If you're a business owner or a marketer, you know that visual content is a crucial aspect of your brand. But creating that content can be time-consuming and costly. That's where creative outsourcing comes in. By hiring a professional graphic designer, you can free up time and resources to focus on other areas of your work.
In fact, according to recent graphic design statistics, 22% of marketers report spending five to 10 hours creating visual content, while an astounding 29% spend over 20 hours. Outsourcing a graphic designer could help you increase productivity in other aspects of your work, allowing you to concentrate on high-ROI activities.
In this article, we'll take a look at everything you need to know about graphic design outsourcing, from understanding what graphic designers do to a list of services they offer. So, sit back, relax and get ready to learn how outsourcing graphic design can help you create stunning visuals and grow your online brand.
What is graphic design outsourcing?
Graphic design outsourcing is the practice of hiring a third-party professional or agency to handle all or part of a company's graphic design needs. This can include tasks such as creating logos, designing marketing materials, and developing websites.
In recent years, there has been a growing trend of companies outsourcing their graphic design work for a variety of reasons. One of the main reasons is cost-effectiveness. Outsourcing graphic design can be more cost-effective than hiring an in-house team, especially for small businesses or those with limited budgets.
Another reason for the growing trend is access to a wider pool of talent and specialized expertise. When a company outsources, they can choose from a larger pool of professionals with different skill sets and specializations. This allows companies to access the best talent for their specific needs.
The advancements in technology and internet connectivity have made it easier to communicate and collaborate with professionals from different parts of the world. The rise of remote work has also led to a growing trend of outsourcing graphic design and digital design work.
In addition, businesses are increasingly recognizing the value of having a strong visual identity and are investing more in design. Partnering with graphic design outsourcing companies can bring a fresh perspective and a unique approach to a company's visual branding.
What is an outsourced graphic designer?
An outsourced graphic designer is a professional or agency that is hired by a business to handle all or part of their outsourcing design services. These professionals can be freelancers or part of a larger agency and are typically experts in areas such as graphic design, branding, and visual communication.
An outsourced graphic designer can help businesses streamline their creative production by taking on various design tasks and projects, such as creating logos, designing marketing materials, and developing websites. Graphic design outsourcing allows businesses to focus on their core operations and frees up time and resources for other important tasks.
Outsourced graphic designers also bring specialized expertise and a fresh perspective to a business's visual branding. They can help businesses create a consistent visual identity across all their marketing materials, which can lead to increased brand recognition and customer loyalty.
Moreover, an outsourced graphic designer can also help businesses stay up-to-date with the latest design trends and technologies. They can also help with the creation of graphics and visual elements that are optimized for different platforms, such as social media, websites, and print materials.
Graphic design contractor or in-house graphic designer: Which one should you hire?
Both hiring a graphic design contractor and hiring an in-house graphic designer can help businesses save on staffing costs, but they have different advantages and disadvantages.
Hiring a graphic design contractor can save businesses more on staffing costs in the short-term, as they typically work on a project-by-project basis and are only paid for the work they complete. This can be more cost-effective for businesses that only require occasional design work, or for those with limited budgets.
Additionally, hiring a graphic design contractor allows businesses to have access to a wider pool of talent, and specialized expertise, which can be beneficial for specific projects. They also don't have the additional costs of benefits, office space, and equipment.
On the other hand, hiring an in-house graphic designer can save businesses more on staffing costs in the long-term, as they are typically salaried employees. This can be more cost-effective for businesses that require a consistent and ongoing flow of design work.
An in-house graphic designer can also provide a more dedicated and consistent service to a business, and can build a deeper understanding of the company's brand and visual identity. This can lead to a more cohesive visual branding across all marketing materials.
However, it’s important to note that hiring an in-house graphic designer comes with recurring employee benefits. If you don’t want to spend your money on HMO, insurance, allowance, paid leaves, then you may consider outsourcing creative services.
Overall, it depends on the business's specific needs and budget. A business that has a consistent and ongoing flow of design work, would benefit more from an in-house designer, but if the business has a limited budget and only requires occasional design work, then hiring a graphic design contractor may be the more cost-effective option.
What services do graphic designers offer?
A graphic designer can offer a wide range of creative design services to help a business, including but not limited to:
- Branding: Developing and implementing a consistent visual identity across all marketing materials, including logos, typography, and color schemes.
- Marketing materials: Designing marketing materials such as brochures, flyers, posters, and billboards to promote products or services.
- Website design: Working on how to improve web designs that are optimized for different devices and platforms.
- Social media graphics: Designing graphics and visual elements for social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to increase engagement and reach.
- Product packaging design: Designing packaging for products such as food, beauty, and consumer goods.
- Illustration: Creating illustrations for use in various mediums, such as websites, packaging, and children's books.
- Infographics: Designing visually engaging and informative graphics that present complex information in an easy-to-understand format.
- Motion graphics: Designing and animating graphics for use in videos and other digital media.
- Photography and Photo editing: Photography and product photo editing can be used in different materials such as brochures, websites, and social media.
- Print design: Designing graphics and layouts for use in print materials such as magazines, newspapers, and books.
This list of creative design services is not exhaustive and a graphic designer may have a specific set of skills and expertise that they can offer to a business. It's important for a business to communicate their specific needs and goals in order to find the right designer that can help them achieve their objectives.
What are the top 3 industries that employ graphic designers?
Graphic designers are employed in a wide range of industries, but some of the top industries that employ graphic designers are:
Advertising and Marketing
Graphic designers in this industry create visual concepts, using computer software or by hand, to communicate ideas that inspire, inform, or captivate consumers. They develop the overall layout and production design for advertisements, brochures, magazines, and corporate reports.
Media and Entertainment
Graphic designers in this industry create designs for movie posters, book covers, video game packaging, and other forms of entertainment media. They work closely with art directors, writers, and other members of the creative team to ensure that designs align with the overall concept or theme of the project.
Publishing
Graphic designers in the publishing industry create designs for books, magazines, and newspapers. They work closely with editors, writers, and other members of the creative team to ensure that designs align with the overall concept or theme of the publication. They also design layouts, illustrations, charts, and photographs for articles and advertisements.
These are just some of the top industries that employ graphic designers, but designers can also work in several other fields such as web design, packaging, product design, and many more.
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ManilaPros, a leading Philippine-based full-service outsourcing company, offers five-star customer care for retailers. We'll provide you with vetted and trained customer support Pros who specialize in capturing the essence of what your customers want and translating that into design and customer service language.
Book a call with us today to learn more about our retail customer care services.
