Graphic Design Agency

Graphic Design Agency Success Stories [2024]

Pat Walls

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Updated: October 10th, 2024

Ever wanted to turn your artistic flair into a thriving business? Starting a graphic design agency might be the right move. In this business, you create visual content for clients, ranging from logos and advertisements to websites and social media graphics.

A graphic design agency provides an essential service to businesses and individuals looking to enhance their visual presence. With the growing importance of digital marketing, the demand for skilled designers is on the rise. Clients from various industries require compelling visual elements to connect with their audience, making this a versatile and in-demand field.

Running a graphic design agency means combining creativity with technical skills. You'll need to be proficient in design software and have a good understanding of branding and marketing principles. While it requires dedication and continuous learning, the satisfaction of seeing your designs come to life in the real world can be immensely rewarding.

In this list, you'll find real-world graphic design agency success stories and very profitable examples of starting a graphic design agency that makes money.

1. OrangeBall Creative ($480K/year)

Beau Nordby, along with his partners, launched OrangeBall Creative in 2012, initially offering print and digital creative services. However, they realized that their clients struggled with finding the right words to describe their businesses and differentiate themselves. This led them to create Brand Bounce Bootcamp, a set of exercises designed to help businesses simplify their marketing messages and tell their stories. They now offer these exercises in a downloadable, online format, bringing affordable marketing help to small and mid-sized businesses.

How much money it makes: $480K/year
How many people on the team: 3

How We Started And Grew A Branding Agency To $40K/Month

OrangeBall Creative's co-founder shares how they launched Brand Bounce Bootcamp, a set of brand messaging exercises that has helped hundreds of businesses simplify their marketing messages, differentiate themselves, and understand their audience's driving forces.

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2. Dox Design ($240K/year)

Kaila Piepkow, the owner and principal designer of Dox Design, came up with the idea for her business when she noticed a gap in the market for beautiful branding in the pet industry. After freelancing for about 6 months and receiving positive feedback from the pet community, she filed for an LLC and launched Dox Design. Since then, the business has grown from $4K to $12K in monthly sales, with over 12 clients and $22K in closed business in their highest month.

How much money it makes: $240K/year
How many people on the team: 2

How I Turned My Passion For Puppers Into A Thriving Design Agency

Dox Design, a pet industry-focused design agency, grew from $4K to $12K in monthly sales since launching in 2016, with over 12 clients and $22K in closed business in its highest month by providing bespoke branding, graphic and website designs for pet businesses and animal lovers.

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3. Driftime® Media ($126K/year)

Abb-d Choudhury, co-founder of Curate Labs, came up with the idea for his business after falling out of love with his work at large agencies and wanting to create a practice focused on ethics and design for good. Starting with the launch of Curate Magazine, Choudhury and his partner Sara built the business from the ground up, using their own skills to design the brand and website, while also securing client work to sustain the business financially. They have since expanded their ventures to include The Annual Digest and Driftime®, with plans to merge all aspects of their business into one entity with multiple revenue streams.

How much money it makes: $126K/year
How many people on the team: 2

How We Started A $10K/Month Design Studio

Curate Labs is a creative practice focused around ethical and sustainable design, with an annual publication that champions good business and a travel platform that advocates conscious travel, founded in 2016 by co-founders Abb-d Choudhury and Sara, bootstrapped, now turning into one business with 3 departments and aiming for 50-100% increase in revenue.

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4. Rank Trends ($72K/year)

Md. Yousuf Ali, the founder of Rank Trends and Khan, came up with the idea for his business after discovering the potential of digital marketing through oDesk. With his background in web design and development, he launched Rank Trends to provide SEO, web design, and graphics design services. The business quickly gained traction and was recognized as the "Best SEO Service Provider in Bangladesh 2019." Today, Ali is expanding his retail business into the online space and plans to resume activities for Rank Trends soon.

How much money it makes: $72K/year
How much did it cost to start: $5K
How many people on the team: 2

How I Started A $6K/Month SEO And Digital Marketing Agency In Bangladesh

This case study features Md. Yousuf Ali, the founder of Rank Trends, who shares how he started a successful digital marketing agency, which generated a revenue of over $6k per month through SEO and video production services.

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5. DesignPac ($50.4K/year)

SumanJung, a young entrepreneur from Nepal, co-founded DesignPac after experiencing the limitations of freelancers and tight budgets. By renting out a team of web experts on a monthly or hourly basis, DesignPac offers a cost-effective solution for startups and small businesses to get top-quality web services. With a vetted team and a user-friendly project management tool, DesignPac aims to make web development hassle-free and accessible to anyone with a dream.

How much money it makes: $50.4K/year
How many people on the team: 5

How I Launched A Startup From A Third World Country

DesignPac provides a unique productized service that rents out skilled web professionals on a monthly/hourly basis, allowing startups, small businesses, and agencies to access a full-service web agency at an affordable price.

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6. Freshly Squeezed ($33.6K/year)

Adam Crookes, the founder of Freshly Squeezed, had always dreamed of running his own business and had been developing ideas since his high school days. After leaving a digital marketing agency, he took the opportunity to start a content writing business. In just six months, Freshly Squeezed has become incredibly successful, earning considerably more than Adam's previous job.

How much money it makes: $33.6K/year
How many people on the team: 0

How I Started A $2.8K/Month Content Writing Agency Focused On SEO Growth

Learn how Adam Crookes started a content writing business, Freshly Squeezed, from scratch, resulting in $3K MRR in just 6 months, and get tips on attracting and retaining customers and building a successful service-based business.

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7. Indiebrands ($15.6K/year)

Laurids came up with the idea for Indiebrands after realizing that there was a need for better business names and logos at affordable prices. He was inspired by a website selling digital products in a simple way and knew he could provide a superior product. After launching on Product Hunt and making over $1,000 in less than 24 hours, Laurids realized that his idea could be a successful business.

How much money it makes: $15.6K/year
How much did it cost to start: $400
How many people on the team: 0

How We Created A $1.3K/Month Domain + Logo Package For Startups

Indiebrands sells company names completed by ready-made logos and a great top-level domain, making an average monthly revenue of $1,300 in the last 12 months and growing about 200% in the last year through selling to startup founders and indie hackers.

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Read by 3,410 founders