Hiring In-House vs. Virtual Graphic Designers

The purpose of graphic design goes beyond visual appeal — it serves as a means of communication between you and your target audience. Did you know that the human brain transmits 90% of its information visually?

Throughout the marketing funnel, businesses use graphics to convey information, encourage engagement, and ultimately persuade prospects to buy or sign up. Naturally, a business's message needs to be conveyed with solid design so that it can be successful.

Modern marketing relies heavily on graphic design to gain a competitive edge. Today, a graphic designer is essential for every company, not only to design attractive marketing materials like flyers, business cards, social media, and blog posts but also to convey messages effectively.

But one important question remains: should your business hire in-house or virtual graphic designers?

Hire Graphic Designers - In-House Designers

Graphics are used throughout the marketing funnel to alert, motivate, and encourage prospects to buy or take action. Therefore, graphic designers are essential, but what are the advantages and disadvantages of hiring in-house designers?

Pros

Financial transparency: When you hire an in-house designer, you know precisely what you'll pay each month. On the other hand, outsourcing graphic design usually makes businesses worry about their financial transparency.

Building up the company: If you already have a staff member who is capable of handling your project, you can put your leadership skills to the test. In addition, they will become even more valuable to your business as their skills expand.

Control: Managing the activities of an internal team (and their strategy and costs) is easier than managing the work of an outside firm. After all, direct communication increases engagement within a group, increasing productivity as a result.

Cons

On-boarding process: In-house graphic design team cannot be found immediately; it requires a development process involving a lot of work, resources, and funds. The job posting must be spread to get relevant applications, identify the best candidates, and set up interviews. Hiring a single designer can take up to a whole month.

Long-term costs: Simply comparing new employee hourly wages with rates for experienced contractors will probably make you think hiring someone new is cheaper. But such comparisons do not include extra-long and short-term costs associated with hiring internally. Among them are healthcare benefits, professional development, licenses, or further education.

Less focus on company goals: One major disadvantage associated with training new employees – they will lose focus on their original (or more important) tasks. Each day has a limited number of hours, so productivity is limited. The more expectations they have to meet, the more likely they will burn out.

Finding talents: Recruiting quality talent can take time and effort, particularly in smaller cities. There is a good chance that most of the talented candidates are already working. Moreover, it takes money and time to find qualified candidates, train them, and keep them on board. You will have to repeat the entire hiring process if an employee decides to leave.

Hire Graphic Designers - Virtual Designers

You can hire virtual graphic designers to handle your graphic design needs on demand in a fraction of the time and cost of employing one. However, this strategy offers more than a chance to keep up with current trends. You can also expand your business through it.

We have virtual assistants who specialize in graphic design and are exceptionally talented and knowledgeable about applications that make your business stand out from the crowd.

Pros

Cost-effective: Outsourcing doesn't have to be expensive. Outsourcing can increase your profits. Rather than spending time and money teaching your employee every skill imaginable, hire someone who specializes in that particular skill. Furthermore, you won't have to worry about ongoing employment costs since you can hire them anytime.

Flexible: Besides producing high-quality work, this method offers a great deal of flexibility. You can always expand your team based on your workload when outsourcing graphic design. Consider hiring more freelancers if this is a busy month. If things are slow, you can count on only one designer.

Getting work done: Forget about rushing to fill demanding roles or spend months finding the right candidate. You can hire virtual graphic designers from several time zones since they work remotely. You can therefore work whenever you want.

Unlimited skills and talents: There are no limits to what you can do in the digital world. Having a virtual creative team allows you to collaborate wherever you are. With this, you can work with talent from almost anywhere instead of settling for the locals.

Cons

Communication issues: Ensure your suggestions are communicated effectively through charts, graphs, business reports, navigation guidelines, and slide shows. But we assure you, as soon as you experience the intelligence of modern resources, computer pens and whiteboards will no longer be necessary.

Finding the right fit: Outsourced hiring managers know that finding the right candidate can be challenging. There is also the issue of time differences since outsourced designers can come from anywhere in the world.

Lack of control: Virtual graphic designers have another downside: you don't have much control over the outcome. The ability to meet deadlines and control their business stability is different from someone on your team. The process can take a long time, especially if you don't hire an agency or third-party company to do it for you.

Clarify Before You Hire - Prioritize Your Needs

An ounce of foresight and planning goes a long way. You can save yourself from many bad decisions if you set some definite criteria for when you're going to outsource design.

Remember, in-house hiring and outsourcing are affected by price, expertise, and scalability. If you're considering whether to hire in-house or outsource, these three factors may be the most important.

You're better off hiring in-house team graphic designers if you're aiming for long-term cooperation and sustained business growth. For short-term projects, collaborating with talented graphic designers is more beneficial than hiring a full-time design team.

Remember that freelancers usually specialize in one niche, such as web design, content development, or PPC advertising.

Conclusion

We live in a world dominated by graphic design. We find it everywhere, from smartphones to social media to storefront windows. But often, when making hiring decisions, companies face a dilemma: outsourcing vs. insourcing.

As you read in this article, there is no longer a need for an in-house creative department to enhance your business's visual identity. A virtual designer offers you creative ideas for much less than you would pay a regular designer.