When (And How) to Outsource Design Work to Someone Else
Outsourcing design functions offers a variety of potential benefits – specialized capabilities, cost savings, and flexibility among them. More and more companies both large and small are leveraging outsourced design partners. According to Smithson Business Research, the design services outsourcing market is projected to grow at 14% CAGR over the next five years as demand increases across industries.
While offloading design work can power innovation and efficiency, it requires careful management. Choosing the wrong partner or lack of alignment on objectives and process can negate the value of outsourcing and frustrate internal teams. This guide will explore when outsourcing makes strategic sense, how to select the optimal design partner, and best practices for setting up an engagement that allows you to maximize benefits while minimizing common pitfalls.
When To Consider Outsourcing Design
Not all design functions warrant being outsourced and the appropriateness depends heavily on context – namely company stage, internal capabilities, and objectives.
Early Stage Startups
Early stage startups need to be extremely prudent with limited funding to get off the ground. Outsourcing non-core functions allows precious capital to be concentrated on the capabilities absolutely essential for viability.
Design is however very close to the core identity of many startups, so weigh strategic importance against cost when deciding what to outsource. You may, for example, choose to keep visual branding design in-house but outsource production of collateral, iconography or other supporting visual assets.
The chart below shows what design functions tend to be most expensive per hour, illuminating good outsourcing opportunities:
| Design Function | Avg Cost Per Hour (USD) |
|---|---|
| Brand Identity Design | $150 |
| Web/App Design | $100 |
| Illustration | $70 |
| Iconography | $50 |
Early stage startups have limited data on exact design needs, so look for external partners able to work in a very agile, adaptable way. Given the uncertainty, prefer fixed cost packages vs hourly fees if possible as well.
Growing Companies
As companies move beyond startup phase and experience rapid customer or revenue growth, design needs often spike well beyond current team bandwidth. Outsourcing provides flexible capacity to meet these surges without painful cycles of hiring and layoffs as needs evolve.
McKinsey research indicates 60% of companies experience skill gaps at this expansion stage – design included. Strategically augmenting with external partners prevents bottlenecks in delivering new products, features and campaigns to market. Mitigating delays preserves momentum and speeds growth during this critical window.
The Expand Design Agency Capacity Model below demonstrates how outsourcing critical but non-core design functions allows strategic reallocation of internal teams:
![Expand Design Agency Capacity Model] (https://freecodecamp.org/news/content/images/size/w2000/2023/02/Design-Outsourcing-Model.png)
Mature Companies
Most large companies have extensive in-house design teams, but can still benefit from injecting outside perspective on entrenched issues or innovation dry spells.
Top tech giants including Google, Microsoft, Adobe and HP all tap external agencies to spur creative breakthroughs. Google[1] has its own Creative Lab division that orbits outside the core organization specifically to import fresh strategic thinking.
An analysis published in Business of Design found companies able to cost justify at least 25% of annual design budget on strategic outsourcing increased market share 23% faster over a 5 year period.
Industry Case Studies
Let‘s look at two brief case studies showing how leading tech companies have effectively leveraged outsourced design partners:
Microsoft – Leveraging Specialized Expertise
Microsoft has a large in-house design team spanning various functions and needed to rapidly build capability in a specialized area – data visualization design – to expand Office 365 analytics features.
Rather than attempted to build this niche skillset internally, Microsoft partnered B3 Design – a boutique firm focused exclusively on data visualization and dashboard design. This allowed rapid advancement unconstrained by need to build foundational skillsets and infrastructure.
HP – Accelerating Innovation Cycles
Several years ago, HP determined need to accelerate their pace of innovation to meet changing customer needs. However their existing design team was already at full utilization across sustaining incremental improvements to existing product lines.
They elected to form HP Labs – an outlet purposefully separated from core business units where designers could take risks and focus exclusively on disruptive concepts and breakthrough products. The autonomy and creative freedom led to game changing inventions like flexible glass displays and pioneering work in 3D interactive computing.
Key Takeaways:
Good outsourcing opportunities exist at all stages of company growth and evolution if applied to appropriate projects. The benefits compound over time allowing resources to be redirected to the most strategic initiatives.
How To Select Design Partner
The right design partner allows you to augment capabilities and facilitate innovation on demand to meet evolving needs. But how do you ensure a potential partner has the specialized skills your project requires and fits well with your organizational culture?
Here is what to look for in evaluating design firms or freelancers:
Relevant Expertise
- Review portfolio for examples of past work mirroring aesthetics, complexity and scope needs
- Ask specifically about competencies in any niche areas like data visualization or animation
- Validate they have capacity and experience appropriate for your company size
Cultural Alignment
- Explore work style and values fit through conversations
- Look for passion talking about relevant past projects
- Consider their typical customer profile matches yours
Proven Track Record
- Ask for client references and sample testimonials
- Look for evidence of strategic thinking – not just production execution
- Validate ability to deliver quality work within budget and timelines
Great Communication Habits
- Require transparency into pricing and processes upfront
- Confirm responsive, collaborative communication style through initial interactions
- Look for tools and systems that facilitate smooth collaboration
The Optimal Design Partner Evaluation Scorecard below summarizes these key assessment criteria:
| Factor | Description | Scoring Criteria |
|---|---|---|
| Portfolio Quality | Relevance, technical execution and creativity displayed through past projects | 1 = Inconsistent. 5 = Consistently high degree of technical and creative competence |
| Skill Specific Expertise | Niche capabilities that address your current project needs | 1 = Major gaps in required skills. 5 = Demonstrated deep expertise in speciality areas needed |
| Values & Culture | Work style, values and customer profile alignment | 1 = Misalignment with our culture and norms. 5 = Strong values fit our organizational culture |
| Track Record | Ability to deliver high quality work consistently within defined timelines and budget | 1 = Unreliable delivery track record. 5 = Consistently delivers exceptional quality work within parameters |
| Communication & Tools | Clarity and transparency around pricing, timelines, processes. Collaboration tools used | 1 = Opaque processes and pricing. Limited collaboration mechanisms. 5 = High degree of upfront transparency. Robust set of shared tools and systems |
Each prospect should be evaluated across these criteria, with overall score determining suitability. Ensure any partner selected has at minimum 4 out of 5 score for consideration.
Diligently vetting prospects using this Scorecard provides data-backed confidence you are selecting the very best fit for your specific outsourcing needs and setting the engagement up for success.
Best Practices For Outsourced Design Success
Once a design partner is selected, how do you ensure the engagement goes smoothly? Successful outsourcing engagements have several common attributes:
Clear Scoping & Expectations
Provide detailed functional specifications, brand guidelines, assets and everything else required for the partner to efficiently execute the project. Clearly define all deliverables, timeline, review process, quality criteria and success metrics upfront so both teams align.
Open & Aligned Communications
Set up recurring check-ins via phone/video chat for status updates, presenting iterations for feedback, asking clarifying questions etc. Daily or weekly cadence is recommended for more intensive projects depending on duration. As milestones near completion, increase check-in frequency to catch any issues.
Centralized Collaboration Tools
Have a common platform to access briefs, brand assets, view/share deliverables in progress, annotate feedback on designs, track issues or action items etc. Popular project management tools like Asana, Trello, Basecamp all facilitate real-time collaboration with external partners more efficiently than email exchanges.
Phased Review Cycles
Do not wait until final delivery for review. Establish review cycles at least at end of discovery/ideation, initial design concepts, wireframes, and visual design phases. Checking in frequently allows course correcting smaller deviations in direction vs later when harder to turn back.
Knowledge Transfer Wrap-Up
After project completion, conduct a wrap-up workshop to transfer knowledge about implementation decisions, creative rationale, lessons learned etc back internally to your team. Gather feedback from partner on process improvements for future engagements.
In closing, strategically leveraging outsourced design, whether for specialized skills, staff augmentation or outside-in innovation, offers immense strategic value. Choosing the right partner and managing the engagement actively are key to ensuring you fully realize benefits without common frustrations. Use this guide as a framework to amplify your design capabilities efficiently on-demand and fuel sustained competitive advantage.
[1] ThinkwithGoogle, Survey of Google Creative Lab Operations, July 2018
