How much does a designer cost?
If you landed here, I believe you’re ready to get a designer on board.
You’re probably thinking about allocating a budget for graphic design services, so you’re looking up how much a designer costs.
The common answer is: it depends.
But Deer Designer is a unique on-demand graphic design service so we have a different answer for that. Read on to find out.
If you have read some of our recent Deer Insights, there is art in pricing.
However, if you are on the receiving end of a pricing quote, the game changes. How do you know whether an on-demand design service is a good investment or a waste of money?
The true cost of a designer or a design service is determined by many factors. Because a design is created by a creative person rather than a machine, the price varies considerably depending on the creator’s expertise and the value their design will bring to your business.
Price comparison for graphic design services
Here is a comparison if you’re simply interested in having design work done. Logos, social media collaterals, merch design, document layouts, packaging, and other related items are examples of graphic designs.
Freelance designer: US$100-850 per project or $22-50 per hour
If you hire from freelancing sites, you’d still have to pay a fee to the platform or the cost for wiring the payment to them.
Full-time designer: around US$ 46,461 per year
With or without projects in the pipeline, once the contract is signed, this salary is set. On top of that, there are government mandatory contributions and standard company benefits.
Digital agency: US$1,000 per month, minimum
The price will vary depending on the agency and the scope of work.
Things to consider before hiring a designer
Don’t just answer the question: Can I afford it?
Price is not the only factor to consider. Here’s what you also have to bear in mind:
The designer’s responsibilities
A design piece doesn’t just appear when you rub a lamp 🧞♂️
Each creative design has a process. Before creating an end-to-end advertising campaign, there is a lot of research, ideation, prototypes, mock-ups, revisions, rejections, and approvals. And you might only be deciding on a colour palette 😮
Will you request that the designer participate in all aspects of the project from start to finish? Are they going to be a team member or a team leader?
Each of those stages commands a distinct skill set as well as a distinct pay range. Yikes!
The designer’s skillset
There are specific tools for graphic design, and as stated in this article, being a Photoshop master will require a significant amount of time and work.
Aside from the tools, designers must have the skills to effectively execute a design.
Even Steve Jobs – who has helped create the best tools of the 21st century – believes that a tool is just a tool and that it is the people you have to put faith in.
The designer’s portfolio
A designer, like a genuine artist, is capable of producing a masterpiece. Most designers create their best work in a category or genre in which they are most at ease.
When you look at a designer’s portfolio, you will notice a similar theme or pattern. Is their background as an illustrator or a web designer? Are they skilled with watercolours or Photoshop?
This is important since you may be handling several clients with multiple design briefs. What happens if you hired an illustrator but your client suddenly needs a website design?
You might need to hire a new website designer or simply hope that your illustrator does a decent job.
Your business’s requirements
“Oh, I know exactly all the designs my company needs, a year from now” – said no entrepreneur nor marketing person, ever.
The market is always shifting, and what’s hot now may be salty tomorrow. So, as much as you’d like to plan a year ahead, I’m afraid it will be a waste of time, money, and effort. We’re sure that you’ll end up having to revise your design requests.
Even short-term campaigns are subject to several revisions. People in charge of the designs may be exhausted after modifying a campaign so many times.
When a new set of eyes comes in and spots a fatal error, it must be rectified pronto. What if the freelancer you hired had just submitted their last deliverable? Do you believe they’ll reply immediately to a small revision?
Hopefully! (But we are not betting on it)
Your time
Your time is precious. You have clients to manage, bills to pay, suppliers to contact and a vision to execute. You do not want to micromanage every aspect of your business because that is not the ideal way to grow it.
Hiring a freelancer or a full-time designer will need you to sift through dozens of applications and interview a few candidates before you find one who you believe is a good fit for your company.
Do you know what the greatest time-waster is? When a freelancer walks out on you without even delivering the agreed-upon project.
These are the reasons why it is important to hire an on-demand design company that:
- has an organized team that can do the admin work, design work, and the QA checking for you
- offers a pool of designers with a wide range of skillsets
- has a diverse portfolio of 50+ designers
- helps you scale up or down according to your needs
- can revise the work as many times as you need
- saves you time by sourcing, recruiting, training and managing your team member
- has a backup plan if your designer takes a day off or leaves the company
- takes care of all your design tasks for the same fixed monthly subscription fee
We don’t mean to scare you
Taking everything into account, you could have an idea of what you can invest in. Will you just get a pro account for a DIY graphic design software and then spend hours hacking it? Or do you want to spend a lot more on a digital design agency?
The good news is that there’s a better option. And you already know what I’m about to say.
With on-demand design services, you can have more flexibility at an affordable price.
They’re not all the same though. We’ve written a few articles for you to decide:
Deer Designer vs Design Pickle
Compared to similar services, Deer Designer delivers more than just better professional design work. We provide you with a great customer experience and we communicate more efficiently.
But don’t take my word for it, read it from our clients’ words:
Look beyond the price tag
Deer Designer is not only affordable but we also grow and scale with you and your company.
You’ll get a dedicated design team, a pool of multi-talented professionals for whatever design you may need, and premium quality all-you-can-eat designs when you work with us.
Try us out for a 14-day satisfaction guarantee!
