Quite often in companies they will opt to employ a graphic designer rather than outsource their graphic design, mainly as they think this will save them money if they have a regular flow of work, this however can be at a much greater cost, let me explain why.
1. No Urgency
One of the common complaints we hear is that the Designer has no urgency for their work. He/she is often fed work to produce from many individuals all saying it is urgent, it hard for the designer to prioritise so usually just makes his/her way through the pile of work. A solution to this is having one person manage/working with the designer, setting timescales for projects and prioritizing which is the most urgent for the company for it to fulfill its strategy.
2. Everything looks the same
Quite often you will find that most designers have a set style for their design and once coupled with the companies corporate branding everything has the same look and feel – boring. A solution to this is working with a local agency that can brain storm in their studio probably having a couple of their designers work on concepts/ideas, these can then be fed back to the in house designer to work up and complete. That will cost me more money I hear you say BUT if that piece of design is super creative and gets you a return on your investment it is worth every penny.
3. Sickness/Holidays
Of course this is not a problem you come across every day hopefully but when it does happen it is quite an inconvenience and can cause a bottle neck in your company. Having a friendly Graphic Design agency that you have worked with can be a great solution, they already have a feel for your product/service and a good feeling for your business, they are more than happy to step into the breach, then once your regular in house designer is back they will hand over the files so he/she can continue as was.
4. Overload
As your company grows and develops you will find that your graphic designer at times is overloaded and with the best planning in the world everything is wanted now, but only having one designer to try and cope can be frustrating. Once again your dependable Graphic Design Agency can come to the rescue, as they are well versed in turning design projects around quickly, so in times of overload this can be an instant life saver. Ensuring that your in house designer is always sent the files on completion you are always in control.
We work with several companies who have an in house graphic designer and the relationship works really well as we are their in house, out house studio.