New entrepreneurs often overlook the importance of graphic design. They aren’t aware that professional graphic design is crucial in developing brand identity. Whether it is your logo, website, or storefront visuals, the high-quality design creates a lasting impression for your brand.
Contrary to popular belief, graphic design subscriptions have made professional design services more affordable. Additionally, these subscriptions offer the flexibility to pause or cancel your plan anytime. So, here’s what you need to know about it.
Graphic Design Subscriptions: The Basics
As the name implies, you can subscribe to a graphic design service offering multiple pricing plans to request design projects. Think of it as Netflix for graphic design. Request unlimited graphic designs anytime during your subscription. Plus, since it’s a subscription, you can cancel anytime!
What other names do graphic design subscriptions go by?
- Design-as-a-service
- Unlimited graphic design service
- On-demand graphic design service
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Who is it ideal for?
A graphic design subscription is ideal for the following:
- Businesses with a high volume of design work monthly or yearly
- Businesses that handle multiple brands
- Content creators who need images and other assets on a daily or weekly basis
- Startups who need branding identity and other visual assets but have a tight budget
- Marketing agencies that need a constant supply of designs for their clients
- Non-profit organizations that rely on volunteers to do their design work. Penji has a $ 1-a-month plan for qualified non-profits, which you can find here.
- Educational institutions that need design support for promotional materials, event posters, and educational resources
A graphic design subscription can benefit a wide array of businesses and is not limited to those mentioned above. However, it is not for everyone. If you have only a few design requirements per week or month, an unlimited graphic design subscription may prove to be more costly.
Also, graphic design subscriptions primarily focus on digital design, such as social media graphics, website designs, and online advertisements. If you need physical design assets, such as package designs, signages, or print collateral, you will need additional services from providers that specialize in these.
Benefits of Subscribing to A Graphic Design Service
1. Affordable
Freelancers charge per project or hour. And those expenses add up to your graphic design budget. But a graphic design service offers flat monthly rates, saving you money in the long run. You don’t need to compute hourly or per-project rates and revision costs.
Features like design types, revisions, storage space, project management capabilities, and integrations are lumped into one plan.
2. Faster Turnaround Times
One advantage of subscribing to graphic design services is faster turnaround times. Most design services promise a 1 to 2-day or 24 to 48-hour turnaround time for simple designs. However, complex designs can take up to 3 to 4 days. Still, it’s so much faster than your average freelance graphic designer.
Plus, some graphic design services offer same-day turnaround times too! You can opt for this choice if you have a high design demand and need those designs done ASAP.
But you might ask, is design quality affected by the quick turnaround time?
Even though you can receive designs in a short amount of time, designers don’t skimp on quality. Some design services have valuable team members conducting quality control and reviewing designs before you receive them.
And if you want to get a preview of what Penji can do, check out our design gallery here!
3. Unlimited Revisions
When you work with a freelancer, they set limited revisions for any design project. And that could be hindering, especially if the submitted design isn’t up to your standards.
But on-demand graphic design services ensure you get unlimited revisions! Sometimes designers may not interpret your envisioned visuals on the first try. But with a subscription design service, you don’t have to pay extra! You can have designs revised until you’re 100% satisfied with your requests!
4. Multiple Brand Management
It can get overwhelming when working with multiple brands. One perk of outsourcing to a graphic design service is that you can manage various brands in one account. Plus, you can organize them into folders to keep track of and monitor everything.
5. Team Collaboration
If your team is seeing a dip in productivity regarding design, it’s time to offload your design work to an unlimited graphic design service. But even though you’re outsourcing your work to a graphic design service, it doesn’t mean you can’t collaborate with your team anymore.
Most design services allow you to add team members to one account. With that in mind, you can work with team members seamlessly.
6. Vetted Designers
One challenge of hiring freelancers is that they need to undergo a hiring process. After all, you want to work with a professional freelance designer. But the hiring process can eat up your precious time.
Unlimited graphic design services ensure that only the best of the best are part of their elite teams. Most graphic design services conduct a rigorous hiring process to ensure that you’re working with professional and skilled designers. Additionally, some offer continuous training to level up their skills and produce better design outputs for clients.
7. Project Management
Graphic design services have a custom project management tool (dashboard) or use one to provide a smooth experience from request to download. Some design services assign a dedicated project manager to keep your projects moving. Plus, you have control over which designs should be prioritized too!
How Graphic Design Subscriptions Work
Once you subscribe to any graphic design service, requesting designs is as easy as 1-2-3. Here’s what to expect when requesting designs from any service.
1. Request designs
At this stage, you should prepare a design brief and other assets to help your designer accomplish the design. Make sure that the design brief is comprehensive but allows the designer to be creative. The subscription service will also match your project to an expert designer who can complete the project.
2. Review designs
After you submit a design brief, a designer should work on your design and submit it based on the service’s turnaround time. Once the draft is submitted, you can review it. If you think the design is excellent, you can close the project and download the designs. Or, you can request revisions to enhance the design.
3. Download
If you have designs revised, you can finally download your requested visual and use it immediately. After that, you can submit a new design request.
How to Choose an Unlimited Design Service
Having an unlimited design service is a luxury for entrepreneurs and marketers. However, choosing the best is crucial for a superb outcome and seamless collaboration. On top of that and pricing, you need to consider these factors to ensure you’re getting the most out of your monthly subscription:
1. Quality work
Before subscribing to an unlimited design service, you need to check the company’s portfolio and see if the designs are up to par with your standards. Ask what design tools they use and if the team members have certifications and awards. It’s good to scrutinize the company’s credibility, as many claim to be experts in this field, even though many are not.
2. Turnaround time
One of the reasons why brands subscribe to on-demand graphic design services is due to efficiency. The design process is convenient and takes a few steps. One of the factors to consider when choosing a company is the turnaround time. How long does it take for designers to deliver the first draft? An excellent timeframe would be 24 hours. Most companies have a turnaround time of 48 hours. The quicker, the better.
3. User-friendly design platform
Check if the company utilizes its bespoke design platform for easy collaboration. Penji offers user-friendly design software where you can include up to 10 members of your team to work on every project. This is also where you communicate with the designers, submit the creative brief, ask revisions, and download source files.
What is Included in ANY Subscription?
Let this list convince you why you need to make the switch to an unlimited graphic design service. Here are the basics included in any graphic design service:
- Branding design (logos, typography, business card, packaging)
- Marketing and sales design (blogs, email, social media, billboards, digital ads, magazine ads)
- Print design (magazines, brochures, flyers, tradeshow designs)
- Merch designs (t-shirts, stickers, pop sockets)
However, some unlimited graphic design services offer more than the basics. Here are the other extras you can request:
- Web and app designs
- Presentation designs
- Illustrations
- Motion designs
- Infographics
How to Maximize Your Graphic Design Subscription
Ready to supercharge your graphic design subscription? Here’s how you can make the most of it:
Define your design needs: Make a list of all the major design assets your brand needs. Include specifications, deadlines, and branding guidelines if you already have them. This makes it easier for your graphic design partner to understand your expectations and deliver your designs promptly.
Send multiple requests simultaneously: If you have more than one project, send requests simultaneously. This way, when your designer completes a project, they won’t waste time waiting for your next one. They can start working on the next as soon as one gets done, saving you precious time.
Provide clear project descriptions: To create a design right the first time, make sure to give your designer a brief but detailed description of what you want. A good idea is to include references such as websites, images, or design samples that can better illustrate your ideas. This can help your designers understand your preferred style and other aesthetics to create more accurate and satisfactory work.
Keep your communication lines open: Make sure to respond promptly to any questions your designers may have for you. This helps avoid unnecessary delays that can hamper the smooth creation process of your projects.
Take advantage of the unlimited revisions: Fine-tune your designs using the unlimited revisions offered by graphic design subscription companies. Most of these services will revise until you get the designs you’ll be happy with.
Penji’s Graphic Design Subscription
Are you looking for the best graphic design subscription service? Here are our top picks!
- Penji
- Design Pickle
- Flocksy
Graphic Design Subscription Pricing
Most graphic design subscription rates are fixed monthly. You can cancel anytime without penalties or additional fees.
Some unlimited graphic design companies are on the higher end of the spectrum, with the lowest tier at $1,000. On the other hand, some affordable ones start at $500 and go up to $1,500 for the highest plan.
When comparing prices, ensure you’re considering the inclusions of your plan. Some plans charge extra for illustrations and web and app designs. On the flip side, you can get different designs in one package. Check out Penji’s plans and inclusions.
Why Penji?
If you need a one-stop shop for all designs, Penji should be at the top of your list! Aside from the inclusions and benefits I listed above, here are other perks of subscribing to Penji:
- Request over 120+ designs
- 24/7 customer support
- Dedicated design platform to submit design requests
- Point-and-click revision tool
- Swap designers
- Dedicated project managers (Team & Agency plans)
- 30-day money-back guarantee
Give Penji a try today! See how it works here.
