How To Outsource Graphic Design Effectively

Outsourcing graphic design can be one of the best business decisions you can make. Still, before you take the leap, make sure you understand the different outsourcing options you can choose from and which one works best for you. 

Graphic design is an integral part of your business. From branding to marketing design, the creation of professional visual elements helps you build your brand image, advertise your business and profits. So, hiring a professional graphic designer is a must.

However, with an average salary of $5,000 a month, plus administrative costs, an in-house graphic designer is something most small businesses and startups can’t afford. Outsourcing helps you cut business costs and access specific skills.

When it comes to graphic design outsourcing you have several options.

1. Freelance designers 
2. Graphic design subscriptions
3. Design contests
4. Design agencies

Traditional design agencies are very expensive, and usually entail hiring an entire external design team (art directors, project managers, graphic designers, UI designers, illustrators, etc.). Although it’s a great option for those who can afford it, it’s not really a way to save money, which is one of the primary reasons to outsource design work.

So, in this next section we’ll focus on other types of graphic design outsourcing.

Best places to outsource graphic design

1. ManyPixels

If you’re looking for a simple, inexpensive design outsourcing solution, the design-as-a-service model is the perfect choice.

With these companies, you pay a flat monthly fee for unlimited design requests and revisions.

Scope of services differs from company to company. ManyPixels, a leading unlimited design company, has an extensive scope of services that includes brand design, illustrations, print and digital ads, social media, web design, motion graphics, and much, much more.

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You can choose between 4 pricing plans, designed for small businesses and big marketing teams. Our subscription plans starting at just $599 a month also include assistance from professional project managers that help the design process run smoothly. 

2. Superside

Superside is also a design subscription service, however a bit different. It’s closer to a traditional graphic design agency, both in price and pricing model.

Subscriptions range between $6,000 and $100,000 a month and are calculated based on your design needs. All subscriptions include access to all creative services, unlimited storage and multiple brands.

Superside is definitely not the most affordable solution for small businesses. However, if you’re thinking about hiring a design agency, Superside might offer a more long-term solution for your design needs.

3. Design Pickle

Like ManyPixels, Design Pickle is one of the pioneers of on-demand graphic design. They have a huge team of 100+ designers and an impressive portfolio. They process over 10,000 design requests daily, so they definitely know a thing or two about efficient design.

Their subscription plans start at $1,350 per month, for up to 2 hours of work per day. So, again they’re not the most affordable solution. However, if you know what you need and can provide clear and actionable feedback and briefings, Design Pickle will be a great addition to your creative team.

4. Kimp

If you’re interested in video creation services, Kimp is a great inexpensive option to explore. This on-demand design service has two separate monthly packages for graphic design and video production services. There’s also a third plan that combines both of these, at $1,195 a month.

Since animation is often rather expensive with freelance graphic designers, their $799 monthly subscription for video editing, animation and motion graphics services is a great bargain.

5. Penji

Penji is yet another unlimited design company, with a great list of services, reviews and an affordable monthly pricing plan suitable for businesses of all sizes.

Penji is slightly more expensive than most unlimited design services, with plans starting at $1,000 per month. However, many design services (e.g. website design, Canva designs, infographics, ad creatives, pitch decks) are only available with more expensive plans, starting at $2,000 per month.

One unique aspect of Penji’s offer is the free plan for nonprofits. 

6. Growmodo

Growmodo is another subscription-based service with a strong focus on web development as well as graphic design. So, if your creative needs are primarily in website design and development, Growmondo is worth checking out. 

Understandably, their monthly plans are on the higher-end, starting at $1,995. There are several other plans for those wishing to scale up, although it’s not quite clear what the difference is.

For those that need website maintenance, they also offer a retainer plan at $395 per month. 

7. 99 Designs

99Designs  s a company that popularized graphic design contests. This means clients can submit a project proposal and receive ideas from a huge community of designers. If they like something, they can purchase the design.

As you might expect this can be a fantastic solution for smaller projects (and often much faster than posting a job on a freelancing platform). However, when it comes to more complex projects, such as a logo or website, this approach usually doesn’t yield the desired results, as these designs often require a lot more information and iterations. 

99Designs also allows you to hire designers, and the process is fairly similar to other freelance platforms like Fiverr and Upwork. 

8. Designity

Designity is different from most other unlimited design services, as it only employs US-based creatives. For this reason they also have much higher prices, starting at $3,495 a month. 

Another reason is that they also offer integrated marketing services, such as SEO optimization, email marketing, content marketing and more.

The monthly subscription gives you quite a decent number of hours (100 per month) and a creative director to help you set up your design strategy. However, most creative services are only included in the higher tier plans. For example, if you’re looking for custom illustrations, be prepared to pay at least $5,495 a month. 

If you’re just looking to outsource graphic design, Designity might not be the best or most affordable solution. However, if you want all the capabilities of a marketing agency at a much lower cost, it’s a great option. 

9. Upwork

Upwork is one of the biggest freelancing sites in the world, and so one of the best places to hire freelance designers.

There’s no shortage of fantastic candidates here, from versed professionals charging upwards of $150 per hour, to talented beginners with rates under $20 per hour.

Upwork is a great place to outsource design, if you know exactly what you’re looking for and how much you want to spend. Most designers limit the number of revisions included in the project price, while hourly rates mean that extra revisions will cost more.

So, before you start a very long and detailed search for the perfect candidate, it’s a good idea to create some sort of a long-term design strategy. This will help you avoid unnecessary expenses, and find the optimal design outsourcing solution for your business.

10. Fiverr

Fiverr has just as an extensive talent pool as Upwork, although arguably a less intricate vetting system. The specifics are more or less the same, although you might want to read up on topics like common scams to avoid disappointment. 

Fiverr charges a fixed 20% commission rate on all projects for freelancers. So you might find that the less complex projects are more expensive than on Upwork, while bigger projects (e.g. website design) are more affordable. 

11. Behance

Behance is the best known portfolio platform, for all sorts of visual artists - from architects, to digital painters and, yes, graphic designers. If you have a specific project in mind, you can browse through Behance to find a collaborator with the right skills and style to match. 

Bear in mind that many designers that have full-time employment still use the platform for their work, so they might not all be available for freelance work. 

You can also browse through freelancers for hire and send them your project details. Once you receive a proposal you’ll have to make a downpayment through Stripe.

12. Dribbble

Similar to Behance, Dribbble is a design site for freelancers to showcase their work. Many design companies also have profiles on Dribbble, so it’s also a great place to explore their portfolios too. 

You can hire freelancers or post jobs on the platform for a monthly fee of $150. 

‍The downside of platforms like Dribbble and Behance is that you have to do all the work yourself - from finding a freelancer and vetting them, to creating and agreeing on the terms and conditions.

Why outsource graphic design

More than a passing trend, outsourcing is quickly becoming the norm for most businesses in the US: in January 2023, Clutch reported that 83% of businesses were planning to maintain or increase their spending on outsourced services. According to 2019 data, over a third (37%) of small businesses are outsourcing at least one operation, and over a half planned to do so. 

According to Deloitte’s 2022 outsourcing survey, these are top reasons for outsourcing: 

• Costs reduction (57%)
• Flexibility (51%)
• Access to specific skills (49%)

So what does this mean in the world of graphic design outsourcing?

As we’ve demonstrated, . Hiring an in house designer will set you back at least $5,000 a month. Working with freelance designers and unlimited design services comes at a fraction of that cost (usually below $1,000 a month)

There are many types of graphic design and it’s impossible for one person to be a master of them all. Designing a user-friendly app interface requires a totally different skill set than creating a custom illustration, or a trendy social media post. When you outsource design, you can always have the best person for each design project.

Finally, with modern design solutions you never have to worry about fixed contracts. Scale up or down as you go, and always have high quality designs, for whatever purpose. 

Why you shouldn’t outsource graphic design

There’s no getting around the importance of graphic design. However, in some cases hiring a person from the outside simply isn’t a good idea. Here’s when business owners shouldn’t outsource graphic design:

You’re building a company culture.

If you already have your own design team and want to get some extra help from the outside, make sure everyone is on the same page first. If your own employees feel threatened by the prospect, don’t do it: studies show that stress in the workplace can increase resignations by 50%. Don’t lose your team spirit or your team just because you wanted to save some money!

You can’t retain ownership of your brand.

It’s perfectly fine to outsource technical, administrative, and yes—even creative tasks. But remember that you need to be in control of your brand (image). If someone else is planning, writing and designing for your brand, eventually it will stop being your brand.

Take Apple’s example instead: while most of their manufacturing is outsourced, the core design is still done in-house. Anyone can make a smartphone; only Apple can make it an iPhone.

You can’t help micromanaging.

No one wants to admit they micromanage, but still, some people do it. If you don’t want to call it by this ugly name, at least think carefully about how comfortable you are with design happening out of sight. If it’s just going to make you more doubtful and stressed than usual, spare everyone the frustration and stick to hiring an in-house design team.

Which design outsourcing option should you choose?

Now that we’ve covered the main pros and cons of different design outsourcing options, we’ll try to give you an idea of what might be the best option for you.

Although it’s unlikely you’ll only ever need just one design, if you want some outside help to your in-house team freelancers are probably going to deliver the best ratio of quality and affordability.  You might get very lucky with a design contest, but it’s best to take it first as a brainstorming step, rather than expect polished designs right away.

If you need designs done regularly, the only sensible options are hiring an in-house designer or an unlimited graphic design service. A single designer will likely be a bit more expensive and won’t necessarily have all the skills for different types of projects, but they will have a deep understanding of your brand and target audience, so they can be a good fit for small local businesses.

An unlimited graphic design service is a great option for both smaller businesses looking to save on design, as well as teams and agencies who need diverse, quality designs delivered fast.

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Finally, if you want to tackle a really big project, like a global rebrand or a complete website design from scratch (including web development) hiring an agency can be worth your while.

Ready to outsource with ManyPixels?

We hope this guide helps you find the right way to get professional graphic design for your business. 

You can also find a quick overview of different design outsourcing solutions in our comparison hub.

If you’ve decided that unlimited design services are right for you - we’re here to help!

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With ManyPixels you can get all your design needs sorted, for as little as $599 a month! Or, if you have a large-scale enterprise, get started with our Design Team subscription and get a whole team of designers working almost exclusively for your brand. 

Do you have additional questions? We’d love to hear from you! Book a time that suits you for a free consultation.