Should You Hire a Graphic Designer or Use Design as a Service?

TL;DR: Hire a graphic designer if you want steady control and collaboration, work with a design-as-a-service if you need fast, scalable, cost-effective graphic design services.

You may not be aware of it, but 94% of first impressions about a business are tied directly to design. This means design is not just decoration, as some business owners see it. Design fuels growth, boosts conversions, and differentiates you from all that noise. Here is where many marketing teams hit a wall. Do you hire a graphic designer or use something innovative as a design-as-a-service? Let’s find out.

Why Businesses Still Hire a Graphic Designer?

Bringing a graphic designer on board has been the standard for many businesses, it’s what everyone has grown accustomed to. It gave them that hands-on control, a designer who’s deep into your brand’s DNA, crafting visuals that match your identity perfectly.

For long-haul projects like a brand redesign or a new website look, hiring a graphic designer makes the most sense. However, many entrepreneurs weren’t prepared for the sky-high costs (salaries, software subscriptions, benefits, and other overhead expenses). So, when an innovation emerged in the form of design-as-a-service, many business owners have since outsourced graphic design this way.

What is Design-as-a-Service?

Often called DaaS, design-as-a-service is a subscription-based business model that is growing so fast that many businesses now use it as their go-to design solution. With it, you’ll pay a fixed monthly fee to get unlimited access to a dedicated design team. It’s like Netflix, but for graphic design: you get as many design assets as you need without the per-project quotes, just a steady stream of creatives tailored to your brand.

If you’ve worked with freelancers or with a traditional design agency, you’ll instantly feel the difference. Freelancers can sometimes juggle gigs and may gaslight you to prioritize higher-paying clients. In addition, traditional agencies are no better with their high retainers and slow processes.

​That said, design-as-a-service provides on-demand graphic design services at a lower cost, with faster delivery times and fresh content, without the hiring headaches.

Hire vs. Subscribe: A Side-by-Side Comparison

Let’s have a quick breakdown using a few key factors to help you decide whether to hire a graphic designer or work with a graphic design service:

​Cost Efficiency

• When you hire a graphic designer, be ready to pay salaries that average $53,000 yearly, not including benefits, tools, and overhead. Expect this to go up with raises or idle time.
• Subscriptions offer flexible spend, about $1K to $5K per month for unlimited outputs through outsourcing graphic design models, cutting your costs by 40-60% for teams crafting over 10 assets weekly.

Speed and Turnaround

• One in-house designer will juggle priorities, leading to bottlenecks and up to 7-day waits during crunch times.
• A subscription team can deliver within 24 to 48 hours to keep your workflow smoothly moving.

Scalability

• A freelancer’s bandwidth will set the ceiling, which takes you back to recruiting once growth or seasonal demands hit.
• Here is where a graphic design service shines. The unlimited design requests will adapt effortlessly to your busy seasons or quiet months at no extra cost.

Skill Range

• A solo hire means only one niche, which limits diversity, which is crucial during trend shifts. You can’t expect one designer to master all design genres.
• A subscription team has various specialties, including logo design, motion graphics, and even illustration. You can get them all without hiring or training.

When Should You Hire a Graphic Designer?

If you want to know if and when you should hire a graphic designer, ask yourself this: Do I need someone molded into my daily chaos, or can plug-and-play options do? Knowing this now helps you avoid budget traps and project stalls, so go for in-house when:

​You need a dedicated creative partner: That go-to person who sleeps and breathes your visuals without divided loyalties.

• Your business needs deep collaboration: Real-time syncs with your sales, product, and other team members.
• Your design needs are consistent and predictable: You need a steady stream of designs.
• You want a long-term design partner: Build a design team that evolves with your brand.

If you checked one, two, or all of these, hiring a graphic designer is for you, otherwise, it’s time to explore graphic design subscriptions.

When is Design-as-a-Service the Better Option?

On the flip side, how would you know if a design-as-a-service is what you need? Jump into one when:

• You need fast, ongoing design support with no delays: Your requests will be turned into polished files in 24 to 48 hours.
• You want to outsource graphic design without compromising quality: A dedicated team that can match your brand style, say goodbye to flaky freelancers, and hello to pro-level creative work.
• Your workload is unpredictable, sometimes high-volume, other times low: If you experience spikes during the holidays, an on-demand graphic design service can scale effortlessly without hiring more people or paying for idle time.
• You need access to diverse design talent: Whether you need a logo designer, an illustrator, or a motion graphics artist, keep your visuals fresh and varied without hiring unreliable freelancers or paying high agency retainers.

How to Choose the Right Graphic Design Service

Choosing between hiring a graphic designer or working with a design-as-a-service doesn’t have to be a nerve-wracking decision. All you need to do is check your reality: budget, workload, and skill gaps. These will guide you in selecting without leaving you regretting the choice a few months in:

A quick decision framework:

• Budget: Is it tight, or is your cash flow variable? Go for a design subscription if your budget says $1K to $5K a month, no hidden fees. In-house is the better option if you can easily swing $55K+ yearly without batting an eyelash.
• Volume of work: If you have that steady need for visuals, hire a graphic designer. If you experience a feast or famine type of workload spikes, an on-demand graphic design service is your best bet.
• Variety vs. the need for specialization: If you will only need one specific design genre, build your internal team. For rotating experts, such as web design, motion, or print, a design-as-a-service gives you the full toolbox.

A quick and simple checklist:

• Can I predict how many designs I need in a month? > Subscription.
• Will I be doing a lot of collaboration and brand immersion? > Hire.
• Is my budget under the $5K/month mark with variable volume? > DaaS.
• Want a long-term internal creative team? > In-house.
• Need diverse skills without training? > Graphic design services.

Final Thoughts

You shouldn’t be torn about which to choose: hire a graphic designer or use a design-as-a-service to grow your business. If you’re looking for a consistent team, a designer will work, but if you require speed, scalability, and cost-efficiency, a design-as-a-service will do wonders. Run through that checklist, match it to your needs, and see your brand pop minus the guesswork.

This is where Penji comes in: it offers a wide range of graphic design services that can transform your brand. Click here to see what we can do for you, and better yet, click here to submit your first design request today.

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