25 Graphic Design Business Success Stories [2024]
Graphic designers create logos, brochures, ads, and other marketing materials for companies and organizations. They also design websites and other digital content, including social media graphics.
Graphic designers may specialize in one type of design (such as print or web design), or they can be generalists who do everything from logo design to social media graphics.
Starting a graphic design business can be one of the most rewarding things you’ll ever do. It’s not easy, but if you’re passionate about design and want to make a living, starting your own graphic design business is a great way to go.
Consider a suitable pricing structure when starting a graphic design business. You may charge the customers per hour or fixed pricing based on the project’s nature.
In this list, you'll find real-world graphic design business success stories and very profitable examples of starting a graphic design business that makes money.
1. Design Pickle ($21M/year)
While running a consulting business, Russ Perry needed a way for his clients to get design work done while he was traveling to other offices.
Therefore, he created the framework for Design Pickle so his clients could request new designs. The requests would be fulfilled by a remote team and initially delivered to him, after which he would review and send them to his clients in the evening.
Realizing the success of this process and the high level of client satisfaction, he recognized the potential in an on-demand design service.
Motivated by the need to support his family and having studied the SaaS (Software as a Service) business model through various books and podcasts, he transformed the system into a subscription-based service. This allowed clients to make unlimited design requests for a fixed monthly fee.
How much money it makes: $21M/year
Discover how a creative services company transformed a consulting necessity into a $21M/year subscription-based design powerhouse, offering unlimited graphic design support for a fixed monthly fee.
2. Sttark ($12M/year)
Frontier Label, a digital label printing company, was founded by Dan Frist, who came from a family with a small business background. After his father passed away, Frist saw an opportunity in the emerging technology of digital label printing and purchased an HP Indigo WS 2000 printer. Initially struggling to attract customers, Frist took a risk and increased his Google Ads spend, leading to a significant increase in quote requests and the success of Frontier Label, which now brings in $12M annually.
How much money it makes: $12M/year
How much did it cost to start: $2M
How many people on the team: 54
Frontier Label started as a small digital label printing company with a basic HP printer and has grown to a $12M yearly e-commerce business that prints labels for companies of all sizes in various industries, with a focus on finding and meeting customer needs through SEO, content marketing, and exceptional customer service.
3. Company Folders, Inc ($3.3M/year)
Vladimir Gendelman, the founder of Company Folders, came up with the idea for his business after realizing the lack of variety in presentation folders in the American market. With only two customers showing interest in finding unique "company folders" online, Vladimir saw the opportunity to fill this gap and create a national online business. He started with minimal resources, maxing out his credit cards to launch the company, and focused on offering high-quality products, driving traffic to the website, and providing a personalized design and ordering experience. Despite facing challenges during the pandemic, Company Folders has remained profitable and continues to adapt and grow.
How much money it makes: $3.3M/year
How much did it cost to start: $60K
How many people on the team: 15
Multi-million dollar presentation folder company, Company Folders, offers over 100 million variations of products and has won multiple awards, including making Inc.’s list of 5,000 fastest-growing private companies in America for three consecutive years, due to their focus on quality, variety, and personalized customer service.
4. Huemor ($3M/year)
Example: Jeff, the co-founder of Huemor, started his journey as a graphic design student who freelanced to gain experience and earn money. After feeling unfulfilled in a corporate job, Jeff joined forces with a friend to build an internal agency for a media placement company. When the work environment turned toxic, they made a bold move to start their own agency, Huemor, and haven't looked back since. They've helped over 200 companies transform their digital presence and earned over 100 international awards, while maintaining a simple, customer-focused approach.
How much money it makes: $3M/year
How much did it cost to start: $0
How many people on the team: 44
Huemor is a successful digital marketing agency with over 200 company transformations, over 100 international awards, and a team beyond 40 people, scaling YoY at 74%, with an average project value of $67,500 and 2.7 year average client relationship.
5. Limeup ($2.16M/year)
Recognizing their superior product and UX design skills compared to competitors, Andrew and his team decided to capitalize on this strength by launching Limeup, a specialized Product Design Agency that generated $2.1 million in revenue in 2022 with 30% annual growth.
How much money it makes: $2.16M/year
How much did it cost to start: $20K
How many people on the team: 40
Limeup, a Product Design Agency, has experienced impressive growth with a workforce of 40+ professionals and a revenue of $2.1 million in 2022, aiming for a 50% growth rate in the current year by providing expertly crafted digital products and experiences to clients worldwide.
6. Quantum Digital Assets ($1.92M/year)
Peter Kozodoy, the co-founder and CEO of Stradeso, came up with the idea for the business after realizing the challenges faced by marketers in getting agency-level creative work at affordable prices. Inspired by the Uber model, Kozodoy created Stradeso, a subscription service that connects customers directly to creatives with excess capacity, eliminating the need for hiring agencies or freelancers. The platform aims to provide fast and inexpensive creative content, while maintaining high quality.
How much money it makes: $1.92M/year
How much did it cost to start: $0
How many people on the team: 4
Stradeso is a subscription service for creatives, connecting creative projects to creatives with excess capacity and offering unbeatably low prices, with over 2,000 creatives waiting to join the platform and b2b cards the secret to attracting and retaining customers.
7. Sievers Creative ($1.2M/year)
Roger Sievers, founder of Sievers Creative, started the business as a side hustle to pay off his student loans. He saw a gap in the market for serving small-sized businesses that were underserved by larger agencies. After years of building skills and developing relationships, Sievers Creative has experienced impressive growth, with a team of 8 and a 40-50% year-over-year revenue increase.
How much money it makes: $1.2M/year
How many people on the team: 8
Sievers Creative, a full-service marketing agency in Minnesota, founded as a part-time side project, specializes in multi-channel marketing campaigns, and has experienced year-over-year revenue growth of 50-60% for four years, and currently has a team of eight.
8. Design In DC ($1.2M/year)
Ziad came up with the idea for Design in DC by combining his academic background and extensive experience in film production with his partner Rob's expertise in web design and digital agencies.
They met in Canada and shared a vision of making web design more interactive and visually compelling, integrating elements like animation and photography to enhance the storytelling aspect of websites. This partnership addressed a market need for diverse digital assets, leading to the founding of Design in DC.
How much money it makes: $1.2M/year
How many people on the team: 12
Discover how Ziad Foty turned his background in film production and web design collaboration into a thriving digital design agency, Design in DC, generating $1.2 million annually by enhancing client websites with interactive storytelling.
9. Snappa ($1M/year)
Christopher Gimmer, the co-founder of Snappa, came up with the idea for the business after struggling to create graphics for his blog posts. As he searched for a simple and powerful graphic design tool, he realized there was a need for one geared towards marketers and entrepreneurs. He leveraged his viral blog post about free stock photos to market Snappa and collected feedback from potential users before building the prototype.
How much money it makes: $1M/year
How many people on the team: 4
Learn how two friends bootstrapped a SaaS business to $55k monthly recurring revenue (MRR) by creating a simple graphic design tool for non-designers and focusing on content marketing for customer acquisition.
10. Delesign ($972K/year)
Delesign was founded by Kenny Schumacher to address the need for affordable and high-quality design services that businesses of all sizes could utilize. Through a rigorous vetting and training process, Delesign provides clients with dedicated senior-level designers who can complete graphic design, animation, web and app, UI/UX, and illustration projects with fast turnaround times. The company has seen rapid growth, reaching nearly $100k MRR in just four years, and relies on referrals, organic traffic, and targeted content marketing to attract and retain customers.
How much money it makes: $972K/year
How much did it cost to start: $0
How many people on the team: 55
Delesign's co-owner explains how their fully remote-based graphic design service has scaled to nearly $100k MRR in just 4 years since providing entrepreneurs with a dedicated senior-level designer for a flat monthly rate with extremely fast turnaround times.
11. Kairos Digital ($780K/year)
Kairos Digital, a marketing agency specializing in clear messaging for businesses, was founded by two brothers who saw a need for their services. With over $230,000 in sales in 2020 and a focus on ongoing retainer marketing work, the agency is poised for continued growth. Through their own sales funnel and digital advertising strategies, they attract and retain customers while prioritizing quality and strong ROI.
How much money it makes: $780K/year
How much did it cost to start: $50K
How many people on the team: 5
Two brothers started Kairos Digital, a marketing agency that focuses on clear messaging, and closed out 2020 with over $230,000 in sales, utilizing retainer marketing work as their most profitable kind of service, and utilizing WordPress, Asana, Quickbooks, and Google Ads for their operations.
12. Content-Whale Private Limited ($750K/year)
Vaibhav Kishnani, an engineer turned writer, came up with the idea for Content-Whale after noticing the unprofessional conduct in the Indian content market. With just Rs. 2,500 ($35) in capital, he started the content agency which now generates a revenue turnover of Rs. 4 crores ($514,000) and serves clients like Quikr and The Boston Consulting Group.
How much money it makes: $750K/year
How much did it cost to start: $35
How many people on the team: 30
Content-Whale, a content curation agency, has achieved a Rs. 4 crore ($514k/year) turnover 4-5 years after being started with just Rs. 2500 ($35), and has a pool of more than 500 writers, aiming to become a market leader in the global content market.
13. Canny Creative ($600K/year)
Tony Hardy, founder of Canny Creative, started the business out of necessity when he needed to support his growing family. He began by selling business card designs and quickly gained referrals, eventually expanding his services to include brand strategy and website design. Through consistent blogging and content marketing, Canny Creative has grown to generate around $50,000 per month and serves clients globally.
How much money it makes: $600K/year
How much did it cost to start: $1K
How many people on the team: 12
Canny Creative is a creative agency earning around $50k per month by partnering with startups and SMEs to build and grow their brand, website, and content marketing offering.
14. SeekThem ($180K/year)
Nevilson Christian, the founder of SeekThem, was inspired by the poetry of Rumi and the power of beauty in capturing human attention. He combined his passion for design, technology, and business to create a company that offers unlimited design services, breaking free from the monotony and sameness on the internet. In just 10 months, SeekThem has achieved impressive success, booking $15k per month with 35% month-on-month growth.
How much money it makes: $180K/year
How much did it cost to start: $2K
How many people on the team: 10
SeekThem is an unlimited design service that offers an innovative approach to UX design by bundling every design service into a flagship unlimited bundle, booking $15K per month with 35% month-on-month growth in the company's first 10 months.
15. Eikon Design ($180K/year)
Anebi Agbo, the founder of Eikon Labs, came up with the idea for the web design consultancy during his altMBA program in 2019. With a background in technology and a desire to work with small businesses, he realized that helping them build better websites and apps could have a positive impact on their bottom line. He launched Eikon Labs as a side hustle and eventually transitioned to running it full-time.
How much money it makes: $180K/year
How much did it cost to start: $999
How many people on the team: 1
Learn how bootstrapping a web design consultancy from scratch can net $180K annually, boost your credibility through strategic design choices, and maintain a lean operation with 15 contractors across 5 continents to maximize a 40-50% gross margin.
16. Designious ($180K/year)
Alex Dumitru, along with his colleagues Viorel Popescu and Ciprian Dragut, started Designious as a side project in 2008. They initially created a website to publish the unused designs from their design studio, and it quickly gained traction, making a few hundred dollars in the first month. Since then, Designious has grown into a profitable business, generating around $12-13k per month, and they are now expanding their product offerings and opening up the platform to other designers.
How much money it makes: $180K/year
How many people on the team: 2
Designious co-founder Alex Dumitru shares how the graphic design library generates $12-13k in monthly revenue by creating digital products that appeal to print-on-demand entrepreneurs and graphic designers, while also offering a flat-rate membership and useful resources that solve little problems.
17. Draftss ($180K/year)
Junaid Ansari and Amin Memon co-founded Draftss.com, a productized graphic design and frontend code service. They started by providing graphic design services and later added frontend coding to their list of offerings based on customer requests. In 2019, they made $66,000 in annual recurring revenue (ARR), and as of July 2020, they hit $9.6k in monthly recurring revenue (MRR). Their focus is on automation and improving their service to retain customers and scale their business.
How much money it makes: $180K/year
How much did it cost to start: $100
How many people on the team: 25
Draftss.com is a productized graphic design and front-end code service on subscription that made $66k ARR in 2019, has an MRR of $9.6k as of July 2020, and offers add-ons such as designers being added to team in interacting tools and front-end code services on WordPress using various page builders like Elementor and Divi.
18. Above 8000 Creative ($120K/year)
Mimi and Delaney, the founders of Above 8000 Creative, came up with the idea for their business after realizing the demand for affordable and high-quality branding services for small businesses. They used their experience in graphic design, photography, and content creation to offer a full-service creative agency, helping other businesses stand out in their industries. With word-of-mouth referrals and targeted outreach on platforms like Instagram, they have successfully attracted and retained clients, leading to profitability and future growth.
How much money it makes: $120K/year
How many people on the team: 2
Above 8000 Creative is a successful creative agency started as a side hustle by a husband and wife team, specializing in graphic design, website design, photography, content creation, and Instagram marketing, and has grown to include many clients and services due to word of mouth referrals.
19. caddesignhelp.com ($96K/year)
CADdesignhelp.com was started by Scott Tarcy, a mechanical engineer who wanted more control over his schedule and life. After reading "The 4-Hour Workweek" and "The $100 Startup," Scott decided to turn his skills in CAD and product design into a business. He started by networking and providing CAD design services, eventually expanding into selling his own products online. Today, the business averages $9,000 a month in revenue with over 200 clients per year.
How much money it makes: $96K/year
How much did it cost to start: $15K
How many people on the team: 0
A 3D CAD designer and product inventor who started as a side hustle and averaged $9,000 a month in revenue, shares his insights on the ups and downs of owning a service-based business alongside an eCommerce store, as well as lessons learned in customer acquisition and in generating multiple streams of passive income.
20. MeetAnders ($87.9K/year)
Marilyn Wo, co-founder of MeetAnders, came up with the idea for her productized graphic design company after realizing the limitations of her freelance business. She saw the potential in offering predefined design packages on a subscription model, providing unlimited graphic design for a fixed fee per month. Through trial and error, Marilyn and her team grew the business to a three-person team with $7,000 in monthly recurring revenue, attracting customers such as event directors, CMOs, and startup founders who needed ongoing design support.
How much money it makes: $87.9K/year
How much did it cost to start: $0
How many people on the team: 3
MeetAnders is a productized graphic design company offering unlimited graphic designs for just one fixed-fee a month, with a three-man team and $7,000 in monthly recurring revenue, all started without any upfront capital.
21. DXFforCNC.com ($78K/year)
Ahmed Nassar, a freelance designer with a passion for digital arts, started his online business, DXFforCNC.com, in 2016. Inspired by his friend's request for silhouetted designs for metal cutting CNC machines, Ahmed saw an opportunity to provide unique and special designs to CNC machine owners and DIY enthusiasts. With a starting revenue of only $140, his business has now grown to generate around $6.5k per month, offering over 600 products containing more than 3000 unique designs.
How much money it makes: $78K/year
How much did it cost to start: $30
How many people on the team: 1
This case study is about a freelancer turned founder who started an online business selling unique 2D digital designs for CNC machines, with only basic design knowledge and part-time work, and now has a standalone running business with revenues of up to $7K per month.
22. ArrowUpz ($60K/year)
M Waseem Aziz, the founder of ArrowUpz, started his business after working as a freelancer and realizing the limitation of time and earning potential. He began outsourcing tasks to a team of remote workers and formed ArrowUpz to provide a wide range of digital services. Through referrals, paid ads, and organic traffic, he has gained over 100 clients and has plans for continued growth.
How much money it makes: $60K/year
How much did it cost to start: $500
How many people on the team: 5
ArrowUpz founder M Waseem Aziz shares how he started his digital agency as a freelancer, learned multiple skills, and outsourced tasks to build a team, resulting in a revenue boost from $250 as a graphic designer to $5K per month selling various digital services primarily via freelancing sites.
23. 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
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.
24. WOO Branding ($48K/year)
Ulas Uygun, the founder of WOO Branding, came up with the idea after watching a viral animated video. With no prior experience in graphic design or starting a business, he took online courses and practiced for 6 months before landing his first client. Through Instagram marketing and cold outreach, he was able to grow his business and eventually shift the strategic focus to B2C, bringing in $4,000 monthly revenue in the first half of its first year.
How much money it makes: $48K/year
How much did it cost to start: $0
How many people on the team: 2
WOO Branding, a B2B/B2C logo design and branding service, grew to bring in $4,000 monthly revenue in just six months as a B2C service with a profit margin of over 90%, and founder Ulas Uygun shares tips for aspiring graphic designers to self-learn and build a brand on almost no monetary investment.
25. Anytime Design ($30K/year)
Shubham Dhawan and Mitya Smusin, both coming from the agency world, had been working together on various design projects. During a weekly huddle, they discussed the idea of an unlimited design subscription, and with their existing design and dev team, they quickly built Anytime Design. Their subscription service offers UX design to startups and small businesses that can't afford an elaborate design team, and they already have a monthly recurring revenue of $2,500.
How much money it makes: $30K/year
How much did it cost to start: $10K
How many people on the team: 4
Anytime Design is an unlimited design subscription for app and web UI/UX design requirements, providing companies with a fixed-rate subscription of $2,500 per month to outsource their design requirements without laborious scope mapping conversations, long briefs, and extensive hiring processes.
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Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
