In 2024, one thing needs to change and that is underestimating the importance of good design. 75% of conversions in a campaign happen because of high quality creatives. Good copy and accurate targeting will not be able to help you if you do not work with a graphic designing agency to create mind blowing visuals. 

The problem is that India alone is crowded with multiple graphic design agencies, freelancers, and creative as a service platforms. How can you hire the right design agency in such an atmosphere? 

Understand Your Needs Before Hiring a Graphic Designing Agency

Hiring a graphic designing agency in India can be a challenging process. Here are some things you should consider before finalizing a contract with your design partner. 

• Your target audience: Good design starts with an understanding of who you are designing for and the graphic design agency you choose should have experience in your niche. When an agency starts a new niche they are likely to miss out on a few things. On the other hand if they are experienced their designs will be full of impressive details. 

• Your goals: Before you start designing a creative, you need to understand the motive behind it. You should hire an agency that is flexible enough to take time for creative and branding projects. However, they should also be able to provide creatives rapidly for social media. If you want creatives for A/B testing, then it will be the responsibility of the graphic designing agency to design them. Before you sign a contract, you should understand your needs, goals, and then assess prospects. 

• Your design preferences: Brand identity plays an important role in choosing a reliable graphic design partner. If your brand depends too much on motion graphics, then you should choose to work with the best motion graphics design agency in India. You shouldn’t fall for the words of the business development executives. Always check the portfolio and social media page of the agency before finalizing a deal.

Why Do Businesses Outsource Their Workflow to a Graphic Designing Agency?

Working with a graphic designing agency in India seems like an ideal choice because it frees you from the responsibility of hiring a team that creates your graphics. Even if you have a team, you can utilize their time in a better manner by partnering with an agency. Design is important for a startup, but in the world of DALL-E it has become underappreciated. 

It is difficult to stand out without good design and that is why you should outsource your workflow to an experienced graphic designing agency. 94% of first impressions are design related and people make a decision to swipe based on the design within milliseconds. You need the support of design experts in the world of Canva and DALL-E. 

91% of people prefer visual content overwritten as the human brain processes visuals 60,000 times faster than text or audio. Visuals are extremely important for a business but not every business has the financial resources to hire an in-house team or their team doesn’t have the bandwidth. That is why most aspiring businesses choose to hire a design agency.

How to Evaluate a Portfolio of an agency?

Before you choose to work with a graphic designing agency in India, you should ask them for their portfolio, social media handles, and also check out their blogs. When you check their socials, you will be able to see their capacity for good design and in their blogs you can review their knowledge on the concepts of good design. 

For most graphic design agencies, their portfolios are their true weapon which they reveal in the end. You can find agency portfolios on their site and Behance. If you want to do an in-depth review, then you should check the team of the company and their personal portfolios. You should never hesitate to ask the company for additional samples and it is ok if they share a Google Drive link with you. 

Everyone gets access to a portfolio, but not everyone has the expertise to successfully review a graphic design portfolio. Here is how you should assess an agency’s portfolio. 

• Diversity: If the agency has already designed in one niche, then they will have some trouble adjusting to your industry. That is why a good portfolio has a diverse range of designs. 

• Quality: Check the quality of the portfolio by assessing the palette, typography, and layout choices. If the agency uses templatized versions of a design that are popular then they are not a good fit. It means that they are using tools like Canva which limits the creativity of a designer. 

• Look for real work: A lot of agencies and freelancers make mock designs while that is a great way to show your capabilities. You should hire a graphic designing agency in India that has worked with real brands and they can show the same in their portfolio.

• Case Studies: A case study is required for any agency and a graphic design agency is not any different. Any agency that documents the challenges they faced while creating a design or a Brand Guideline Pattern will win in the end. Since they have highlighted their thought process and their problem solving approach. It is easier for such agencies to win the trust of the prospective clients. 

• Originality: It is difficult to define innovation and originality. Although originality is an aspect that when you see it you know it! Check the portfolio of the agency and if they are always following current design trends, then that’s a red flag. 

Tips for choosing a Graphic Design Agency

1. Know the Details

Take a notebook and a pen. Start writing your requirements related to visuals. What kind of graphic design services do you need? Which creatives do you want the agency to create? Do you want a high quality logo, banners, illustrations, or will your requirements vary over time? Or maybe you need branding services?  

After listing everything, you need to understand your goals. Do you want to communicate your brand messaging or maybe the design is about a blog? Once you know all of the details, then it will be easy to find a graphic designing agency in India that is a good match. 

2. Create a Budget

You should know how much you can spend on graphic design. This way, you can rule out agencies that are out of your budget. Yes, you should have a budget in mind because there are many agencies that have premium portfolios but their services can be out of your budget. One thing you should know is that cheaper options cost more in the end because they fail to show results. Eventually, you end up spending more money on one design. 

3. Communication Approach

You should understand how the agency will communicate with you while working on a project. What is their approach while working on a project? How do they share updates with you? Established graphic designing agencies have a proper sales support channel where each graphic is shared with them and they can provide proper feedback. 

Sadly a lot of agencies just focus on creating expensive packages instead of understanding your needs and executing a project successfully. You should check if they listen to your needs and remember them or not. 

Last but not the least, a successful graphic design agency in India will always provide good after sales support. They don’t just disappear after selling you a service. They are with you throughout the journey and they only stop taking feedback, once the graphic is published.