The Best Graphic Design Services – Tips and Reviews
Are you looking for the best graphic design services? I’m sharing reviews, and insight to help you pick a service that benefits you most!
Quick Links:
- TIP: How to pick the best graphic design services [Infographic Download]
- Episode Overview – The Truth About “Unlimited Graphic Design Services”
- Personal Note from Jenn Neal on the Best Graphic Design Services
- Episode audio [Podcast on Spotify]
- Blog Post – The Best Graphic Design Services – Tips and Reviews
- Related Posts
TIP: How to pick the best graphic design services
Time needed: 5 minutes
TIP: Steps to Choosing the Best Graphic Design Services and Maximizing Your Investment as a Content Marketing Agency
- Needs
define the types of designs you need: social, print, web, video and match up to potential services from there
- Submission Type
some services use a custom dashboard, some through Slack or Trello so select what works for your style of work
- Multiple Brands
make sure you can set up different brand boxes for yourself and your customers
- Queue
Keep the requests list full so you’re taking advantage of the unlimited service
- Feedback
Provide quick and honest feedback to the designers, if it sucks tell them and same if you love it
- Source Files
Make sure you are able to get editable files for those moments you need to make quick edits
What’s In This Episode
As a digital marketing agency, we have been using graphic design services for a long time now. And needless to say, we have a LOT of designs made. I’m sharing with you reviews of the services we’ve used, what we’re doing now, and tips on how to get the most out of a graphic design service!
Jenn Neal on the Best Graphic Design Services
Turns out, these people are the biggest flakes in the world. I had the hardest time getting people to show up for a job, to make sure they turned in stuff on time, and to make good quality content. Ultimately, I ended up turning to graphic design services and copy writing services for consistent content.
-Jenn Neal
The Best Graphic Design Services – Tips and Reviews
As a content marketing agency, we’ve used graphic design services here at Formula Done for years. And like everyone else, we’ve been searching for the best graphic design services. But, is there such a thing? They can sometimes get close, but no one is perfect, and no service is perfect.
While there are thousands of different graphic design services to choose from, how do you know which one will be best for you and your business? Well, you’ll need to compare their services, of course! And since I’ve dealt with several different services in the past, I thought it would be awesome to share my knowledge about the services, the experiences we’ve shared with them, and how to pick which is best for your needs! Let’s dive in!
The Best Graphic Design Services?
We’re going to travel back in time a little bit. Not far. Just a few years. But let’s go back to 2018 (or was it 2019? I guess it’s not THAT important, is it?) I was looking for an excellent graphic design service because I could NOT find good talent willing to work consistently. And when you’re working with deadlines for clients, you can’t afford to have your writer tell you that they weren’t feeling inspired and would get you the content next week. Or have your graphic designer decide that they didn’t feel like doing the work at the moment. Now, while this could have been due to my leadership style, it was definitely not my cup of tea (or coffee. I prefer coffee over tea most days.)
All in all, I could not run an agency with people flaking on me constantly. (Darned creative people! Just kidding, they’re not ALL like that!)
The Reviews Are In
Anyway, I met some people at a conference with a graphic design service called Design Pickle. So I dove right in, started using them, and let’s just say it was a great learning experience for me. They did not, however, get me out of my pickle. I needed a team who would be good with graphics, copy, and video. And yet, there were significant delays in delivering what I’d requested. I’m not sure they had a large enough team at the time. So, we found a different service.
We moved on to Flocksy, and while they provided graphic design and content writing, they completely missed the mark. We had issues with the turnaround time, and I’m pretty sure that the content they were “writing” was coming straight from an AI tool. So again, we moved on.
When I found Penji, I felt like I’d won the lottery. Though they did not offer copywriting services, I’d already given up on that. They had decent tiers to the services they provided, and their designers returned with some great designs. Now, were they perfect? No. But they came close to being one of the best graphic design services we’ve worked with. We stayed with them for quite a few years. And while I recently let go of their services for a delay in turnaround time, I can’t say they were horrible.
As for us, the circle of life has closed its loop. I’ve got a fantastic team behind me now! One member of my team delivers incredible graphic designs for us, another is amazing at video and video editing, and another is rocking our copywriting! (And guess what?! They all show up to work and deliver on time, with no issues! I told you they weren’t all bad!)
What To Look For in A Graphic Design Service
As I said, I’ve been at this for a while now. To say I’ve picked up a few things along the way is an understatement. So, if you’re wondering how to pick the best graphic design services, here are a few things I make sure to do when choosing a service.
Set Expectations
I’m sure when you hire a service, there are certain expectations that they’d need to live up to. And if they do not meet your expectations, you’re sure not to continue working with them. Setting these expectations and sticking to them from the start is essential.
Thoroughly look into the services first. How many designs will they be able to complete at one time? Do they have a large enough team of designers behind them to handle the capacity? And what does their turnaround time look like?
Many services offer different tiers of service, where you’re allowed to have one or two active submissions yet can load the queue up with the rest of the projects that need completing. To maximize your production, check your submissions regularly and complete any images that come back to your satisfaction. Submit clear revision requests for any graphics that didn’t come back to your satisfaction and keep your queue moving.
Attention to Detail
While you’ve already set your expectations of what you want from them, you’ll want to help set your graphic design services up for success! What better way to do this than to give them a clear, detailed description of what you’re looking for. This description should also include the exact copy you’ll want on the graphics.
If you can set up a brand folder, it’s a perfect way to ensure that your color scheme is on point. Brand folders are super important, especially if you’re working with clients. If your graphic design team will be producing graphics for different people, having the different brand colors at the tip of their fingers is extremely helpful.
Now, while we all know that graphic designers have an excellent eye for detail, I’ve found that often, they’re not always great at reading directions. And, what’s worse than spending time giving directions on everything you want to see, only to receive an image back that is nothing like what you requested.
So, what do you do when you receive something back that you don’t like? Give your designer detailed feedback and let them know that what they produced is not part of your vision. Be honest with your designers. If you never give them your honest feedback, they’ll never learn.
Stay True to Yourself
Your graphics will be a huge selling point in your services and products. Stay true to yourself, your clients, and your brand. Don’t accept images that you’re not happy with. If you’d like to find out more about the services we’ve used or more tips on how to pick the best graphic design services for you and your business, check out episode #123 of The Content Toolbox! (You can watch it on YouTube or listen to it on Spotify up above!) And, if you’re thinking about leveraging your business and are unsure how to, check out our new Leads for Business Opportunity Checker to see how we can help you!
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