Business Idea?

Jackos17

I'm looking for your opinions on an idea I've had for a while regarding setting up a graphic design company.

Basically my idea is to set up an internet based graphic design company mainly doing small, low cost projects such as logo and business card design and outsource all the work to India.

I've worked with graphic designers from India for years and their quality of work and price is unbeatable. Also, because of the time difference, I can send them projects in the evening and hopefully have it back and ready for the clients in the morning. I think it would work well because our clients are getting great work at a good price and they have the same customer service as an Irish based firm would have.

Is this a great idea or just completely mad?

Your feedback would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Jack.

padma

Jackos17 wrote: »

I'm looking for your opinions on an idea I've had for a while regarding setting up a graphic design company.

Basically my idea is to set up an internet based graphic design company mainly doing small, low cost projects such as logo and business card design and outsource all the work to India.

I've worked with graphic designers from India for years and their quality of work and price is unbeatable. Also, because of the time difference, I can send them projects in the evening and hopefully have it back and ready for the clients in the morning. I think it would work well because our clients are getting great work at a good price and they have the same customer service as an Irish based firm would have.

Is this a great idea or just completely mad?

Your feedback would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Jack.

It would be called exploitation..but doesnt seem too bad a business idea.

MouseTail

padma wrote: »

It would be called exploitation..but doesnt seem too bad a business idea.

How is it exploitative?

Jackos17

I guess it would but it kind of works out well for everyone. I know a guy who works in a big graphic design firm and for any jobs he doesn't have time for he outsources them straight to India and it's always worked out for him.

Axwell

One would assume your client wants something professional and individual to them, especially when it comes to logo design and branding.

In most cases when outsourcing to India or going through sites such as 99 designs its a well known fact that the majority of the work tends to be based from stock imagery and graphics. You get something back that looks professional but it in no way unique, there are 10 other companies getting the same design of a log with a few minor tweaks. A few months down the line your client comes back to you saying they see another company with a simialr logo and thats where the fun starts..

Jackos17

Yeah that's a good point but I guess that's more to do with the graphic designer than the business idea itself. It's definitely something to consider though when hiring. Thanks for that.

Axwell

Its completely to do with the business idea - its a fundamental part of that could destroy your business down the line. You are the point of call for the client and you are the one hiring the indian designer. It will fall on you in the end because you chose to go down the route of outsourcing the work to try get the work done cheaper and make bigger profits.

Heres a great post about the website 'fiver' but the content is still relevant to outsourcing design work as per your idea.

http://blog.folyo.me/the-5-dollar-logo/

djburchgrove

In theory this could work, and with the high quality of initial projects you will probably pick up clients soon enough at a fast rate.

The problem comes deeper down the line when your outsourced guy in India either moves on, or a designer from their team quits etc.

Any company worth their weight, is going to want consistent branding in their materials across the board. When you outsource, you simply can't guarantee this for specific designs, you will then find yourself conversating more and becoming the middle man in this.

Owning my own (small) agency, I know both my company and the clients we work with expect designs representative of their brand every time. This goes beyond mere colour schemes.

You could however go one further and hire a personal PA, again outsourced, who acts as the intermediary between your clients and the outsourced designers.

Axwell

djburchgrove wrote: »

The problem comes deeper down the line when your outsourced guy in India either moves on, or a designer from their team quits etc.

Don't really see how this is an issue that's specific to outsourcing or really an issue at all. People move on in agencies all the time be they here or abroad. With any brand there is going to be brand guidelines in place and source files for all designs. Any new designer should be able to take the brand from those and apply it to new materials. Its not like the originial designer is the only person that can ever work on it.

djburchgrove

Axwell wrote: »

Don't really see how this is an issue that's specific to outsourcing or really an issue at all. People move on in agencies all the time be they here or abroad. With any brand there is going to be brand guidelines in place and source files for all designs. Any new designer should be able to take the brand from those and apply it to new materials. Its not like the originial designer is the only person that can ever work on it.

When targeting smaller jobs like the OP says, it is very possible he will be working with businesses who do not have branding guidelines to the extent that bigger companies would.

Subtle changes in Design can make a big difference to the look and feel of your branded material. It is a maybe situation and I agree with somewhat of what you say, but any change of designers, with artistic elements, is going to have a slight change of feel.

Not always a bad thing!

Axwell

Exactly my point, the outsourced company would be the one creating the brand guidelines so it should be quite easy for any of their designers to work on it, not necessarily the original one. These are small one off jobs, there isnt going to be a rebrand where a new designer comes in and has a different style or feel, its going to be a case of at most an existing design being reapplied to different materials.

If it comes to a new logo and its a different designer then its fine for their own style or feel to come through as its a rebrand anyways and the client is looking for a new look.

Either way I dont think this will be a major issue or one the OP will face and I would be more concerned with outsourced companies copying work and presenting it as their own since the charge so low and want to spend as little time as possible on it but present the OP with professional work so they get the job. Definitely a few test jobs up front to test out their ability and turnaround time and some sort of contract in place to avoid any backlash later on.

Also when dealing with outsourcing and someone in another country the last thing you want is another middle man (a PA) involved on the job where things can get even more lost in translation. You should be talking directly with the clients and then going to the designer with a clear and concise brief where there is no room for error or confusion. Having dealt with outsourcing projects before I can safely say if you leave any room for error or things aren't concise and well laid out you wont get what you ask for and it will cost you more in the long run.

pedronomix

The importance of good design is probably the most neglected of all business issues but often has a huge impact on the business.

OK so for a logo/corporate image design, a decent looking design, even a nice cheap clean one, for a local tradesman/shop is going to give him a more professional image/public perception that what is the norm for his competition. The fact that it is very similar to a bunch of others in far flung places is irrelevant, as the twain shall never meet.

If it is for an eCommerce website with it's huge visibility, the design element and it's uniqueness is far more important for both logo/branding and of course the site design itself.

There are tons of example of a clever product featuring poor product design execution and even more of those with really crap presentation packaging design. Bad design in these fields is usually terminal.

Imitation of the best in your field is smart, good design can do this without just copying. There is a world of difference.

The Corinthian

Jackos17 wrote: »

Is this a great idea or just completely mad?

It's a good idea, it's just not a new one. There are various companies that already do this; local office with local point of contact (project managers, analysts, etc) and have relationships with outsourcing companies in the developing World (typically India, although Ukraine is also popular). Having said that, I've seen it in outsourced development, not that much in design.

They pay the outsourced party 10 Euro p.hr. and charge 20 or 25 to the end client. Once the volume is high enough they can demand discounts of the outsourcers.

Comes down to your outsourced resources, managing them and having backups should something go pear-shaped (and it will). Skill in project managing multiple projects, along with sales is key.

smash

I fail to see any point in this at all. There's places like brand crowd that supply one off custom designed logos that cost little and then there's places logo maker etc that are just stock logos and cost fcuk all. If you want to be a bottom of the barrel template/stock supplier then it's up to you but it's like being a really cheap used car salesman: you'll get a bit of business but you won't get a reputation or respect.

Graham

I think the biggest challenge stems from the idea that this business will be internet based.

As the Corinthian has pointed, there are several dev houses that do this type of thing on the development side and it can work quite well. Any of these companies (that I'm familiar with) have a local presence to look after the project management/account management/face-to-face side of the business and they have a tried and tested development team offshore.

As the OP is proposing an 'internet based' graphic design company, he's going to find it difficult to differentiate himself enough to justify the necessary premium his business will require. If a customer knows he can get a cheap logo/corporate identity from the interwebs, it's going to be tough sell to get that customer to buy from Jackos17online.com rather than going directly to 99designs, fiverr etc.

I think that's your big challenge OP, what's the value-add that you're bringing to the table and is that value-add sufficient to convince customers to buy from you rather than going direct? You second challenge is finding a way to get your product/service in front of your potential customers. Adwords will eat whatever margin you may have allowed, relying on SEO throws your product in with thousands of others.