Creative design is a very specialized skill. This is why many businesses, particularly small ones, outsource their graphic and creative needs to design agencies. Small companies and startups struggle with limited resources, and outsourcing graphics, website and app design, etc., is a timesaver.
Before hiring a design agency, you must understand the types of design agencies and tips on finding and hiring one. This guide will help you hire the best agency that works best for your graphic and creative design needs.
What is a Design Agency?
A design agency focuses on the visual appearance of brands, products, and services. It assists businesses with creative, visually appealing designs and communications assets, both print and digital. In addition, a digital agency supports a company’s marketing initiatives, including sales, new product launches, campaigns, and more.
A design agency can handle a variety of projects depending on the client’s budget and scope of work. These are the following:
- Advertising materials like print ads, billboards, and social media ads
- Brand identity, including logos, colors, typography, and building cohesive brand guidelines
- Website design
- Digital assets, including social media posts, email templates, and banners.
- Sales collateral like business cards, brochures, flyers, presentations, pitch decks, etc.
- Digital assets like social media images, promotional emails, and banners.
Boost your online presence in 2025
Hire professional design team at Penji
Types of Design Agencies
With so many different types of design agencies out there, it might be hard to choose which one is right for your business. Check out the differences between agencies to help you decide:
- Graphic design agency: They typically develop visual communication materials for sales and marketing. Common deliverables can include logos, promotional materials, social media graphics, and more.
- Creative agency: A creative agency is sometimes mistaken as a graphic design agency. Creative firms often focus on a more high-level, strategic brand and visual identity. They work on more complicated campaigns or provide strategic directions instead of actually handling over deliverables.
- Branding agency: A branding agency provides in-depth insights, brand identity, and brand positioning. They assist businesses in developing overall brand mission, name, identity, structure, and sometimes messaging.
- Marketing agency: A marketing agency is more of a full-stack partner that supports the creation of marketing materials and campaigns. Generally, this type of agency develops the overall marketing strategy, launches campaigns, and assists in acquiring leads and sales. Other services might include pay-per-click ads management, SEO, brand design, and social media marketing.
- Advertising agency: An advertising agency works like a marketing agency, focusing on driving leads and sales to your business. However, advertising agencies typically specialize in creating and running ads across various channels, including online (social media, search), offline (print, TV), and other formats (banners). They create the advertising strategy, execute the campaign, and report on success.
- Web design agency: This agency can help you build a new website from the ground up, including wireframes, visuals, and development. They could also work on a retainer basis if you need monthly ad-hoc support making minor layout tweaks, HTML changes, or bug fixes.
How do you hire a design agency that fits your needs?
Working with a design agency provides numerous advantages. However, hiring a design agency that fits your business might be costly and only beneficial. Here are a few things to consider before you decide to hire a design agency:
Check the scope of service
Since many agencies exist today, you must know the services your prospective agencies offer. Do they provide assistance in developing a marketing strategy? Are copywriting services included in the scope of work?
Before working with an agency, consider what you can outsource and which tasks are better done in-house. For instance, you need an agency to help you develop a digital strategy, but you’ll keep the execution to your in-house team. Alternatively, you can work with agencies consistently and outsource all your digital marketing projects.
Do they work remotely or not?
Most clients prefer a personal experience with their brand and meeting the those who will work on their project. This is perfectly fine. However, it can become limiting and can considerably impact their budget. Expanding your search allows you to find a suitable agency for your business.
Whether you want a remote team or in-house designers, you should still know who is handling your account specifically. Every agency has an expert team who can assist you with your designs. We are not saying that entry-level designers will not deliver the best results. But for complicated requirements like user experience or website design, it’s better to collaborate with someone more experienced.
Prepare a request for proposal (RFP)
The client prepares a request-for-proposal (RFP) to explain every detail of the project. It enables the design agency to create a proposal with the timeline, deliverables, and budget.
You will need an RFP when you urgently need someone to create a new website for your company, hoping you will get the best deal. But without understanding your requirements, agencies cannot give you a precise cost and expected output. Without an RFP, you could incur additional charges and an unsatisfactory completed project.
Verify that they have a portfolio
Just like hiring other third-party service providers, it is crucial to know some of the agency’s previous works. This will help you understand their strenghts and weaknesses and aspects where your team might be a better match. Most design agencies have websites where you can browse previous projects according to industry and category. Sometimes, they even publish detailed case studies and review.
(insert screenshot of Penji portfolio)
For example, you can browse designs made by Penji here. Of course, you can search for additional reviews on popular review sites like G2 and TrustPilot.
Know their track record in the industry
Working with an agency with enough experience working with several companies and various projects is essential. It is very important that they are creative and can work well on whatever project they are assigned. They are professionals and can also bring new ideas to deliver the best results and help your business succeed and shine amidst stiff competition.
The best design agency alternative
Hiring a traditional design agency can be costly and time-consuming, especially for recurring graphic design needs. While a one-time project like a website redesign might justify the expense, the ongoing agency fees for daily graphics can quickly add up.
That said, think about this alternative before you decide to hire a design agency. Partner with an unlimited graphic design service like Penji for a more affordable and efficient solution. With Penji, you gain access to a team of professional designers for a predictable monthly fee, making it easy to achieve a consistent brand image and keep your creative projects moving forward. Watch a short demo video now to learn more about Penji!
