
A remote graphic designer is ideal when you want consistent and regular designs all year long. They’ll understand your brand better since they’re working only for you. Plus, they can provide outputs that are better suited for your branding.
However, since they’re working overseas, expect delays and time differences, much like freelancers. One way to combat the time delays and differences is to be upfront about their working hours. For instance, if you’re from North America and hiring from Asia, let them know they need to adjust their working times to match yours. If that doesn’t work with you, hiring locally or someone overseas in the same timezone would be best.
Design Agencies
You can also outsource design work to design agencies overseas. It’s a common practice by many big brands to work with international design agencies. Most design agencies have design teams and consultants that can work on your design projects.
An advantage of working alongside design agencies is their expertise. Most graphic designers in this field work with well-known graphic designers in the field. Thus, cementing their reputation as trustworthy design agencies providing quality work to clients. Plus, design agencies can help you kickstart branding by making all your design assets consistent with the typography and color.
However, since design agencies work with a dedicated graphic design team, they charge much higher rates than the other services listed here. Plus, projects can take time to finish due to the number of clients they’re working for at any given time.
Unlimited Graphic Design Services
If you don’t want the hassle of hiring but the capability and expertise of a design agency wrapped in one package, unlimited graphic design services are the solution. Many businesses consider unlimited graphic design services as their “in-house graphic design team” without the hiring and long-term commitment.
Unlimited graphic design services operate on a subscription-based model, allowing businesses like you to subscribe and cancel anytime. Then, once you subscribe, you will be assigned to expert designers to your project. Plus, some unlimited graphic design services allow you to switch with graphic designers if you want another person working on your designs!
It’s important to note that unlimited graphic design services are ideal for businesses with a regular design demand, typically more than 10 in a month.
Why Should You Outsource Graphic Design Work?
Affordable Rates
Graphic design can be expensive. Logo design can be worth thousands of dollars, and that can be steep for small businesses. Outsourced graphic designers can provide quality designs at lower rates.
Save Time
As a budding business, it’s important that you are laser-focused on making your small business flourish as it grows. If you’re a solopreneur or a small team, sometimes it can be difficult to focus on other pertinent tasks, especially when your focus is attracting more customers to buy your products or services.
That said, outsourcing graphic design work relieves you of your graphic design tasks. You’re letting an expert graphic designer take the reins, while you concentrate on making the business grow.
Batch Design Work
Not all businesses need graphic designs regularly in a month. One strategy that some businesses use when outsourcing graphic designers is to request designs in advance. This strategy works best for social media posts and other marketing assets. This saves them time and money.
High-Quality Outputs
Many graphic designers worldwide get unnoticed because of their skill and expertise in graphic design. Some have the talent and the eye to create compelling design work at affordable rates. If you outsource graphic design work, you hire top talents at reasonable prices. Thus, you get quality work from fantastic designers.
Where to Find Graphic Designers?
Freelance and Remote Graphic Designers
As mentioned above, you can easily find freelance graphic designers on freelance sites. Nowadays, graphic design portfolio sites have joined in the fun and allowed businesses to hire freelancers, too. Here’s a list of the best sites to hire freelancers:
- Upwork
- Fiverr
- Toptal
- PeoplePerHour
- Guru
- Behance
- Dribbble
The hiring process for these sites varies. For instance, Upwork, Fiverr, Guru, and PeoplePerHour allow you to send a message to a freelancer and browse their portfolios.
Sites like Toptal need you to fill out a form first, and they’ll match you with a designer. There’s a 2-week trial period before finalizing your decision. If you think they’re a great fit, you can work with them, depending on the term period. However, if they’re not a great match, let Toptal know, and they can pair you with a new designer at no cost.
Design Agencies
Design agencies are also easy to find with a quick search engine query. You can opt to search for a design agency near you. Or browse for a design agency with a much lower rate overseas. One reliable site for finding the best design agencies is Clutch. They have an exhaustive list of all design agencies worldwide. You can look at the rates, location, and services.
Unlimited Graphic Design Services
You can guarantee that established unlimited graphic design services employ the top designers in the industry. Many graphic designers work worldwide, allowing the business to work around the clock. Many businesses choose unlimited graphic design services to get designs in a few days or less!
Penji is an example of an unlimited graphic design service. We hire the top 2% of the best graphic designers in the world. Check out what our designers have created here and know why only the top designers are part of Penji’s team!
How to Hire Graphic Designers?
Freelance and Remote Graphic Designers
Hiring freelance graphic designers depends on the freelance site guidelines. Most freelance graphic design sites allow potential clients to send freelancers a message.
Another way to hire freelancers for a short-term or contract basis is through design contests. Design contests use a crowdsourcing model where you post a project, enticing designers to submit their designs based on your design brief. Once the contest is over or you choose the best design out of the lot, you will work with the designer shortly to get all the assets and discuss with them some more details about the project before formally ending it.
Meanwhile, hiring remote graphic designers is similar to freelance graphic designers, except that you have to post on global job ads to attract top talent.
Design Agencies
When you decide to work with a design agency, you don’t need to hire graphic designers. Agencies will find freelancers or outsource the job to remote workers. Working with design agencies starts by leaving them an inquiry or asking them for a quote. From there, they will further discuss details with you on how to go about with your project and contract.
Unlimited Graphic Design Services
There’s no need to hire graphic designers when subscribing to unlimited graphic design services. Expect that these services have a rigorous vetting service when hiring graphic designers to be part of their exclusive team. If you want to partner with an unlimited graphic design service, you can subscribe and get assigned to the best designer for your projects!
What is the Turnaround Time and Revision Limit for Outsourced Graphic Design?
Freelancers
Freelancers promise a 1 to 2-day turnaround, at the earliest, depending on the complexity of the project. It can even take longer if it’s web, app, or presentation design. Aside from that, some freelancers offer limited revisions, with extra revisions costing a few more bucks. However, some freelancers are flexible and offer unlimited revision work.
Outsourced remote work
Some outsourced remote work can have a same-day delivery since they work for your company solely. Additionally, there are unlimited revisions when working alongside an outsourced remote designer. Based on your preferences and other factors, some designs may take days to accomplish.
Design agencies
Some design agencies have a long turnaround time since many businesses and agencies negotiate on how many designs they need and will work on, respectively. Considering that design agencies have multiple clients, it can take days or weeks for the finished products to be submitted. The number of revisions varies based on the agency’s standards.
Unlimited graphic design services
Most unlimited graphic design services compete with the turnaround times provided by freelancers. At the earliest, some unlimited graphic design services have a same-day turnaround time. This is ideal for businesses with tight deadlines. Complex projects like web, app, presentation, motion designs, and illustrations can take days to accomplish.
Additionally, unlimited graphic design services offer unlimited revisions, which is a plus since some designers may not get the designs the first time.
How Much to Pay for Graphic Design Work?
This depends on the service you prefer.
You might wonder, “Am I allowed to negotiate with a freelancer?” The answer is yes. However, make sure that the prices are fair based on the work they have published. Freelancers have the option to set an hourly and a per-project rate. Freelancers can set rates as low as $10 an hour or $5 per project, depending on the project.
Meanwhile, you can set the budget for overseas remote workers. However, ensure they are paid fairly and eligible for raises or other bonuses, depending on where they live.
Design agencies can be expensive for most businesses, especially if these agencies have become established figures in the industry. That said, expect higher rates than freelancers or remote graphic design workers. Pricing depends on an hourly or per-project basis. Some design agencies charge as low as $25/hr. However, more prominent and renowned agencies can charge as high as $300/hr.
Meanwhile, unlimited graphic design services set flat monthly fees. You can scale up or down depending on your budget and design needs. Most subscription rates start at $499/mo, inclusive of designs like:
- Logo
- Business cards
- Letterheads
- Brand guidelines
- Billboards
- Digital ads
- Social media ads
- Email graphics
- Marketing graphics
- Social media posts
Outsource Graphic Design to Penji
We’ve listed all the possible options for you to outsource your graphic designs to, and you want only to work with the best of the best. Penji is among the top choices by many small businesses, big brands, and agencies! Aside from working alongside the top 2% of graphic designers in the industry, you’ll get high-quality work at an affordable rate. Plus, you’ll get your design requests within 1 to 2 days! Not a bad deal, right? And if you want to see what else Penji can do for you and how to start, view a video demo!
