Graphic Design as a Service: A Better Way to Get Visual Assets

Getting great visuals for your brand shouldn’t be a battle between affordability and quality. We’ll show you an innovative way to get attention-grabbing designs without breaking the bank. Enter the top graphic design as a service platform, Penji. Here’s all you need to know:

What is Graphic Design as a Service?

The internet is a very visual place. To get ahead of the game, businesses need visual assets such as logos, illustrations, web design, and many others. Hiring a freelancer for every project can be tedious. Having an in-house designer can be limiting, while the services of a design agency can be expensive.

This is where graphic design as a service comes as a handy solution. It brings the expertise of professional graphic designers directly to entrepreneurs and marketers. With it, they gain access to a design resource that’s convenient and efficient.

In addition, graphic design as a service allows you to delegate all your design needs to a team specializing in various genres and expertise. From web design to logos, these designers can create them for you at a fraction of the cost of traditional approaches. 

In short, graphic design as a service is a type of company that entrepreneurs and marketers go to to get visual assets. Most of these businesses offer unlimited graphic design services that let you send requests for designs at a fixed monthly rate. They have a team of diverse designers ready to take on any type of marketing and advertising project.

How Does a Graphic Design as a Service Work?

What makes graphic design services appealing to many business owners and marketers is their straightforward design process. Below is how we do it at Penji:

• Step #1: Writing Your Project Brief – to let the design team know what you want, you’ll need to write a project brief that will include all the details you wish to include in the design. The better you write the brief, the faster the designer can work on it with fewer revisions, so you can prepare for your next project.
• Step #2: Auto-Assigning of Your Project – the system automatically assigns your request to the most suitable designer. If it’s a logo you need, your brief will automatically go to our best logo designer. This ensures you get the perfect match.
• Step #3: Easy Collaboration – Penji has a user-friendly platform wherein design requests and communications with the designers happen. You won’t have to wait and reply to long threads of emails that can be confusing most of the time.
• Step #4: Review and Revise – it’s now time to let our designers work their magic. After 24 to 48 hours, you’ll receive your first draft, which you can review right away. You can send it back for revisions until you get the design you want and need.
• Step #5: Download and Enjoy – once satisfied with the design, you can download it directly from the dashboard. You can now use it whenever and wherever you want.

While different GDaas work in varying ways, our design process at Penji is more efficient, affordable, and convenient for busy entrepreneurs and marketers. You won’t have to allocate a considerable chunk of your time to finding the right designers, as it is already included in your Penji subscription. You always have the option to revise the project or request a different and more suitable designer.

Why Graphic Design as a Service is a Game-Changer for Your Business

Users of graphic design as a service have touted it as a game-changer for their businesses. This is because it revolutionizes the way they approach design and branding. These two are the most crucial parts of managing a business and also the most expensive.

With this graphic design service, you’ll have a pool of talented designers working for you and creating every imaginable design asset you will ever need. You will no longer pay for expensive software or go through the hassles of vetting staff for your in-house team. An excellent graphic design service will help you build a strong digital presence in the crowded marketplace.

Advantages of a Graphic Design as a Service

Graphic design as a service (GDaaS) provides numerous advantages that can level up your business. The following are the top reasons many entrepreneurs use it:

• Access to Top Designers – GDaaS connects you to a team of highly-skilled and experienced graphic designers. They are professionals trained in a variety of design styles and can take on various project types. They are also up-to-date on the latest design trends to ensure you have high-quality and impactful designs every time.
• Time and Money Saving – GDaaS gets rid of the need to hire in-house designers who can only specialize in a few design types. You no longer have to find a freelancer whenever a new project comes up. It eliminates posting job ads, browsing through resumes and portfolios, and vetting the quality of their work. With a GDaaS, you only need to submit design requests and wait for your drafts.
• Consistency and Cohesiveness in Your Designs – Working with only one team of designers lets you maintain consistency and cohesiveness in your designs and branding. This results in better brand recognition and professionalism, which can help strengthen your brand’s market presence.
• Quick Asset Delivery – With GDaas, you can expect fast turnaround times for your projects. With Penji, our turnaround times are 24 to 48 hours and may take more for complex projects. You can rest assured that your marketing campaigns and other brand initiatives stay on track.
• Originality and Full Design Ownership – GDaaS creates designs based on your specifications. This means they are customized and assure you of the uniqueness of the designs. You also have full ownership of them to free you from copyright worries.
• Hassle-Free Design Resource – GDaaS offers a convenient way to get high-quality designs. You only need to write your design brief and send them references to what you want done. They’ll take care of the design and will send you drafts ready for your approval. This allows you to focus on more crucial business matters.

Who Should Use Graphic Design as a Service? 

While graphic design as a service offers a myriad of benefits, the unlimited design service model isn’t for everyone. It’s ideal for brands that no longer want to deal with unreliable freelancers, agency markups, or DIY design tools. Graphic design as a service is best for the following:

• Marketing teams looking to scale campaigns: if you need a steady stream of social media graphics, email banners, and ad creatives, skip the headaches of traditional graphic design services and go for a graphic design subscription service.
• Startups and small businesses: For businesses on tight budgets, a GDaaS is a game-changer. Fixed rate plans will always be better than hourly freelancers or high agency retainer fees. This lets you get all the visuals you need affordably and without the hassles of hiring.
• E-commerce businesses: If you’re selling online and often find yourself chasing conversions, a graphic design subscription service can help you craft custom product images, banners, and packaging mockups. This allows your store to always feature fresh, on-brand visuals.
• Content creators and agencies: Bloggers, podcasters, and even white-label companies can benefit from the fast turnaround times of design-as-a-service.
• Non-designers in leadership roles: CEO, sales leads, and founders can now create polished visuals without design skills.

What Types of Projects Can Graphic Design as a Service Handle?

Graphic design as a service companies would offer basic graphic design work like logos, web images, digital ads, and other marketing items. Some graphic design companies, for instance, will provide graphic design packages depending on what you need. For example, if you need advertising and marketing designs, expect the following:

• Logos
• Digital ads
• Website images
• Flyers/brochures
• Posters
• Social media graphics
• Infographics
• Custom illustrations

Meanwhile, other design as a service providers, like unlimited graphic design services, will offer an extensive design scope. For instance, many unlimited graphic design services provide web design in addition to basic graphic design services. Additionally, some offer illustrations.

How to Choose the Right Graphic Design as a Service Provider 

With the multitude of graphic design subscription services on the market today, finding the right fit can be hard work in itself.  Here’s how you can find the design solution for your brand:

• Identify your design needs: make a short list of all the visuals you’ll need: email templates, social media graphics, branding identity, or landing pages. Look for a design partner that supports a wide array of design types.
• Check quality, scope, and consistency: Review the provider’s portfolio and work samples to see whether their style matches your brand’s needs. 
• Assess delivery times and revisions: Design-as-a-service platforms are built for speed. While not all GDaas offer the same turnaround times, go for one that can handle all your requests to avoid design delays and bottlenecks.
• Compare pricing and scalability: Understand their subscription tiers. Check if they match your actual workload. If you need only a few assets each month, a heavy plan may be overkill. Also, choose a graphic design service that can scale up or down as your workload goes up or your budget tightens. Don’t be caught in a plan you can’t use.
• Test communication and workflow: Choose a GDaaS that offers simple and easy communication and collaboration processes. If you can, run a trial or pilot project to gauge their responsiveness and how well they incorporate your brand guidelines.

A Few Graphic Design as a Service Examples You Can Consider

If you’re new to using this type of service, finding the most suitable one for your business can be overwhelming. Below are a few great examples of companies that offer it:

Penji

Offering unlimited graphic design services AND unlimited revisions, Penji is your best bet. Not only are our rates affordable, we have a team of professional graphic designers who specialize in a wide array of genres. From web design to social media graphics, we have designers proficient in them.

To prove our dedication to bringing you only the best designs, we offer unlimited revisions. You can send as many edits as you need. Our designers won’t stop until you get the design you need, want, and deserve.

Fiverr

Another graphic design as a service company, Fiverr, initially lets you get design assets for only $5. Today, it has progressed to offering various services at different price points. Unlike Penji, it is not a subscription model. You have to find your designer among the many on its database.

99designs

An online platform that connects entrepreneurs and marketers with freelance graphic designers, 99designs is worth considering. You can find graphic designers on it through design contests or one-on-one design projects. While it is home to thousands of designers, you’d still do the vetting, hiring, and training for them.

Looka

Previously known as Logojoy, Looka is an excellent graphic design as a service option. It uses AI technology to create logos and other branding materials. It can create logos, brand kits, and other visuals related to branding. However, their services stop there. You won’t be able to request other design assets, such as web design and custom illustrations.

VistaCreate

A cloud-based graphic design software, VistaCreate, is a creative tool that lets you create graphic designs in minutes. It has a comprehensive library of templates that are fully customizable. It gives you access to millions of royalty-free files. However, this may not give you unique results that can help with differentiation.

Upwork

This GDaaS works the same way as Fiverr, where you browse through designers’ portfolios to find a candidate for your brand. Upwork is primarily a freelance platform that lets you find workers for a wide range of services, price points, and expertise. While they have a huge database of designer portfolios, finding one can be time-consuming.

How Graphic Design as a Service Compares to Traditional Methods

Let’s see how graphic design as a service stacks up against the traditional methods of getting designs. But before we do that, let’s define what they are. The conventional ways of getting graphic design typically involve hiring in-house designers, working with freelancers, or getting the services of design agencies. Since the inception of graphic design as a service, this has changed as many business owners and marketers have discovered its benefits.

Cost-Effectiveness

• GDaaS: Often subscription-based, GDaaS provides predictable monthly costs. This means you avoid paying full-time salaries, benefits, utilities, and other overhead expenses. This makes it a viable option for startups and small businesses.
• Traditional Methods: Hiring in-house designers incurs fixed costs, which include salaries, software, and equipment. Also, freelance designers may sometimes charge higher fees for one-off projects. This makes costs unpredictable for your business’s ongoing needs.

Scalability

• GDaaS: These services are highly scalable, meaning you can upgrade or downgrade your plan based on your design needs. You can pause your subscription if your workload decreases and return once the work picks up again. This saves you money and ensures that you pay only for what you use.
• Traditional Methods: In the above scenario, scaling an in-house team means hiring additional staff to do the extra work. Then, letting them go or paying for their salaries still when the workload decreases. This is the same when you’re working with a design agency. Additionally, freelancers might have to juggle multiple contracts, which can become unmanageable. These can be both time-consuming and costly.

Collaboration and Communication

• GDaaS: Many of these services have project management platforms for collaboration and communications. This allows you to see and track the progress of your projects. Penji’s dashboard, for example, lets you communicate with your designer easily. You can also ask for revisions in it and point to your designer the specific area you want them to revise.
• Traditional Methods: While communication with your GDaaS can sometimes feel impersonal due to its remote nature, traditional methods provide direct, face-to-face collaboration and communication. This may be the only advantage it has over GDaaS. Also, freelancers may give personal attention, but coordinating, especially with multiple freelancers, can be complicated, communication-wise.

Quality and Consistency

• GDaaS: Many graphic design subscription services maintain quality standards. Consistency can vary depending on the company, though. At Penji, we only hire the top 2%, assuring our clients consistent and quality designs. This is the reason regular feedback loops are essential, as these ensure alignment with your brand guidelines.
• Traditional Methods: In-house teams and design agencies are more likely to maintain consistent work due to their more profound familiarity with their clients’ brands. On the other hand, freelance designers may deliver varying results depending on the scope of your project, however skilled they are.

Turnaround Time

• GDaaS: As discussed earlier, graphic design as a service often ensures faster delivery of your projects. This is because of their dedicated workflows and teams and their defined timelines. This makes it easy for you to plan your projects. Most promise a 24 to 48-hour turnaround time for simple projects and 24 hours for revisions.
• Traditional Methods: In-house teams and design agencies may face bandwidth issues, which can lead to delays. Freelancers might prioritize other clients (especially the higher-paying ones), which can cause unpredictable turnaround times.

While traditional ways of getting visual assets offer personalized collaboration and brand alignment, graphic design as a service has revolutionized the process; it provides unmatched flexibility, scalability, and cost-efficiency. Businesses, big or small, will truly benefit from this design service, as it offers both affordability and professional output.

Pricing Models of Graphic Design as a Service

Graphic design as a service allows businesses to choose from several pricing models. To find out which one is suited to your workload, budget, and way of working, look at the models below:

• Hourly and per-project pricing: Traditional hourly rates usually range from $25 to $150 per hour. This depends on skill level and location. For per-project pricing, they typically come in bundles with fixed fees for a specific deliverable, such as a logo, brand guidelines, or web and app designs. 
• Unlimited graphic design services: Unlimited design services usually charge flat monthly rates for ongoing requests. They range from $400 to $5,000 a month. You get access to a pool of designers, unlimited revisions, and predictable pricing.
• Retainers and value-based models: This gives you a set number of hours or assets per month. While less common in GDaaS, value-based pricing ties fees to the perceived impact of work. This can be a rebrand that you expect to drive major revenue growth instead of time spent.

How do I choose?

• Hourly: ideal for small, exploratory, or design tasks with loose scopes.
• Per-project: suited for one-off, well-defined deliverables with clear outcomes.
• Flat-rate unlimited: suitable for recurring, high-volume visual requirements.
• Retainer: best for those seeking strategic partners aligned with long-term business goals.

Getting the Most Out of a Graphic Design as a Service

To maximize the potential of graphic design as a service, follow the strategies below:

• Provide clear communication – ensure your project brief has all the details the designer needs. Ideally, they should already be working on your project instead of using their time to ask you for additional information.
• Check the progress of the project regularly – it would help if you check in on the project to monitor its progress. Engage with the designers and give feedback if necessary to help facilitate the faster turnaround of your project.
• Trust your designer’s expertise – give your designer a chance to incorporate their knowledge in your designs. This will save you time while getting consistency across all design assets.
• Send multiple projects at once – this allows you to have your design completed one after the other. Your designers no longer have to wait for your next project, and they can instantly work on what’s next on your list. This saves you precious time and keeps the designers continuously working.
• Provide references – to make your designer understand your request better, you can send them images or links they can use as references. This will give them a clear idea of what you want so they can get your request done right the first time. This allows for faster turnarounds and saves you time and money, too.

The Future of Graphic Design as a Service

What’s in store for graphic design as a service? It is moving toward being a core part of the marketing stack. It will involve AI-augmented workflows, deeper tool integrations, and more strategic partnerships. These platforms will blend AI-powered speed with human-centric design, allowing teams to request, revise, and get visuals faster while keeping brand consistency. 

We can also expect specialized talent tiers, tighter ties to marketing tools, and on-demand scalability. With it, businesses can access design as a cloud service that’s predictable, flexible, and focused on impact rather than just output.

Final Thoughts

Graphic design as a service has certainly disrupted how businesses get their visual assets. It is here to stay, offering many benefits that help companies soar to greater heights. The only thing you need to think about is finding the perfect fit for your brand.

And you have already found it in Penji. Work with us if you want affordable and accessible graphic design services. Watch our demo video here to know more. Better yet, click on this link to get our amazing designers working for you.

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