Marq Reviews for Designers: Streamlining Creative Workflows

Did you know that consistent presentation increases brands’ odds of growing visibility by 3 to 4 times? That means every single design you create matters.

Whether you’re a designer, marketing professional or business owner, you need the best tools to help you get your work done faster and more efficiently. You want the creative workflow to flow without repeated iterations, miscommunications and misaligned brand visuals. Enter: Marq.

In this article, you’ll read Marq reviews from real users and experts alike. You’ll discover how Marq is the ideal partner for any graphic design services and branding services you need. You’ll find pricing, pros/cons, features and verdicts. My goal is for you to have clarity by the end of the Marq reviews about whether Marq makes sense for your creative process. Let’s get started!

Marq Graphic Design Plans & Pricing

Marq offers a few pricing tiers to accommodate different needs.

Plan	Price / User	Key Limits or Inclusions
Free	$0	Basic features, basic templates, basic storage
Pro	$10 / user / month	Full design features, templates, increased storage
Team	$10 / user / month	Collaborative tools, versioning, more seats
Business / Enterprise	Custom / quote	Advanced features, brand controls, API, integrations

Notes & caveats:

• Pricing and features may differ over time.
• The Business/Enterprise tier is ideal for bigger teams with deeper needs (i.e., custom integrations).
• Some users in Marq reviews warn that certain advanced features (for approval workflows to in-depth version control) may not be available until higher tiers are reached.

You should weigh your needs (team size, collaboration, brand controls) when selecting a tier.

Marq Comparison

To see if Marq is right for you, it helps to compare it to alternatives or more traditional design workflows.

• Marq vs Canva/basic design tools\ Many designers compare Marq to Canva. However, Marq focuses on brand control and team collaboration abilities; in Marq reviews, people often say they appreciate the ability to “lock” elements so that others can’t break their brand.
• Marq vs hiring external design agencies\ If you regularly outsource your graphic design services or branding services, Marq can eliminate timelines, costs and back and forth; if you find yourself needing such assets on a regular basis either you or your internal team can achieve this faster with Marq.
• Marq vs full-featured software (e.g. Adobe InDesign)\ Marq does not aim to be a substitute for every capability of InDesign or Illustrator; Marq excels in templated and brand-safety web-based content workflows.

When comparing think about: 1) the need for consistent branding across assets 2) Team size and collaboration 3) The average number of revisions/approval needs and 4) DIY effort vs outsourcing.

Expert Review

Here’s an expert-style review of Marq based on collective user feedback, reviews and hands-on experience.

Pros

• Strong brand management and locking properties (you can lock fonts, colors, logo placements etc so people cannot stray from brand stipulations).
• Built-in collaboration multiple users can edit simultaneously or comment without losing any worked time.
• Good library of templates with flexible editing and brand-safe features.
• User-friendly, even for non-designers.
• Workflow abilities (versioning, approvals, access control).
• Cloud/web-based so no heavy client download is required.

Cons

• Some advanced features are only reserved for higher-level tiers (Enterprise).
• For ultra-custom designs (complex vector arts, deep layout controls), it’s less powerful than what might be created on a desktop design program.
• If there are many users or heavy asset needs, the price can get up there.
• New users may have a learning curve based on versioning approvals and locked elements (for empowering usage).

What graphic design services does Marq offer?

Beyond the platform itself, there are additional graphic design services offered through Marq (at higher levels). These include:

• Custom template creation—Marq’s team will help customize additional templates made purely for your brand.
• Brand package—logo, letterheads, social media templates, business cards etc.
• Advertisement, print, social media content—a created piece will be sent back within the Marq templates of choices.
• Smart templates—data-driven and lockable/collaborative customizable elements for your team’s reuse.

These offerings allow for high-quality professional materials even if design isn’t your forte!

Customer Support

Customer support is key when relying on a design platform; according to user feedback:

• Marq offers help desks, documentation, tutorials and guided demos.
• Higher tier plans get priority support; dedicated success managers may also exist in this space.
• For the Business/Enterprise levels custom workflows exist where onboarding support/training and integration assistance may be provided by Marq’s team.
• Some users note slower response times with lower tiers.

If support is critical to you, vet the plan you’ve signed up for once you’re in.

Features & Functionality

This section outlines all relevant features and functionality involved in the work Marq offers across various designs and workflows.

General Features

General features include quite a few options that enable consistent branded content creation with access controls. There are locking components as well so you ensure users don’t “break” segments that need to remain safe. Instead of burdening someone offering graphic design services for easy components like these it makes sense to collaborate within one tool. All-in-one platforms are great for reducing necessary logins throughout the day.

Intuitive Design Editor

• Drag-and-drop features.
• Layers, alignments, snapping controls/grouping capabilities.
• Easy image/text insertion with formatting.
• Similar command/elements to ones already familiar to other office/design applications used.

Template Library

• Access to thousands of templates (brochures, social posts, ads, posters, newsletters etc).
• Templates that are brand safe; as a designer one can lock elements so that non-designers cannot break them.
• Templates can be edited/fine-tuned based on branding needs as well.

Content Management

Users can manage content assets as images/logos/fonts/brand guidelines; these ensure that anyone creating new designs will have access to the appropriate assets that they need.

Collaboration Tools

Multiple tools can edit at once (commenting included). Version history can be respected with various approvals per draft; access permissions can lock who can edit/who cannot shared assets/libraries/team spaces exist as well. This includes storage capabilities to pull from a central space as needed.

Brand Management

Management tools include: central home hub for all things branding/assets/style guidelines/colors/fonts/etc locked components prevent essential element edits rules enforced prevent off-brand utilization.

This supports branding services because without consistency your visual identity will falter from project to project.

Customizable Templates

While the templates themselves are customizable they also boast the needed parts locked in place so branded guidelines aren’t sacrificed due to careless mistakes by collaborators.

Your team can give input without worrying about breaking rules which makes content creation harmonious instead of difficult.

Real-time Collaboration

This feature allows teams to work together simultaneously instead of back and forth among drafts; edits will show live as comments can be made within the drafts themselves from other viewers/readers great at getting something done quickly if needed.

Media Library

The media library is a centralized location to store images/icons/logos/all resources that teams will use repeatedly over time. Tagging/categorizing/search ability through it is essential in keeping things organized.

Version Control

Version control means every change is saved along the way; you can roll back if necessary. You can see who changed what when if others were also collaborating on this platform at the same time as you; there’s accountability if anything major happens but good news the mistake can always be avoided by rolling back into a previous version saved.

Approval Workflow

It helps keep quality intact when multiple people are involved as there can be a drawn out flow in which the designs are submitted through stages before approval Draft → Designer → Another Designer → Review → Finalized Draft gets submitted For Publication.

Portfolio & Experience

You could set up a portfolio space a place to show off previously completed works or gallery of templates available through internal presentation if you wish this is not necessary for the unique work itself but worthwhile if you’re seeking ideas from previously established projects.

Design Process

Your average process in Marq would be:

• Choose/select a template.
• Copy it or “instance” it for the campaign.
• Assign share elements/pages so different parts can be edited while locking down anything branded until established.
• Collaborate and ask for approvals/edits.
• Publish or export for print/PDF/social/etc.

How To Make A Design With Marq

• Log into Marq.
• Open your branded workspace.
• Select a template (or build one from scratch).
• Insert your logo/set your brand colors/fonts (if not already set).
• Add in text/image/graphics/elements.
• Share with team members/reviewers.
• Receive comments/edits.
• Approve/finalize/export into desired format (PDF/social/shareable link).

You don’t need to do it all alone collaborating and using approval/feedback tools help you get there faster!

Editing Features

Some editing features include:

• Text edits: fonts/sizes/colors/spacing
• Images: cropping/filtering/resizing/location
• Layers/grouping
• Alignment techniques/snapping/guides
• Locks and constraints
• Undo/Redo commands/history.

Performance

The performance relies on your internet connection as it’s web-based but for those using great connections:

• Templates load quickly/enough for most needs (loading draft creations).
• Files can slow things down if they’re too big/heavy with image assets.
• Version histories maybe take a moment to update per team but overall most users in Marq reviews report strong performance acceptable for working day-to-day through such a platform.

Ease Of Use

One of Marq’s strongest suits is how easy many users designers and non-designers alike report how quick it is to learn their way around! With a simple interface that’s intuitive utilizing the templates truly makes this process foolproof; even newer team members feel confident after some practice!

The caveat comes from further advanced components (version control or newer elements being locked) take further exploration/training tutorials.

Uniqueness

What’s unique about Marq?

1. The locking component/rule enforcement is stronger than many standard design applications out there.
2. The template + workflow + brand all exist in one area.
3. It’s built for teams and scale not just freelancers.
4. Its integration amongst enterprises/CMS systems/Digital Asset Management Systems support deeper use cases down the line!

It’s not just a design tool it’s a brand-enablement platform.

Conclusion

You now have a comprehensive overview of Marq reviews, pricing, comparisons, advantages, disadvantages, and major features. You’ve seen how it can facilitate graphic design services and branding services as one cohesive platform.

So if you’re prepared to streamline your design process, maintain consistent branding across the board, and enjoy collaborative benefits that the team can access without issue, then Marq is probably what you need. Begin with either the free or Pro plan and test things out with collaboration and locking before you need to expand.

I hope this guides you to the right decision, and if you seek assistance with setting up Marq or your design system, head to penji for more design-related help.

FAQs

1. Can I switch plans later if I outgrow my current Marq plan?
Sure. Upgrading higher tiers is permitted to access advanced features and more users.

2. Do I need prior design experience to use Marq?
No. Marq caters to beginners and experts alike; there are templates and editable materials that anyone can utilize.

3. Can Marq integrate with other business tools?
Yes. The enterprise version supports integration with CRMs, digital asset systems and more.

4. How many users can work on one project?
Multiple users can collaborate in real-time but on a team-by-team basis, depending on your plan.

5. Does Marq support print and digital outputs?
Yes. It supports access to export to PDF, JPEG, PNG or prepares you for print and digital content sharing.