I run a tiny marketing shop. It’s me, a part-time writer, and a dog who naps like it’s a job. I needed more design work, fast, without hiring full-time. So I tried white label graphic design. And I stuck with it for nine months.
For a deeper dive into how another small agency navigated that same nine-month experiment, check out Moon & Back Graphics’ candid recap: I Tried White Label Graphic Design for 9 Months: Here’s the Real Story.
You know what? It saved my bacon during the holiday rush. But it also made me pull my hair once or twice. Let me explain.
Wait, what’s “white label design” anyway?
Simple take: I pay a design team each month. They make the graphics. I deliver the work to my clients under my brand. No one sees the source. No one sees the team behind the curtain. It’s like having a quiet studio on call.
For agencies looking to broaden their creative menu without adding headcount, ALM Corp’s white label graphic design service is a prime example of an invisible partner that delivers high-performing, on-brand assets behind the scenes.
If you’re curious what a boutique, done-for-you design partner looks like, pop over to Moon and Back Graphics and browse their white-label-friendly portfolio.
Who I used (and how it felt)
I used three services at different times:
- Design Pickle (Graphics plan)
- Penji (Team plan)
- Kimp (Graphics plan)
They all work a lot like this: I place tasks in a queue. A designer picks them up. I get drafts in one to two days. I give notes. They fix it. Files land in my drive with no company logos. Clean and simple.
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If you’d prefer a single branded portal with drag-and-drop templates, Design Huddle offers a white-label platform that covers both graphics and video.
Design Pickle used their own dashboard. Penji also had a smooth app, like Trello but sleeker. Kimp ran my board in Trello, which was handy since my writer lived there already.
My setup and workflow
I kept a “Brief” template in Google Docs. Brand colors. Fonts. Past samples. A short “do” and “don’t” list. I used Loom for quick video notes. I stacked work on Mondays so my queue stayed active.
I also kept a little “house style” file. It had our tone words. Warm. Clean. No goofy clip art. Yes to strong type. Think airy coffee shop, not loud arcade.
Real projects we shipped
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Coffee shop rebrand in Austin: I sent mood boards on a Monday. First logo drafts came in Wednesday. We picked one by Friday. By the next week we had a menu board, stickers, and a set of nine Instagram posts. The owner cried happy tears. We made a foil sticker, too. It looked sharp.
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B2B pitch deck: 20 slides for a SaaS team. They wanted icons and data charts that didn’t make eyes glaze over. Two rounds. Four days. Final files in both PowerPoint and PDF. Sales team said the deck felt “clean but punchy.” I’ll take it.
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Black Friday ad set: 32 sizes across Facebook, Instagram, and web display. Three colorways. The first pass had type that felt a bit safe. I sent three real ads I loved and asked for bolder type. Round two hit the mark. That one made my November.
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Podcast cover art: Done in one day. We tried three styles. Ended with a neon edge plus a soft grain. People clicked. Downloads went up that week. Was it the art? Maybe. The host thinks so.
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One packaging file: This one was a bit rough. The dieline was off by 2 mm on the first try. Print house flagged it. We fixed it fast, but shipping got bumped by a day. Not the end of the world, but yeah, I felt it.
Speed, quality, and how it really felt
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Turnaround: Basic tasks took 24–48 hours. Bigger ones took two to four days. Holidays were slower. I learned to plan a week ahead for big pushes.
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Quality: Solid 8 out of 10 most days. First drafts leaned “safe.” My notes nudged them to great. When I sent strong examples up front, the hit rate jumped fast.
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Files: I got layered AI and PSD files, plus PNG, JPG, and PDF. They shared brand guides as needed. I even got Figma files twice when I asked.
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Communication: Penji’s app felt crisp. Kimp on Trello fit my brain. Design Pickle ran smooth and steady. Twice, my ticket got stuck in a weird queue; support fixed it overnight.
The money part (yes, it mattered)
Plans change, but I paid around $499–$999 per month per seat. During the rush, I ran two seats for six weeks. My average bill that month was about $1,500. I resold the work across three clients and billed about $6,200. After costs, my margin was a little over $4k. For my tiny shop, that kept the lights bright.
What I loved
- Predictable cost. My books stayed calm.
- Fast drafts when my brain was fried.
- No hiring maze. No long interviews.
- Easy to scale up for peak season, then scale down.
What bugged me
- Complex branding needs more time. Full identity systems, custom illustration, or tricky packaging took extra rounds.
- Time zones bit me a few times. I sent notes at 4 p.m. and got updates the next morning. Not bad, but it pushed tight deadlines.
If you’re curious how offshore teams stack up in that respect, skim this no-fluff review: I Hired Offshore Graphic Design Teams — My Honest Take. - First drafts were sometimes “safe.” Not wrong. Just… safe. Mood boards and strong examples fixed that.
White label and my clients
None of my clients saw the backstage team. Files were clean. No watermarks. I sent everything from my domain and my folders. I even added a small QA checklist before delivery. Spacing, bleed, links, and spelling. It saved me twice.
One thing I didn’t expect: clients felt like I “grew” overnight. I didn’t lie. I said, “We have a design team now.” Which was true. They were just not on payroll.
When it’s not a fit
- If you want wild custom art or tons of motion, hire a specialist.
- If your brand needs a deep strategy refresh, book a brand studio.
- If you hate writing clear briefs, it may drain you.
Thinking about working with a single local designer instead of a subscription? This firsthand account might help: I Hired Michelle Chen in Irvine for Graphic Design — Here’s How It Went.
Tiny tips that made a big difference
- Send three visual examples with every brief.
- Keep a brand kit folder that’s always up to date. Fonts, colors, logos, textures.
- Use Loom for tricky notes. Talking is faster than typing a wall of text.
- Batch similar tasks. Like all ad resizes at once. They fly faster.
- Keep a “no-go” list. One bad font choice will haunt you.
- Build two rounds into your timeline, even if you won’t need them.
Seasonal note
Holiday sales weeks are a beast. I start queuing gift guides, banners, and promo headers right after Halloween. By the week of Black Friday, I’m mostly doing tweaks. My future self sends me a thank you each year.
My verdict
White label graphic design worked for me. Not perfect. But solid. It let me say “yes” more, without breaking my brain or my budget. I keep one subscription year-round, then add a second seat when things heat up.
Would I recommend it? If you run an agency, a busy shop, or you’re a solo founder with steady design needs, yes. If you need one logo every six months, probably not.
And if you’re on the fence, start with one month. Queue real work.