The importance of having quality graphic design

You want to capture the attention of your target audience, don’t you? Well, so does your competition.  

To stand out from the pack, you must ensure that your content is a perfect blend of compelling copy and attention-grabbing visuals. Great visuals are an essential aspect of any marketing communication.

Your audience may not recall every word of a blog article or social media post but will remember the creative imagery portrayed by a visually compelling graphic design. According to research, people only remember 20% of what they read but retain 80% of visual information. And that in itself is a win.

Compelling graphic design combines human visual perception with human psychology to attract your audience and keep them engaged.  

Outsourcing your design work

Outsourcing has been around for a long time and has become a growing trend in the creative space. Building an outsourced design team makes it possible to get premium external graphic design services at a fair price that scales with your design needs.

The thought to outsource graphic design may be met with skepticism if not fully understood. However, the benefits of graphic design outsource services far outweigh the challenges.

Benefits of outsourcing creative services

Outsourcing design services has its perks, especially when you find a design agency committed to excellence and high-quality designs. Here are some of the benefits of outsourcing your design work. 

1. It saves time. 

Let’s face it, adding graphic design to the mountain of work that goes into marketing can be time-consuming. You can hire an in-house team, but that process takes time and requires additional management, training, etc. Outsourcing your design work is a huge time-saver. It puts your design needs in more qualified hands and frees up time for you to focus on other aspects of your business. 

2. It is cost-effective. 

Time is not the only resource outsourcing saves you. Compared to the cost of hiring an in-house design team, buying the necessary equipment, and setting up a standard workplace, it is more cost-effective to outsource your design work. Outsourcing can save companies as much as 60% of their operational expenses.

Outsourcing also helps minimize other costs of hiring a full-time design team like healthcare benefits, paid time off, insurance benefits, et cetera. Who wouldn’t want to get the same quality of work at a lesser cost? 

3. It expands your capacity for an increased workload. 

Outsourcing can also help companies with an in-house design team. For example, what happens when your client load grows and your internal design team gets overwhelmed with design projects? In this case, an outsourced team can come in to cover the extra load.

Outsourcing increases your capacity to take on more projects. With more hands on deck, you’ll be able to take on several design projects and meet your deliverables.

4. A fresh perspective on your design work

Over time you (or your in-house team) may have developed a system and approach to graphic designing. While this is good for maintaining standardized designs, it can become the limiting factor preventing you from trying new ideas. 

Sometimes a fresh perspective and outside-the-box thinking could be the game-changer that steps up your business. Outsourcing opens your doors to graphic designers with new perspectives different from your norm. 

With an outsourced design team, you can expect fresh insights and new ideas for your design projects. Especially when you consider offshore outsourcing, as geography certainly plays a role in design trends.

Challenges with outsourcing design work

1. Finding the right graphic design outsourcing companies

There are a ton of freelancers and outsourcing companies and agencies that offer on-demand design outsourcing services. Consequently, it can be quite a challenge to find a reliable one to suit your design needs. It is not enough to hand your design brief to any freelancer or outsourcing vendor you find online. 

Finding the right partners requires thorough research, and be sure to check those outsourcing contracts. On the bright side, when you find the right agency, you’ll have access to vetted designers qualified to see your projects through.  

2. Communication

With an in-house team, you can walk down the hall from your office to chat with your designers about ongoing projects. But this is not the case with an outsourced designer who typically works remotely. You cannot have in-person communication as you do with your regular employees.

This will not be an issue if you agree with the outsourcing agency about the type of flexibility you want with your online communication. You can decide to set up daily or weekly calls. A project management tool also helps you keep track of projects on the go. 

Tips for nailing your design outsourcing

Simply outsourcing your design work does not guarantee successful design projects. Like with any employee, you need to communicate and establish clear goals in order to get the most out of your outsourced worker. 

Before starting any project, you need to take the time to ensure that you and your outsourced team are on the same page.

Here are a few tips to help you make the most of your outsourced designer.

Outline your design goals

The first thing you want to have ready before you outsource your design work is a carefully-drafted brief detailing your design goals. It helps to set clear expectations for the outsourced team. The quality of every project your outsourced team handles will largely depend on how well you make them understand your design ideas. 

Your design brief should outline important details like the scope of your design work and your overall branding guidelines. 

Prepare the necessary materials for your design work.

Now that your outsourced design team has a detailed brief, the next step is to equip them with the materials they’ll need to execute the project. It is better to do this at the beginning phase of the project to save time and eliminate friction during the design process. 

Here are some example materials that your outsourced team might need to complete a project:

• Approved photos. 
• Brand Logos.
• Preferred fonts and colors.
• Design and style references, if any.

Set up communication channels and project management tools

One of the tips for onboarding an outsourced team is to set up a two-way communication channel. Like every other project you have a team working on, outsourced design work requires a good flow of communication to be successful. 

The onboarding phase is where you set up your preferred communication channels and bring your outsourced design team on board. Project management tools are also highly recommended to help you properly oversee the management and handling of your projects and tasks. 

GoWP: We know the ropes!

Outsourcing is a venture that leads to impressive returns on investments. It should be a consideration for any agency looking to broaden their design services while saving time and money. 

Outsourcing your design work can be a daunting task if you don’t have the right experience. Everything from evaluating portfolios to scheduling assessments and interviewing candidates requires skill and tact. 

At GoWP, we know the ropes of hiring designers that will be a valuable addition to any digital agency looking to outsource. Our designers will work directly with your tools and on a set schedule. They will communicate with you directly and work as members of your team. (Not to mention we also help with software development outsourcing, content outsourcing, and much more!)

Are you ready to take your designs to the next level? Then it’s time to hire a dedicated designer to join your team.