The Best Graphic Design Solution I’ve Found for Small Businesses
When you start a business, it’s easy to underestimate how often you need a graphic designer. There’s your logo, business cards, brochures, website graphics, and banners for social media profiles – and that’s just getting started. You’ll inevitably want to update all of these designs to stay current, and there’s always more than needs to be done.
If you don’t have a graphic designer on staff, you have three options:
1) Do it yourself. There are a lot of free or low-cost tools out there that can help beginners create great designs. However, this means you’re spending time learning new tools and creating graphics when your time is much better spent doing what you do best. And if you don’t have an eye for design or you’re not tech-savvy, this option can be incredibly frustrating and the designs may not look as polished as you’d like.
2) Pay a freelancer whenever you need a project done. If you want a professional look, you’ll have to hire a professional for the job. It can be a long process to find someone who gets your vision at a price you can afford. And if you’ve never worked with a designer before, it can be a bit of a learning curve to figure out how to best communicate your vision. When you do find someone you like, you tend to be very conservative with how many projects you send to them because getting a new design feels like a luxury or unnecessary expense.
3) Rarely (or never) update your designs. I’m definitely guilty of this. You run out of time to do the designs yourself, and working with freelancers can be a huge drain on your budget. Over time, your designs start to look dated and you probably don’t even realize how much it’s truly affecting your bottom line.
If you’re like me, you’ve probably tried a combination of all three. Fortunately, there’s another option 🙂
4) Use a flat-rate, unlimited graphic design service. This means you can send all the graphic design projects you want for one flat price! The one I’ve tried (and recommend) is Design Pickle.
No more trying to figure out how to use graphic design software (you’ve got more important things on your to-do list!). No more holding back on design projects because you’re worried about the cost. And you can finally refresh your look without blowing your budget.
I love sharing things I’ve tried and would recommend to friends and family. Note that if you sign up for this service, I may receive a small commission that helps support this page.
Design Pickle is for people who:
- Need (or want) graphic design work on a regular basis
- Don’t want to be surprised by the bill at the end of a project
- Want the freedom to easily send projects to a designer whenever you have a great idea
- Want to keep their business looking sharp
Here’s how it works:
- Sign up. Try their service risk-free for two weeks. If it’s not a good fit, you get a 100% refund. There’s really no reason not to give it a try!
- Tell them a little about your business. Design Pickle will match you with someone they think will be a good fit for your industry and the projects you’re looking for.
- Send your project ideas, any time day or night.
- Get your designs back as early as the next business day.
Easy, right?
I tried it for a few months. This is what I liked:
Incredibly easy to work with. They walk through everything step-by-step. They make the process very straightforward and painless.
Skip the hiring process. I didn’t have to worry about finding a good designer, interviewing candidates, checking references, and all the work that goes into hiring someone new.
Clear, quick communication with the designer. I never have to worry about following up to see where my design is.
Fast turnaround. With other designers, sometimes I had to wait for an opening in their schedule. With Design Pickle, I get my finished designs as soon as the next business day! Not only that, my designer often sends multiple versions so I can choose which option I like best.
Unlimited revisions. Many times when I see the final product, I start to notice things I want to change. Now I don’t have to worry about any extra fees for revisions.
The sky’s the limit! I don’t have to hold back on my design ideas. Whenever I have an idea, I can just add it to the queue. I no longer have to worry that hiring a designer for another project will put me over budget.
Here are some things to keep in mind:
As with anything, there are a few downsides. You won’t be able to hop on the call with your designer and brainstorm ideas together – everything must be done by email or through their website. This means you’ll need to have a good idea of what you want and communicate that well with your designer. The more specific you are, the better. That said, I’ve sent my designer some text and a few designs I liked and he put together something that I loved!
Not every graphic design project can be sent to Design Pickle. They won’t create websites, animations, or original logos. You’ll still have to hire someone else for those projects. But there are so many design projects they will work on, such as:
- Social media graphics
- Business cards
- T-shirt designs
- Brochures
- Flyers
- Online ads
- Posters
- Worksheets
- Signs
- Car wraps
- Infographics
- E-books
- And more!
Basically, if you can describe it in an email, they’ll design it.
Get started creating awesome designs!
Check out Design Pickle and see if it’s for you. As I mentioned before, you can try them risk-free for two weeks. That’s plenty of time to get to know your designer and get a few projects done to see if the service would be helpful. If you submit one project every business day, that’s 10 designs during that two-week period!
Give your business a refresh – you deserve it! And I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how great designs can bring more credibility, trust, and sales to your business.