A comprehensive review of the top graphic design companies

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Today, if you’re looking for a graphic designer…beware!

The field is highly saturated and there is no shortage of options… but finding the one that best suits you can be tricky.

The designer you end up selecting should ultimately depend on the difficulty of your design and your branding goals.

If you are looking for a high-quality design and a long-term relationship with a designer, you may want to pay big bucks and opt for a well-established graphic design firm. If on the other hand, you need a one-off job, such as a personal logo for an online portfolio or CV, then you might want to try to put something together yourself by using a free graphic design software.

This article will give you a comprehensive overview of graphic design companies who offer help to companies whose graphic design needs range from long term and short term tasks and relationships. Each of these companies offers excellent graphic design services at a reasonable price.

So…let’s get started.

99designs

99designs is a unique company that offers affordable graphic design services.

What do they cover?

They help you with almost everything…including designs for:

• Logos
• Packing
• Websites
• T-shirts
• Book Covers
• Business
• And… more
• And… even a design package for a combination of the above services

So, how does it work?

1. First, you fill out some basic information telling the design community at 99designs details about your business and what you wish to get designed.A logo, for example, requires your business name, what you do, your ideas for design, and more.The more details you give them, the higher your chances are of getting your design right the first time.
2. Next, 99designs will present you with a list of designs for the logo.
3. From the list of designs, you can select which ones you like best to give designers a better idea of what style you have in mind
4. After you have finished filling out your information and selecting styles, you will pick a design package. 99designs offers 4 packages with varying pricing:
   • Bronze – For $299, you get the creative design on a budget. This includes 30 logos to choose from, help from good designers, and a money back guarantee.
   • Silver – For $499, you are getting the most bang for your buck. This package includes 60 designs from the best designers, a money back guarantee, and a larger designer prize.
   • Gold – For $799, you can attract expert designers. This package includes 90 designs from expert designers, a money back guarantees, a larger designer prize, and prioritized support from the 99designs team.
   • Platinum – For $1,299, you can rest assured you will only work with the best designers. This package includes 60 premium designs, everything the Gold package includes, a dedicated manager, and handpicked designs.

   As you can see, there are several options at 99designs to fit your design and branding needs.

5. Once you have selected your package, you launch your contest to allow designers to see what you want and attempt to make your vision come true.When you launch your contest, 99designs will send your design to their community of designers.
6. Various designers will send you a spec and you get to select the designs you like best, and offer feedback.
7. Finally, when someone perfects your vision, you will select that design and your task is complete.

99designs uses a crowdsourcing model to make sure you get a wide scope of variety from creative professionals around the globe.

What makes this company great is that once you have found a designer you like, you can keep working with them through the “Projects” section of 99designs. This makes the search for the perfect graphic designer again, a bit easier. If they truly understand your vision and your brand, you can skip most of the earlier steps and continue to work with them in future projects.

Time is money and talent can be hard to find. 99designs is especially great for building long-term relationships with graphic designers.

They have also recently launched a new feature called Designer Search that connects you directly with designers who match your style, have experience in your industry, and are available to work right away.

DesignCrowd

DesignCrowd is another great resource if you are interested in crowdsourcing your design efforts and getting lots of ideas with little risk.

DesignCrowd allows you to create a free account as soon as you land on their website

What do they cover?

DesignCrowd can be used for:

• Logos
• T-shirts
• Websites
• Business cards
• And 40+  more design categories

How does it work?

DesignCrowd works much like 99designs.

1. Once you login to your account, you create a creative brief where you leave detailed instructions for your project.This only takes a few minutes and you set the budget for your project.
2. Then, more than 550,000 designers from around the world will read your brief and start working on your project.The average project at DesignCrowd usually gets 100 responses, and you can expect your first designs to start coming in within 3 hours.
3. Next, you can share the designs you like with friends and colleagues and ask for their feedback, eliminate designs you don’t like, and request changes from designers who almost hit the mark.
4. Once you select the design you like, you will receive all necessary files and copyright information needed to make the design yours, and DesignCrowd will send payment to the designer you selected.
5. If you don’t like any of the designs, there is no need to worry. DesignCrowd offers a full refund if you don’t end up selecting a design. It’s literally risk-free.

DesignCrowd is a great way to get a top-quality design, set your own budget, and only select a design if it truly speaks to you.

The main difference between DesignCrowd and 99designs is pricing. With 99designs, pricing is pre-determined. With DesignCrowd, you set your own budget for a project.

CrowdSpring

CrowdSpring is yet another crowdsourced design firm with some interesting differentiators from 99designs and DesignCrowd.

CrowdSpring is a great option if you have very detailed guidelines about how much you can spend and when you need your project completed.

What do they cover?

CrowdSpring offers help within 44 creative categories.
These categories include anything from design and writing.

This is awesome because often design and copywriting go hand-in-hand.

With CrowdSpring, you can make sure that you are addressing your design and copywriting needs simultaneously.

One popular category that entrepreneurs and small businesses may find really helpful with CrowdSpring is the Company and Product Naming. In addition to that, they have massive focus on Intellectual Property protection which is a really big plus.

How does it work?

At CrowdSpring, you will:

1. Choose among the 44 creative categories,
2. Select your budget
3. Create a deadline
4. After you have set the parameters of your project, you can either crowdsource your project to several talented writers and designers OR you can opt to work 1-on-1 with the creative professional of your choice.You will choose this professional based on a list of requirements you pre-select and based on the list of professionals CrowdSpring suggests to you.

With CrowdSpring, again, you can select your favorite logo, and the designer gets paid as soon as you are happy with the project.

Another cool thing about CrowdSpring is that they feature some of their top projects on their homepage to give you an idea of the kind of work their freelancers are turning out for you.

Overall, CrowdSpring allows you to create your own deadlines and gives you much agency in choosing to work with someone one-on-one or test the crowdsourcing option. If you have a detailed plan and a strong direction, CrowdSpring can be a cheaper and quicker option for you.

Upwork

Now, let’s shift gears from the world of crowdsourcing to freelancing by talking about Upwork.

What is it?

With a company like Upwork, rather than writing a brief about your project and selecting a design, you will create a write-up of your project, and select a freelancer you like to work on your project.

How does it work?

With Upwork, you:

1. Create a free account
2. Post details about your project
3. Based on an algorithm, Upwork will highlight freelancers that it thinks will be a good fit for you. It is up for you to decide which freelancer you would like to work with.
4. As soon as you select a freelancer, you can begin working on your project. You can start working with the freelancer you choose within just a couple of hours.You can easily communicate with the freelancer you select by contacting them online or via Upwork’s mobile app.
5. Once your project is completed, the payment will be processed through Upwork.Like other graphic design companies, you only pay for the work if you approve of the project.

Upwork doesn’t crowdsource your project, but they do provide you with a wide list of freelance graphic designers to choose from, to help you with your graphic design.

With the ease and speed of interacting with potential freelancers that you want to work with, Upwork makes design projects quicker and cheaper than many alternative graphic design firms.

Additionally, going this route is often much cheaper than hiring an expensive graphic design firm.

Freelancer

Freelancer is a competitive mashup of crowdsourcing design and Upwork.

What is it?

Freelancer allows you to create an account and then choose whether you want to browse profiles and select a designer or create a brief, crowdsource your project out, and pick a winning design.

How does it work?

1. With Freelancer, the first thing you do will be to select a budget for your project.
2. Then, you will decide if you want to post it as a project and have freelancers bid on your projectOR you can post it as a contest, have freelancers submit work, and then you can select a winner.

Freelancer is as easy as that. The system is intuitive, flexible, and provides you with a lot of freedom to run your project exactly how you want.

Fiverr

Want a logo design for just 5 bucks?

Then let’s shift gears once again, and talk about Fiverr for a minute.

What is it?

Fiverr is a company all small to midsize business should know about. Why? Because they offer several business services at $5 a pop. One of these services is, of course, graphic design.

How does it work?

Fiverr works a little bit differently than freelance companies and crowdsourcing design companies.

Rather than posting your project, you will:

1. Select the category of your choice (graphic design, illustration, etc.).
2. Then browse projects to see what Fiverr freelancers have to offer you.Usually, freelancers will tell you what they will do for you for $5.Fiverr freelancers are responsible for being explicit in their descriptions and letting you know exactly what is and what is not included when you request their gig.
3. As you browse through Fiverr gigs, you’ll also notice there are options for add-ons.For example, a graphic designer may be willing to design a logo for $5, but they will require another $5 for all types of files and another $5 for copyright information.While they do have the option to charge more in add-ons, $15 for a logo is still unheard of in the graphic design world.

Beware: Not all Fiverr graphic designers charge 5 bucks.

As Fiverr graphic designers continue to get gigs and high ratings, they also have the option of charging more over time by offering packages.

If you come across a designer who is charging more than the typical $5 for a design project, chances are they have been working on Fiverr long enough to establish a real business, and that they have received several positive ratings.

If you opt to get help from a designer on Fiverr, remember not all gigs are created equal and you often get what you pay for on Fiverr.

Take the time to browse the portfolios of Fiverr freelancers, scour their profiles to see what is included, and make sure you are bidding on a project that will help you grow your business.

When used correctly, Fiverr can be a great way to brand your business for a killer deal…not to mention they offer several other necessary business services.

Acodez IT Solutions

Acodez IT Solutions is yet another graphic design firm in India with some rare specialties in the field of graphic designing that differentiates it from the peers.

It is a great solution if you are on the hunt for a graphic design organization that can offer a competitive edge for your design-specific needs at affordable prices within the specified time.

What do they cover?

Acodez IT Solutions offers a wide range of creative services along with web design and web development services.

The team will take care of your visual identity needs. That means all your graphic designing needs including brochure design, logo design, branding, creative writing, banners, etc. are addressed simultaneously.

They do all of these while offering services such as web design, development and inbound marketing – all under one roof.

How does it work?

To use their service, you will be:

1. Choose the relevant service from the services category
2. Request a quote
3. Request a deadline
4. Once you are done, you can submit the relevant parameters and the team of service providing consultants will contact you to get a deeper insight into your requirements before they start devising a strategy.

You can submit the requirements of your business and the details of the intended audience and they will create the best creative to meet your business requirements.

For further details on how they strategize their work module and their design, you can look at their website wherein they have showcased the details of their clients and the portfolios of the graphic designs they have successfully accomplished previously.

ModGraphic

What is it?

ModGraphic specializes in custom branding, print design and web design for any type of business.

• Logos
• Business Cards
• Letterheads and other stationery
• Brochures
• Postcards
• Websites

How does it work?

Send them an email (info@modgraphic.com), give them a call toll-free (1-888-807-9339) or message them through their contact form and they will setup a meeting (in-person or virtual) with one of their lead designers to discuss your project. ModGraphic has a strong focus on brand integrity and makes sure that everything they design leads back to that. Their designs are a great balance between creative and functional because they believe that any great design should serve its purpose first.

August99

What do they cover?

How does it work?

1. When partnering up with other web companies, August 99 works under a white label contract and both parties sign a non-disclosure form. If a white label service does not apply to you, you also have the option to buy a bulk of “hours” for August 99 to finish your project instead of hiring a dedicated team.
2. Once the contract is signed, August 99 assigns an account manager who will be your main point of contact for everything.
3. A kick off meeting will be scheduled via conference call to talk about the first phase of the project and for both parties to meet each other’s team members. August 99 will also send you an intake form that’s relevant to your project, e.g. a design questionnaire or SEO questionnaire
   
4. Once the project brief and milestones are discussed, you are given access to August 99’s task management tool so that tasks can be assigned to your resources.
5. August 99 completes all the deliverables outlined in the contract and offers a 30-day warranty for bug fixes after the project is launched.

Designhill

Desighill is the leading creative marketplace that caters to the designing requirements of businesses all around the world.

Also, it acts as a freelance platform for aspiring designers and artists who are looking for design inspiration as well as a source to make money.

What they cover?

From highly interactive design contests to all-inclusive, end-to-end design gigs to artificial intelligent design tools like logo maker, Designhill has a service to fulfill all business’ design needs.

Designhill’s online services include:

• Logos
• Graphic Design Services
• One-on-One Projects
• Contest
• Print-on-demand services
• Custom Clothing and Accessories
• Variety of independent and expert art, creative’s and so much more.

How does it work?

1. You let Designhill know what you need by filling out some basic information regarding the details about your business and what you wish to get designed. The more your details, the better.
2. Designhill will provide you with your best and most suitable options.
3. You can choose those you like best to give your designers a better idea of what you need or even have in mind.
4. After filling out your information and choosing your preferred styles, you can go ahead and pick a design package from their several options to suit your design or branding needs.
5. Business owners can also launch a design contest to let the designers know exactly what you want. Designers all around the world are informed regarding the same so that they go ahead and transform your needs and visions to reality.
6. Expert professional designers will send you options, out of which you get to choose the designs you like best as well as offer your feedback to them.
7. Finally, when a designer creates your ideal requirement, you can choose that from a vast variety of versatile and unique ones, and finish your task.

Award-winning, unique and a vast creative platform, Designhill uses the crowd sourcing model to make sure you get your best option while getting a vast scope of variety and versatility from over lakhs of designers and artists from nearly 52 countries.

Featured in the biggest publications, they bring you the world’s best creative talent along with over millions of unique products, design, and art to your fingertips. They have a vast and phenomenally popular social media presence with lakhs of fans and followers across 7 sensational Instagram accounts and various other social platforms.

What makes Designhill truly unique are the following facts. First is the fact that once you love a designer or artist’s work you can keep working with them and lock your design luck to your most perfect endings. Secondly, you can find a vast plethora of unique and independent art from all around the globe hosted by thousands of personalized products and accessories to suit your every need, delivered to doorsteps worldwide. Finally, you get to start contests, execute one-to-one projects and creative gigs to get exactly what you want, exactly the way you want. Your search for the perfect design or designer ends here.

Other notable graphic design agencies

• GraphicDesign S offers worldwide graphic design services, point of sale printing, promotional products and audio/video solutions for your marketing.

Hiring top graphic design firms

Unhappy with these options?

No interest in hiring a freelancer, crowdsourcing your project, or browsing Fiverr?

Maybe graphic design is one of your highest market priorities and you are nervous about all of these options. If you have the money, there is no shame in hiring either a local or a nationally acclaimed graphic design firm if that’s what you would prefer to do.

You can still contract their work out, but you can also rest assured that you are getting work from top-notch professionals that know the ins and outs of the design world.

Going this route will usually, and understandably, cost your firm more, but you will certainly get what you pay for in terms of professionalism, creativity, and creating a solid brand for your company.

According to a review in TopDesignFirms.com, the best design firms in 2017 is as follows:

• Blue Fountain Media in New York, New York
• Deluxe in Shoreview, Minnesota
• Lounge Lizard in New York, New York
• Maxburst Inc. in Farmingdale, New York
• Hudson Integrated in Saddle Brook, New Jersey
• Dotlogics in East Northport, New York
• Brockton in Leawood, Kansas
• Logoworks in New York, New York
• Makespace in Louisville, Kentucky
• Typework Studio in Buffalo, New York

Summary

There are several top options for hiring a graphic designer or a graphic design company to help you with your branding.

The route you ultimately decide to go will depend on your budget, your needs, and your branding desires.

It also depends on whether or not you want to build short term or long term relationships with a graphic designer.

Regardless, there are several great options when it comes to hiring a freelancer, crowdsourcing your design needs, or hiring a nationally recognized firm to help you with your design.

Have you tried any of these options? What are your experiences with them? Comment and let us know!