Design Sourcing: The Modern Way

Products which rely on visual appeal, clothing being a notable example, can only be as good as their design. And, in turn, the design can only be as good as the designer. Tastes in design are in a state of near-constant flux and so a designer must become extremely skilled at judging and responding to their market in order to become, and remain, a success.

One of the best ways to ensure success is to produce a great number of designs; the more options you give potential buyers, the more chances you have to reach an ever-wider market. Even the most prolific designers can sometimes struggle to make this number large enough and so sourcing new design ideas is essential in order to keep abreast of current and future trends.

The internet has made it possible to connect with graphic designers, both individuals and those working with organisations and companies, all over the world and so the sourcing of new design ideas has become easier in recent years. Three of the most interesting graphic design companies currently operating are Fiverr, Graphicriver and Creative Market, all of which are discussed in more detail here.

Fiverr

Fiverr is billed as “the world's largest freelance services marketplace for lean entrepreneurs to focus on growth & create a successful business at affordable costs”. It gathers together many thousands of professional freelancers, including graphic designers, along with those who seek to employ the services of such professionals. Signing up to Fiverr costs nothing but any purchases up to and including $20 are subject to a $1 processing fee; purchases over and above this amount incur a fee of 5% of the total.

A service sold on Fiverr is known as a ‘gig’. The website hosts a huge catalogue of services and service providers in a wide range of categories navigable using a powerful search facility and, once the shortlist is narrowed down, you can start looking at individual sellers pricing structures. Sellers obviously choose their own starting price point and can then use ‘gig packages’ to offer buyers different service packages at different prices.

Once you have found a gig that looks suitable, you can then get more information such as a full service description along with the seller’s portfolio containing samples of their work. There is a stunning amount of graphic designers offering packages on Fiverr and it has become a hub of activity in the field.

Graphicriver

Graphicriver is one of the busiest and most dynamic arms of the vast Envato Market, which offers ‘everything you need for your next graphic project’. Envato, based in Australia is actually a collection of themed marketplaces and boasts in excess of nine million digital products that have been created by ‘a global community of designers, developers, photographers, illustrators & producers’. Graphicriver itself offers 630,000 fonts, icons, logos and more, all available at extremely competitive pricers and each individually reviewed by the Graphicriver team of specialists.

The website is constantly updated with the newest templates to be made available, all of which are gathered together on the homepage for convenience. Individual designers are chosen for a weekly feature and you can access free graphic & web design tutorials to help you with your project.

Creative Market

Creative Market is ‘a platform for handcrafted, mousemade design content from independent creatives around the world’ and the organisation is ‘passionate about making beautiful design simple and accessible to everyone.’ The numbers are impressive and grow daily; currently there are more than 25,000 shops and in excess of 2m individual products, with over 4m individual site members.

The site’s photos, graphics, fonts, 3D designs and other templates are carefully arranged by theme and it is possible to spend a great many pleasurable hours browsing the ever-growing collections. One of the most popular areas of the website is the ‘free goods’ section, where you can, as the name suggests, download a selection of graphic assets without charge; the section is updated weekly. Registered users who spend a nominal sum in any given week are also eligible to receive further free assets.

However you choose to source your designs, you can be certain that Inkthreadable have the skill, the means and the dedication to ensuring they are shown in their very best light when applied to our range of quality clothing, hats, phone cases and sundry items. For all the details, get in touch with our expert team. Happy sourcing!