Hiring a graphic design agency is the safest option for companies that need logos, brochures, flyers, etc. because the risks are low considering an agency hires expert designers. The best graphic design agencies have a system in place to meet client deadlines and most graphic design agencies care about good customer service and reviews. An in house graphic designer can be beneficial depending on your needs; for this blog post we’d like to take an unbiased look at the benefits of hiring an in house designer vs a graphic design agency:
The Paycheck
If you are considering hiring an in house graphic designer, you would be paying a lot less money because individual graphic designers can work under a company’s existing overhead costs. However, also consider that the production level that you might be able to acquire from an in house graphic designer is going to be a lot lower than hiring an agency because and the agency is already equipped to produce and service a wide range of graphic design needs. An agency is larger and always ready for new projects of various sizes.
Meeting deadlines
Having an in house graphic designer on your team means you can work with someone that you know on a personal level. You can gauge that designer’s mood, workload and how willing they are to work after hours to meet a deadline. The in house graphic designer can attend private team meetings and be updated in person. However, if you hire a design agency, you would not have that flexibility. Meetings with a graphic design agency are more efficient; everyone needs to be ready with all the information during scheduled meetings. A graphic design agency might be more accountable when it comes to meeting deadlines because detailed notes are taken and other team members can come in to assist. And the agency cares most about its client’s because their success is our success.
Do not let circumstances control you. You change your circumstances.
Jackie Chan, Hong Kong martial artist, actor, film director, producer, stuntman, and singer.
Communication with In House vs Graphic Design Agency
Communication is key for any project, and this is where having an in house graphic designer could be an advantage. You would be able to directly communicate with your designer, and also oversee how the project is coming along. However, if you hire a design agency, you would most likely have to talk with the project manager, who will relay the messages to other team members. So you would not have the same amount of transparency that you would have in case of an in house designer. However, an in house designer serves more as a tool for bringing your ideas to life, whereas an agency can serve as an umbrella of experts that can make sure the message that you’d like to communicate in your design doesn’t just make sense to you, but also your target audience. An agency is also usually more vocal in offering valuable suggestions on how a project can be effective based on data and past projects, whereas an in house graphic designer usually needs to quickly move on to other designs needed in the office and will not challenge requests even if they aren’t the most effective because an in house designer wants to keep the peace between coworkers. An agency likely knows best.
Familiarity with projects
If you hire agencies for your designing work, you would have to explain the goal of your projects every time a new project begins unless you have a long term relationship with the agency. This will take up much more time, which can be avoided if you have an in house designer who is in the know with most happening in your office. Your designer would be familiar with you and your work, and you will not have to explain how you want things done every time. However, explaining your goals can give everyone involved the most clarity and may not be a bad thing. Communication and understanding are key. If you’re interested in discussing your graphic design needs with an agency, please email info@creativerepute.com to reach us.
