Great design isn’t just about making things look pretty – it’s a strategic growth engine for businesses. Too often, companies treat design as a dispensable line item, trimming creative budgets when times get tough. In reality, investing in high-quality design pays off. Design-led companies significantly outperform their peers: one McKinsey report found firms that deeply integrated design into their strategy achieved 32% more revenue growth and 56% higher total returns to shareholders than their counterparts. Why? Because design shapes how customers perceive, trust, and engage with your brand. In fact, 75% of consumers admit they judge a company’s credibility based on its website design alone – a stark reminder that first impressions (and lasting impressions) are largely visual.

In this article, we’ll explore why good design is an investment with tangible ROI, not just an expense. We’ll break down the cost-benefit of different design options – from hiring in-house designers to using freelancers to leveraging “unlimited” creative services – and see how smart businesses can save money and get better results. Along the way, we’ll draw inspiration from current trends and culturally savvy brands (Poppi, Rhode, Tala, Big Face Coffee, American Eagle, and even luxury fashion houses) that have leveraged design to turbocharge their growth. By the end, you’ll have a clear picture of what unlimited creative can do for your business and some actionable steps to start reaping the rewards of design investment.

Design as an Investment, Not a Line Item Expense

Design is often misunderstood as a cost center – a “nice-to-have” polished logo, a sleek website, or trendy packaging that might get cut when budgets tighten. But evidence shows that design delivers real business value. Good design drives customer engagement, strengthens brand loyalty, and even boosts conversion rates and sales. It’s time to reframe design as an investment with ROI:

• Better Market Performance: Companies that prioritize design tend to lead in the market. A study by Adobe and Forrester found that 41% of design-forward businesses captured a larger market share, and over half reported having a more loyal customer base. In other words, investing in design can help you win more customers and keep them coming back – directly impacting revenue.
• Revenue Uplift from Brand Consistency: Consistent, high-quality design across all touchpoints builds a stronger brand that customers recognize and trust. According to branding research, businesses with consistent branding across channels see an average 23% increase in revenue. In fact, nearly 68% of companies say brand consistency contributed 10–20% revenue growth – a significant lift attributable purely to design and messaging cohesion. This means that making your brand look and feel unified everywhere (from your website to your social media to your product packaging) isn’t just good aesthetics – it drives higher sales.
• Influencing Buyer Decisions and Trust: Humans are visual creatures, and design heavily influences our decisions. A well-designed product or website immediately signals credibility and quality. For example, research shows first impressions are 94% design-related, and users form those impressions in as little as 0.05 seconds. Consider the impact on e-commerce: if your website or app interface is cluttered or unprofessional, potential customers may leave without buying – not because your product is bad, but because the experience felt off. Conversely, an intuitive and attractive design makes it easier (and more pleasant) for customers to hit “buy now,” boosting your conversion rates.
• Intangible Yet Measurable Benefits: Good design also yields ROI in ways that are indirect but measurable over time. Improved user experience (UX) can reduce support costs and increase retention. A polished, story-driven brand image can enable you to charge premium prices (customers pay more for brands they perceive as superior or aligned with their values). Even internally, quality design in presentations and materials can improve stakeholder confidence and employee pride. All these factors – though sometimes hard to attribute dollar-for-dollar – contribute to a healthier bottom line driven by design.

Above all, treating design as an investment means thinking long-term. Just as you invest in R&D or marketing campaigns expecting growth down the line, investing in professional, thoughtful design today sets you up for compounding returns in customer loyalty, brand equity, and market share. As we’ll see in real-world examples, a strategic design overhaul can even transform a business’s trajectory – turning a stagnant product into a breakout brand.

The Cost Breakdown: In-House vs. Freelance vs. Unlimited Creative Services

When a business commits to upping its design game, one of the first decisions is how to source that creative work. Do you hire a full-time in-house designer (or a team)? Contract freelancers per project? Or subscribe to an unlimited design service for a flat fee? Each approach has costs and benefits. Let’s break down the typical costs and savings of each option:

• In-House Designer: Hiring a designer as an employee gives you dedicated, on-demand creative talent. However, it’s also the most expensive route for many small and mid-sized businesses. In the U.S., the average graphic designer’s salary is around $57,000–$65,000 per year, not including benefits and overhead. Once you factor in health insurance, retirement contributions, taxes, software/equipment, and paid time off, the true annual cost can easily exceed $70k for a single mid-level designer. For that investment, you get someone who’s 100% immersed in your brand. In-house designers can develop a deep understanding of your company’s style and customers, ensuring brand consistency. The trade-off is limited capacity (one person can only do so much) and a limited skill set – a single designer might be great at graphics but not motion graphics or UX, for example. It’s also hard to scale up quickly; if you suddenly need more output or different expertise, you’d have to hire more staff or bring in contractors. In-house design is often worth it for large enterprises or design-centric product companies, but for many businesses it can be cost-prohibitive or inefficient if your design needs fluctuate.
• Freelance Designers: Hiring freelancers on a project or hourly basis is a flexible way to get design work done without a long-term commitment. Freelancers are plentiful and range widely in rates and expertise. You might find a junior freelancer for $15–$25/hour and top specialists charging $100+/hour. On average, though, typical freelance graphic designers charge around $35–$40 per hour for competent work. For one-off needs (like a logo design or a website refresh), freelancing can be cost-effective. You only pay for what you need, and you can seek out specialized talent for each task (logo expert for logos, packaging expert for packaging, etc.). The downside is that costs can add up quickly if you have ongoing design needs. For example, imagine you need 20 hours of design work per week to feed your marketing funnel – at $40/hour that’s ~$3,200 per month (around $38K a year), and you still have the overhead of managing multiple freelancers and projects. Additionally, quality and reliability can vary. One month your go-to freelancer might be booked or unresponsive, leaving you scrambling. Revisions and iterations can incur extra fees with freelancers, whereas in-house or subscription models allow more flexibility for tweaks. In short, freelancers are great for occasional or highly specialized projects, but if you need regular design output, the costs and coordination effort may start to resemble that of an employee – without the same consistency or loyalty.
• Unlimited Design Subscription: An increasingly popular option is subscribing to an unlimited graphic design service – essentially outsourcing your design to a dedicated team for a flat monthly fee. These services (like Design Hiro) let you submit an unlimited number of design requests (within fair use limits) and typically cover a wide range of deliverables (social media graphics, flyers, web banners, simple logos, etc.). The big advantage here is predictable cost and scalability. Most unlimited design subscriptions cost anywhere from $400 up to $2,000 per month depending on the level of service. Even at the higher end, this is often far cheaper than hiring one full-time in-house designer (who, as we noted, might cost ~$6k/month plus overhead). 

For that flat fee, you effectively get access to a team of designers with diverse skills – it’s like having a full creative department on call. Need a brochure and a Facebook ad and an email graphic all in the same week? No problem – they’ll queue it up and get it done quickly, without extra cost. This model can yield huge savings versus paying freelancers per project as well; a single logo design might cost $300–$500 from a freelancer, whereas an unlimited service will do your logo plus any number of other tasks for the same monthly price. Businesses with steady design needs (startups, CPG brands, agencies, etc.) can save thousands of dollars a year using a subscription model. Plus, you avoid costs like software licenses, HR overhead, or idle downtime – if you have a slow month, you’re just paying the flat fee and you can scale down or cancel if needed. The key is that unlimited creative turns design into a predictable operational expense rather than a sporadic cost. It also provides flexibility: as your needs grow, you can often upgrade to higher plans or add more designers easily, something that’s much harder to do overnight with in-house hires.

So which option saves the most? For many small-to-midsize businesses, an unlimited design service offers the best cost savings and adequate quality. It’s not uncommon to hear of startups replacing a $60k in-house position with a $1k/month subscription – instantly saving tens of thousands of dollars per year. Even larger firms use these services to handle overflow work or replace costly agency contracts. Of course, it’s important to weigh what you give up: an external service may not have the intimate brand knowledge of an in-house designer, and you’ll need good processes to brief and review work. But modern subscription providers often emphasize consistency (some assign you a dedicated designer or small team who learns your brand). In sum, unlimited creative services can deliver a high volume of design at a fixed, affordable cost, making the ROI very attractive compared to the other models. The money saved on salaries or freelance fees can be reinvested elsewhere in the business – or dropped straight to your bottom line.

Design Trends + Real-World Examples: How Good Design Drives Growth

To truly appreciate the ROI of good design, let’s look at some real-world examples and trends. In today’s fast-moving market, the most successful brands are those that marry creative design with cultural relevance. Great design isn’t created in a vacuum – it taps into trends, evokes emotions, and connects with audiences’ values. Here are a few compelling stories of brands (big and small) leveraging design as a catalyst for business success:

Visual: A striking example of design ROI – the rebranding of a gut-health soda from the bland “Mother” bottle (left) to the vibrant Poppi can (right) helped transform the company’s fortunes. A complete overhaul of name, logo, and packaging turned an esoteric apple cider vinegar drink into a fun, pop-art styled “prebiotic soda,” doubling sales year-over-year and eventually driving over $500 million in revenue.

• Poppi: Rebranding Turned a Niche Drink into a Big Business. One of the most talked-about branding success stories in recent years is Poppi, the probiotic soda. Poppi wasn’t always “Poppi” – it started as a beverage called Mother, sold at farmer’s markets with a folksy apple-cider vinegar image. The product was healthy but the brand wasn’t clicking with a broad audience. After appearing on Shark Tank, the founders embraced a bold rebrand: new name, playful modern logo, bright neon-colored cans, and reframing the drink as a fun soda alternative (not a medicinal vinegar tonic). The results were immediate and astounding. Sales doubled year-over-year after the rebrand, and by 2023 Poppi had hit over $500 million in annual revenue. Its retail sales climbed 163% in one year as the new design and messaging caught fire with Gen Z and millennial consumers. The only thing that changed was the branding and design – the product inside the can was essentially the same. That’s ROI: a few strategic design investments (new packaging, new graphics, a new look and feel) yielded exponential growth in sales. Poppi’s bubbly, eye-catching design made a traditional health remedy cool and Instagrammable, and the business literally grew by hundreds of millions of dollars as a result. It’s a powerful lesson that design isn’t just decoration; in Poppi’s case, it was the strategy that unlocked mainstream appeal.
• Rhode: Billion-Dollar Branding in the Beauty Industry. You might know Rhode as the highly sought-after skincare brand founded by Hailey Bieber. Rhode launched in 2022 with just a few products and a minimalist, “clean girl” aesthetic that perfectly mirrored Hailey’s own style. Despite being a newcomer in a crowded beauty market, Rhode’s sleek design and branding (along with the founder’s influence) created massive buzz – products sold out within minutes of launch. In just three years, Rhode grew into one of the most talked-about brands in beauty, and in 2025 it was acquired for $1.1 billion by E.L.F. Beauty. Yes, a billion-dollar valuation in barely a few years! Rhode’s meteoric rise is a case study in brand-forward business building. The packaging is subdued and chic, the logo and visuals are all about minimal elegance, and every touchpoint (from the website to social media imagery) is consistently on-message: fresh, simple, luxurious-yet-accessible. This cohesive design language helped Rhode rapidly earn the trust of Gen Z and Millennials seeking an authentic, uncluttered beauty brand. The payoff was huge – not only in direct sales (over $200M in net sales by its third year) but in brand equity that commanded a premium acquisition price. While Hailey Bieber’s celebrity was a big factor, it’s the branding that turned that attention into a lasting franchise. It shows that when you invest in creative branding that resonates culturally (in Rhode’s case, tapping into the trend for minimalist “clean” aesthetics and influencer-driven authenticity), the ROI can be sky-high in terms of company value.
• Aerie (American Eagle): Design Aligning with Values = Sales Growth. Good design isn’t just about new brands – even established companies can see huge returns by refreshing their creative approach to align with cultural movements. American Eagle’s Aerie line (intimates and apparel) did exactly that with its now-famous #AerieREAL campaign. Starting around 2014, Aerie decided to differentiate itself by celebrating body positivity and real, unretouched beauty in its advertising. The creative team rolled out imagery featuring diverse models of all sizes, without airbrushing, in natural poses – a striking contrast to typical polished fashion shoots. This design and messaging shift hit a cultural nerve (in a positive way). Consumers, especially young women, loved seeing a brand embrace real bodies and inclusivity. And they responded with their wallets. Within a year of launching #AerieREAL, Aerie’s sales jumped 20%, and the brand went on to clock double-digit growth for over five years straight as the campaign expanded. By 2021, Aerie surpassed $1 billion in annual revenue, becoming a major growth engine for its parent company. This success came from investing in a new creative direction – hiring photographers and designers to craft a whole new look for the brand that matched a social movement. The ROI here can be measured in revenue and market share gains, but it’s also evident in the intangible goodwill and brand loyalty Aerie built. Customers felt the authenticity and rewarded the brand. The takeaway: design that embraces authenticity and aligns with your audience’s values can yield tremendous returns. It’s not just about a pretty picture; it’s about the story and ethos the visuals convey, which in Aerie’s case translated directly into sales growth.
• Emerging Trends: Sustainability and Storytelling by Design. Many of today’s up-and-coming brands win by weaving cultural trends into their design DNA. For instance, Tala, the sustainable activewear brand, has gained a cult following by making eco-friendliness stylish. Everything from Tala’s product design (recycled materials) to its graphic design (earthy tones, minimal waste packaging) reinforces a sustainability message that resonates with eco-conscious consumers. This design alignment with a movement has helped Tala rapidly grow its community and sales through word-of-mouth. Likewise, Big Face Coffee, a boutique coffee brand started by NBA star Jimmy Butler, used quirky, story-driven design to turn a lockdown hobby into a serious business. The brand’s name and logo (inspired by Butler’s humorous “Big Face” coffee cups during the NBA bubble) became an identity that fans could rally around. By leaning into that playful story with creative merch designs and café aesthetics, Big Face Coffee transformed viral fame into real revenue. The common thread: brands that understand the cultural context of their audience use design as a language to connect. Whether it’s the retro nostalgia trend, the Y2K aesthetic comeback, or social causes like inclusivity and sustainability, tying your brand’s visual style to something people care deeply about supercharges engagement. And engaged customers drive ROI through higher lifetime value and advocacy.

The examples above – from Poppi to Rhode to Aerie – all send a clear message. Investing in design and creative strategy can yield exponential returns. It might manifest as a spike in sales after a rebrand, a fast rise in brand valuation, sustained comp growth, or a grassroots following that lets a small brand punch above its weight. While each brand’s story is unique, none of these successes happened by accident. They were the result of conscious decisions to put design and branding at the forefront of the business plan. The ROI of good design is very real, and these cases show that “unlimited creative” isn’t just a catchy term – it’s the idea that unleashing creativity, consistently and without skimping, can unlock unlimited growth potential.

Key Takeaways and Action Items

By now, it’s evident that design is far more than a beautification cost – it’s a strategic investment with measurable returns. Businesses that treat design as core to their strategy reap benefits in revenue, customer loyalty, and market position. On the flip side, those that neglect design or view it as an afterthought often pay the price in lost credibility and missed opportunities. The good news is that embracing great design has never been more accessible, thanks to flexible solutions like unlimited creative services and a global talent pool of designers.

So, what can you do next to harness the ROI of good design for your business? Here are some key action items to take away from this discussion:

1. Audit Your Brand’s Design Touchpoints: Take a step back and review all the ways your customer interacts with your brand’s design – website, logo, product packaging, social media, ads, etc. Are they consistently conveying the right message and quality? Identify weak links (e.g. an outdated brochure or a clunky web UI) where a design upgrade could improve customer experience or trust. Prioritize a refresh in those areas, treating it as an investment in higher conversion and retention.
2. Measure (and Celebrate) Design ROI: Start tracking metrics that design influences. For example, if you do a website redesign, watch your bounce rate and time-on-site; if you update packaging, track sales lift or customer feedback; if you launch a new branded campaign, measure engagement and revenue before vs. after. Connect the dots for your team: show that a few thousand dollars spent on better visuals or a UX overhaul yielded many times more in returns. This builds internal buy-in that design is worth continued investment. Remember, companies that champion design see big payoffs – use data to back that up in your own context (even something like “our redesigned emails got 30% higher click-through, leading to $X more sales” is a mini ROI proof). As one stat showed, design-centric companies not only grow revenue faster, they often enjoy higher loyalty from customers – a long-term ROI that keeps paying back.
3. Consider Cost-Effective Creative Solutions: If your current approach to getting design work done is too slow, too expensive, or inconsistent, explore alternatives. For many, this means trying an unlimited design service or similar creative subscription. Compare the cost: e.g., if you’re paying multiple freelancers a few hundred each per project, or if a full-timer’s workload doesn’t justify their salary during slow months, a flat monthly design service could save you money and increase output. The predictable fee model also makes budgeting easier. Do the math for your situation – you might find you can save 50% or more on design costs by shifting to an on-demand creative service, without sacrificing quality. Those savings can be reinvested elsewhere (or improve your profit margins). At the same time, you’ll free yourself from the feast-or-famine cycle of ad-hoc design requests.
4. Stay Current with Design Trends and Culture: Make it a habit for your marketing and design teams to monitor what’s happening in culture and design. This doesn’t mean chasing every fad, but you should be aware of evolving consumer preferences. Is a minimalist aesthetic winning in your industry, or are bold, maximalist designs making a comeback? Are your younger audiences gravitating to brands that take a stand on social issues or use nostalgic 90s-style visuals? Use those insights to inform your design choices. Small tweaks to align with trends can pay off big. For instance, if sustainability is a growing concern, ensure your design (and copy) highlights eco-friendly aspects – it can lift sales among conscious consumers. If a certain color palette or typography style is resonating on social media, consider refreshing your look to feel timely. The key is to connect with your audience’s world through design – that’s what brands like Poppi and Rhode did so well. They rode larger cultural waves with the help of smart design, and it accelerated their growth. Your brand can do the same on whatever scale makes sense for you.
5. Build Design Into Your Long-Term Strategy: Finally, elevate the role of design in your overall business planning. Treat your creative team (or partners) as strategic partners, not just pixel-pushers. Set aside budget for continuous design improvement and experimentation. Create brand guidelines so that as you scale, your design stays consistent (remember that consistency can boost revenues by double digits. Involve designers early when developing new products, campaigns, or website features – their input can save costly rework later and ensure a user-centric outcome from the start. The goal is to ingrain a design-first mindset where you and your team ask, “How will this look and feel to our customer? Is it on-brand? Could it be more engaging?” at every turn. When design thinking becomes second nature in your company, you’ll likely find that your marketing hits harder, your product UI is smoother, and your brand identity strengthens – all contributors to a robust ROI over time.

The ROI of good design is both an art and a science. It shows up in hard numbers - sales, growth rates, cost savings – and in softer metrics like brand sentiment and customer love. By recognizing design as the investment, it is and leveraging modern solutions like unlimited creative services to maximize your output cost-effectively, you set your business up to stand out in a crowded market. The next time you contemplate cutting a design budget or settling for a mediocre visual because it’s “cheaper,” think of the stories above: the soda that became a sensation through design, the $1B skincare brand born from aesthetics, the retailer that reignited growth by aligning design with values. Those wins were not accidents; they were ROI of design in action.

Now it’s your turn to write your own design success story. Invest in creativity, stay true to your brand, and watch how “unlimited” the returns can be. Your business’s next big leap might just be one great design away.

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