Everything You Need to Know Before Hiring Design Companies

What can design companies do for businesses?

Design firms help businesses grow revenue, improve customer experience, and reduce product/marketing risk by combining strategy and design execution, including branding, UX/UI design, web design, and product design.

An agency can define or refresh your brand strategy, positioning, messaging, and visual identity, so your business looks consistent and credible across channels (website, product, sales materials, ads).

A good design is strongly linked with stronger business performance, as noted in McKinsey's 5-year study of 300 public companies.

The study showed that top-quartile design leaders outgrew peers by 32% in revenue growth and 56% in total shareholder returns over the period.

Consistency plays a major role in branding.

Namely, research shows that consistent branding across channels can increase revenue by up to 23%, and 68% of companies report 10-20% revenue growth from strong brand consistency.

UX brings a measurable business impact as well

Design agencies run research, UX audits, usability testing, information architecture, and UI design to remove friction and make key flows (signup, checkout, lead forms) easier.

Studies suggest that every $1 invested in UX can generate up to $100 in return, which equals a 9,900% ROI, through higher conversions, retention, and customer satisfaction.

According to several studies, the average documented online shopping cart abandonment rate is 70.22%. That's a large pool of potential customers where UX and checkout improvements can directly translate into recovered revenue.

For apps and SaaS, the best design agencies can support product discovery, prototyping, design systems, and handoff to developers, which helps teams validate direction earlier and avoid costly redesigns later.

In McKinsey's report, one example cites a final concept reaching a 90%+ usability score vs. 76%+ for two competitors, illustrating how design work can translate into materially better user satisfaction.

Top design agencies also support content creation and visual storytelling, which strengthens digital campaigns and improves engagement across social media and marketing channels.

When should I hire a design agency instead of building an in-house team?

Businesses should consider hiring a design firm instead of building an in-house design team when they need specialized expertise, faster execution, or flexible capacity without the long-term costs of hiring and managing employees.

The best choice depends on factors such as budget, project scope, growth stage, and design needs.

When you need specialized design expertise quickly

Agencies typically include multi-disciplinary teams, such as UX designers, web designers, graphic designers, strategists, and developers, who work together on client projects.

Building this expertise internally can be expensive, considering:

• A junior designer in the U.S. earns about $53,000 annually,
• A mid-level designer averages around $62,000,
• A senior designer averages about $93,000 per year.

A small in-house team of 3-5 designers can cost around $221,000 per year in salaries alone, excluding benefits and tools, according to industry reports.

When your company needs to scale design capacity quickly

Design needs often fluctuate, especially for product launches, website redesigns, branding projects, or marketing campaigns.

Hiring full-time designers can take months, and the average cost to hire a new employee is about $4,700, according to HR research.

Agencies can start working almost immediately and scale resources up or down depending on project demand.

You want access to broader experience and perspectives

Design companies work with multiple industries, products, and clients, which gives them exposure to a wider range of design challenges.

This cross-industry experience often leads to:

• More innovative solutions
• Knowledge of best practices across markets
• Faster problem-solving

In contrast, in-house designers may work on a single product or brand for years, which can sometimes limit exposure to new approaches or ideas.

How do I choose the best company for my business?

Consider the following key criteria when evaluating a B2B design agency:

1. Define your goals, scope, and budget
   Before contacting agencies, clearly define what problem you want the design company to solve, so you can find agencies that specialize in the right area, such as graphic design, web design, branding, or product design.
2. Review the agency's portfolio and case studies
   Look for projects similar to your industry or product, case studies showing the problem, solution, and results, and consistent quality across multiple projects.
3. Evaluate their design process and methodology
   The best design agencies follow a structured design process, typically including research, strategy, UX planning, design, testing, and implementation. Agencies that prioritize research and user insights tend to deliver stronger results because they understand your business and customers before designing solutions.
4. Assess communication and collaboration with clients
   Observe whether the agency asks thoughtful questions about your business, explains timelines and deliverables clearly, and provides transparent pricing and feedback processes. Strong communication ensures smooth collaboration between the design team and the client, helping projects stay on schedule and aligned with expectations.
5. Check client references and long-term results
   Talking to previous clients is one of the most reliable ways to evaluate a design agency. Metrics such as conversion rates, customer engagement, or revenue growth help verify whether the agency's work produces real business impact.
6. Compare pricing and value
   Instead of choosing the cheapest option, evaluate the expertise of the design team, the strategic value provided, and the long-term impact of the design work. Higher-quality design often delivers stronger ROI through improved branding, user experience, and conversions.

How can I find the best design firm on DesignRush that fits my budget?

Our directory features top design companies across different budget ranges, so you can identify partners that align with your spending expectations.

Beyond budget, our agency directory allows you to filter agency profiles by location, area of expertise, agency reviews, client types, team size, and hourly rates.

What is the typical design process when working with an agency?

Most design firms follow a structured design process, including 5-7 core stages, to ensure that projects deliver measurable results and align with business goals.

Discovery and research

The process starts with understanding the client's business goals, target users, and market landscape.

Typical activities:

• Stakeholder interviews with the client
• Market and competitor analysis
• User research and surveys
• Product or website audits

Research is critical for project success. Studies show that 85% of successful design projects begin with a structured research phase, highlighting how data-driven insights guide better decisions.

Strategy and concept development

After gathering insights, a design firm defines a clear direction for the project.

Deliverables may include:

• Creative brief or product strategy
• Customer personas and journeys
• Brand or product positioning
• Feature prioritization

These deliverables align the B2B design agency and client around clear objectives and success metrics before design begins.

UX structure and experience design

Next, a creative agency designs how users will interact with the product or website.

Typical outputs:

• Information architecture (sitemap)
• User flows
• Content hierarchy

This phase is crucial because usability directly affects business performance.

• 94% of users form their first impression of a business based on website design, and they do so in about 0.05 seconds.
• Poor UX can cause visitors to leave immediately, reducing conversions and marketing ROI.

Wireframing and prototyping

Designers then create early versions of the product before investing in full graphic or web design.

Deliverables typically include:

• Wireframes
• Interactive prototypes
• Early UI concepts

Iteration during this stage dramatically improves product success. Research shows that products with at least three prototype iterations are about 50% less likely to fail compared to products that skip iterative testing.

Graphic design and visual UI design

Once the structure is validated, design companies design the final visual experience.

This phase may include:

• Brand-aligned graphic design
• UI layouts for websites or apps
• Responsive web design for multiple devices
• Design systems and component libraries

Strong UX and UI design can significantly improve performance. Studies show that well-designed interfaces can increase conversion rates by up to 200%, while optimizing the entire user experience can increase conversions by as much as 400%.

Testing and iteration

Before launch, design firms validate design solutions through usability testing and feedback.

Common testing methods:

• Usability testing sessions
• A/B testing
• Stakeholder reviews

Testing helps identify usability problems and measure metrics like task completion rates, errors, and user satisfaction, which are core indicators of design quality.

Handoff, development support, and launch

The final stage prepares designs for implementation.

Typical deliverables include:

• Final design solutions
• Graphic assets and design systems
• Developer specifications and documentation

A good B2B design agency often continues supporting the client through development, QA, and post-launch improvements.

Following a structured design process helps businesses avoid costly product failures and improve ROI.

88% of online consumers are less likely to return to a website after a poor experience, showing how design directly impacts retention and revenue.

Why Companies Trust DesignRush

Rated 4.8 on Google and 4.7 on Trustpilot, DesignRush Agency Directory is a reliable resource for finding design agencies. We owe this to our executive selection team, which follows a strict screening process when featuring agencies on the platform, assessing key performance indicators, like portfolio, client reviews, and industry reputation.

Learn more about DesignRush Agency Ranking Methodology. 

Sources

DesignRush sustains a directory of over 40,000 agencies categorized by service category, location, expertise, and reviews. We build our database in two ways:

• Our dedicated team of agency experts actively searches the web for top-performing companies. We then pull information from their websites, online presence, and client testimonials to verify their status and qualifications prior to listing.
• The agencies listed get notified of their profiles on the website and they can choose to claim it or not, which suggests their availability for more collaborations.

Agencies can also reach out to DesignRush and must go through the verification process prior to being listed.