How to Outsource Graphic Design in 2025 [+ Free Job Posting Template]

Outsource graphic design in 2025, and you’re not just hiring a designer—you’re unlocking the power of creativity without limits. 

In fact, data reveals that 47% of marketing professionals in 2022 reported outsourcing their graphic design needs.

In this guide, we’ll show you how to make the most of graphic design outsourcing—plus, you’ll get a free job posting template to kickstart your search.

Table of Contents

• Outsourcing Graphic Design for One-off Designs
• Outsourcing Graphic Design for Long-Term Work
• How to Request a Design Project with Outsourced Designers
• Who SHOULD NOT Outsource Graphic Design?
• Who SHOULD Outsource Graphic Design?
• Pros and Cons of Traditional Outsourcing
• How to Set a Budget for Outsourced Graphic Design
• How to Write a Good Job Posting for Outsourced Designers 
• FREE Job Posting Template
• How to Create a Successful Work Environment
• The Modern Way to Outsource: Unlimited Graphic Design
• Unlimited Graphic Design Results
• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Outsourcing Graphic Design for One-off Designs

If you’re a solo entrepreneur or just need a quick design done, consider these services for one-off graphic design. These options for outsourced graphic design services are the cheapest ways to outsource design services and don’t require any commitment from you.

• Fiverr: Fiverr has a ton of designers who can create designs for as low as $5. This is a good option if you just need a quick design done and can wait at least a week or two for the final design. Just remember… Though it’s a go-to for those looking for uber-affordable graphic design services, you get what you pay for.
  
• 99designs: 99designs is more upscale in terms of quality (and quite a bit pricier). If you need a more in-depth design, such as a logo, website, or app, 99designs is the ideal one-off solution. Expect to pay at least $300 for a logo and $600+ for a web or app design.

Outsourcing Graphic Design for Long-Term Work

If you’re hiring for long-term work and need professional graphic design solutions, your time and dollar investment is crucial. So, to help with your search, here’s our list of the best options to outsource design services.

• Penji: Yes… We have to shamelessly plug ourselves here. Penji is designed to take the stress out of vetting designers while ensuring high-quality work. Imagine paying one simple price to work with a design team specialized for every design you can come up with. Pretty good deal, right?
  
• Upwork: While Penji has its own team ready to go, the rest of these sites help connect you to freelance designers for long-term work. Upwork tends to specialize in development and IT freelancers, but they have a solid directory of graphic designers for a variety of budgets.
  
• Freelancer.com: If you want to hire freelance graphic designers, this job marketplace can connect you to TONS of service providers. For long-term outsourcing, however, it can be a bit tricky to find the exact designer for your business needs.
  
• Guru: Like with Upwork, graphic designers aren’t Guru’s top specialty. They still have a strong pool of global design talent, which you can access by requesting quotes or posting a job listing.
  
• Toptal: This is the perfectionist’s choice for outsourcing graphic design. To be fair, with a pool of remote graphic design freelancers mostly based in Europe and North America, it might be cheating to call it “outsourcing.” Still, this service can guarantee top-of-the-line designers, making them perfect for in-depth and high-level projects.

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How to Request a Design Project with Outsourced Designers

Before you start working with outsourced designers, graphic design agencies, or service providers, you should assess exactly what designs you need. With an unlimited service, you don’t need to have a list prepared, but it’s still helpful to know what you expect from your designer(s).

Think of all the visual elements you need right now and designs you’ll likely need in the future. To outsource graphic design work in the long term, a systematic workflow is essential. Get it together now so you won’t have to do it later.

For companies on the rise, a logo and branding package can be a great place to start. Once you have your colors, fonts, and brand identities in order, it’ll be easier to plan out the rest of your designs.

What to Include in Your Design Request:

• Dimensions
• File type (JPG, PNG, etc.)
• Detailed description
• Colors (exact hex codes are a plus)
• Visual references
• Text copy
• Fonts
• High-resolution elements to include (if needed)

When choosing on-demand online graphic design services, your design brief is crucial to ensure you get the designs you need. Penji offers a user-friendly platform that guides you through the process – from submitting designs to revisions to downloading source files. A detailed request ensures that you receive your final designs quicker, allowing your graphic designers to move on to the next project.

Who SHOULD NOT Outsource Graphic Design?

Not all businesses need enough designs to make outsourcing worthwhile.

Your business would have to constantly need graphic design work done if you want to consider the option to outsource graphic design. If you just need to hire a logo designer, or another one-off project, finding a freelancer may be the better option.

There are additional costs you may not have considered.

On the surface, outsourcing seems like a much cheaper option than hiring in-house designers. But using outsourced graphic design can involve administrative overhead and a more complex vetting process.

Not every solution will be right for you.

Before signing up for any type of design outsourcing, be sure that what they’re offering matches what you need. The wrong team can actually harm your business’ growth. For instance, you might need a team that knows email marketing, not just one that can design a graphic for an email.

Who SHOULD Outsource Graphic Design?

It’s a common misconception that the only companies that outsource are the ones that can’t afford their own in-house team. In truth, outsourcing is most effective for established brands, many of whom also have an in-house graphic design team.

Outsourcing their design allows their in-house designers to focus on the big picture. If you’re paying a team of designers to work in your office, on your brand, every day, you don’t want to burden them with every social media and email graphic your company needs.

Some of the most common types of companies that outsource graphic design include:

• Ad agencies: Ad agencies constantly need content for Google, Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter, Instagram, digital and print ads. When you factor in A/B testing, it’s more than one design team can handle.
• Marketing agencies: Like advertisers, marketing agencies often have a surplus of day-to-day design work that they outsource.
• Web design agencies: Web design isn’t always as simple as creating one design. A website is a collection of dozens of designs and illustrations combined into one form, sometimes with outside help.
• Marketing teams: Marketing teams within companies can have high expectations and strict deadlines. If you need deliverables, outsourcing can help ensure you get it all done.
• Established companies and startups: If your company’s scale is growing or grown, it’s easy for your design team to get overwhelmed. Outsource graphic design to discover new content opportunities for established brands or scale your output to meet ever-changing demand.

Pros and Cons of Traditional Outsourcing

Pros:

• Labor cost: This is one of the biggest benefits of outsourcing graphic design—and its biggest controversy.
• Scalable: If your business needs are constantly changing, a good outsourcing process can help you meet demand.
• Talent pool: You can select designers from all over the world, opening opportunities for talent you may not be able to find locally.

Cons:

• Management: Managing your design team is that much harder from across the globe. Between hiring, HR, currency exchange, and potential legal issues, outsourcing can require a great deal of administrative upkeep.
• Lack of control: You can do all the vetting you want, but at the end of the day, if a designer isn’t delivering on time—or isn’t delivering at all—you might not even know it.
• Culture shock: If you’re creating designs for ad campaigns or social media, you may need to keep up with trends. Some elements of culture can get lost in translation when working with a designer from a different country.
• Communication: Communication will be hit or miss. Different schedules and physical distance may prevent you from keeping tabs on your designers, so it can be harder to tell what they’re working on or if they’re having trouble with anything.
• Internal conflict: Outsourcing may be fairly commonplace, but it’s still controversial. If you also have an in-house design team, it will take a delicate hand to reassure them that they’re not being replaced.

How to Set a Budget for Outsourced Graphic Design

Budgets for graphic design can require a ton of guesswork. The same project might cost $60 in one case and $200 in another. But for outsourcing work, it’s important to know your limits and set a consistent monthly, quarterly, or annual budget.

The easiest way to outsource graphic design at a consistent budget is by using an unlimited graphic design service like Penji. By paying a flat monthly rate, you can get all the designs you need and ensure that you never go over budget.

If you choose to hire designers directly, the process can be a bit more complicated. Still, setting a realistic budget can make the hiring process much smoother. At the lowest scale, a freelancer may charge $15-35/hr, but a highly experienced designer may cost you $45-150/hr.

One thing you never want to do is undershoot your budget. If you always go with the cheapest option, you’ll end up with a cheap business. By investing in quality, you can pass that quality on to consumers through visually stunning designs. If you’re a rising startup in need of cost-effective, scalable design options, an unlimited design service is the perfect solution.

How to Write a Good Job Posting for Outsourced Designers

Putting the job posting up is the easy part. You’ll soon receive countless applications to weed through. But to find the right designer, you need to start with a quality job posting. If it doesn’t accurately describe the job, you’ll be swarmed with candidates who aren’t a good fit for your company. Here’s an example of what NOT to do.

Bad job posting example:

Listing Title: Need a graphic designer

Body: We’re looking for a talented graphic designer to join our team and help us design marketing materials, ads, promotional flyers, websites, and occasionally logos. The designer must be talented, flexible, know how to use a wide variety of programs, and be able to work in a team environment. You will need your own computer and be able to work from home. If this job description fits you, feel free to apply by emailing us at [email protected].

Why is this job posting so bad? 

• Vague headline
• Vague description
• Missing job requirements
• Not enough information for an applicant to determine their own eligibility

Good job posting example:

Listing title: UX/UI designer needed for full-time employment

Body: We’re seeking talented graphic designers to work with our existing team to design a better customer experience for our support platform. This is a full-time position where you will be working with a team of designers and a project manager. You will be assigned a UX/UI project and expected to complete deliverables each week and publish results. All work must be completed using Sketch App. This is a salary position, NOT an hourly role. You will receive consistent monthly pay and bonuses based on your performance.

Position: Full Time
Hours: Daytime & Nighttime shifts
Schedule: Monday – Saturday
Pay: 1st and 15th of every month

SKILLS REQUIRED:

• English
   – Proficient Speaking
   – Proficient Writing

• Graphics & Multimedia
   – Adobe InDesign
   – Graphics Editing
   – Illustrator
   – Logo Design
   – Photoshop
   – Print Design
   – Shirt Design
   – Web Page Design

HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS: 

1. Good computer/laptop with sufficient computing power (cannot crash frequently)
2. Solid internet, minimum of 25Mbps
3. Strong communication skills (English)

SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS:

– InDesign
– Illustrator
– Photoshop
– Sketch (bonus)

QUALITIES WE LIKE TO SEE:

– Passion for what you do
– A drive to succeed
– Pride in your work
– Willingness to learn new skills

HOW TO APPLY

– Must read the job description thoroughly and make sure you qualify
– Email us at [email protected] with your resume attached. Make the subject “[Your name] – Graphic Designer Application.”
– Send this as an introductory message: “Hi my name is _____ applying for the Graphic Designer position. I learned about the job from ____. I have ___ years of design experience. Here’s a link to my portfolio: https://_________”. Please send this exact message and fill in the blanks. Otherwise, we will not respond to you.

Why is this job posting good? 

• Clear headline
• A clear and informative description
• Detailed job requirements
• Enough information for an applicant to assess if they’re right for the role before they apply
• Specific instructions to weed out applicants who didn’t thoroughly read the description

FREE Job Posting Template

Hiring the right graphic designer doesn’t have to be complicated. Use this free job posting template to attract skilled professionals who can deliver high-quality designs tailored to your brand’s needs.

Job Title: Outsourced Graphic Designer

Job Description: We’re seeking a [desdscription] graphic designer to join our team on [hiring and work arrangement, e.g., remote, project-based, etc.) basis. As our outsourced graphic designer, you’ll create [deliverables] designs that align with our brand and resonate with our audience.

Responsibilities: (Feel free to add, delete, or modify the items)

• Create custom graphic design, including [e.g., logos, marketing materials, social media posts, etc.].
• Collaborate with the team to understand project goals and deliver on time.
• Ensure designs meet brand guidelines and project specifications.
• Revise and refine designs based on feedback.

Requirements: (Feel free to add, delete, or modify the items)

• Proven experience in graphic design with a strong portfolio.
• Proficiency in design software, specifically [design tools, e.g., Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, etc.).
• Excellent communication and time-management skills.
• Availability to work on [specific time zones, as needed].

Preferred Qualifications: (Feel free to add, delete, or modify the items)

• Experience in [your industry, e.g., ecommerce, fashion, tech, etc.].
• Familiarity with branding and marketing strategies.
• Knowledge of web design or animation (optional).

How to Apply:

Please submit your resume, portfolio, and a brief cover letter explaining why you’re the perfect fit for this role to [email or platform]. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, so apply early to stand out!

How to Create a Successful Work Environment

If you plan to outsource graphic design to graphic design companies or someone you’ve never met and may never meet in person, trust is essential. That’s why you need to set up the right infrastructure for communication and stability.

Graphic design is an industry full of fleeting, unrewarding freelance gigs. If you want a committed design team, you need to show them that you’re committed to them. Set up onboarding, walk them through what your business does, and be available when they need you and create a regular schedule for success.

In the recent past (and present), unscrupulous companies used outsourcing as a cheap way to evade labor laws and cut their domestic team. The last thing your business wants is to develop that kind of reputation. Your company values shouldn’t be bound by physical borders. Ensure that your outsourced design team is paid fairly, treated respectfully, and feels like they’re part of a company—not just a project.

The Modern Way to Outsource: Unlimited Graphic Design

Every year, new solutions are helping companies work more efficiently. Today, rather than hiring their own outsourced graphic designers, many top brands pursue an even simpler solution: unlimited graphic design services.

Trusted by thousands of brands and agencies, Penji is the right way to outsource graphic design in 2025. Compared to direct outsourcing, Penji offers:

• Simple pricing: You don’t have to worry about time, workload, and other factors affecting the cost for great designs. Pay the same price every month and get all the designs your business needs.
• Hiring made easy: Job postings? Interviews? Background checks? Onboarding? We’ve done all the work for you. Our world-class team of designers is ready to handle any task.
• 1-2 day turnaround: With dozens of graphic designers on the team, you can rest easy knowing that your project always gets top priority.
• Money back guarantee: If you’re not satisfied with Penji’s service in the first 30 days, you can get your money back and keep all the designs that are already completed.

Unlimited Graphic Design Results

When you become too reliant on B2B services, it can feel like your business is losing its unique character. Penji works hard to ensure that our designs are the right fit for your brand. You can create a brand file with colors, fonts, logos, and style guides so that our designers can learn your branding needs inside and out.

Curious about Penji’s designs? Here are a few examples of the different types of graphic design we offer.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Looking to outsource graphic design? Penji can help! View a video demo today and see why outsourcing design is the best decision you’ll make for your business.