Offshore Graphic Design Services Australia

If your business needs marketing materials, social media graphics, pitch decks or brand assets, but you’re being quoted around $80,000 a year for a local designer, you’ve probably wondered whether there’s a better option.

There is. And it doesn’t involve a managed offshore agency charging you around $2,500 a month on top of the designer’s salary.

Thousands of skilled graphic designers in the Philippines work for Australian businesses directly. They’re Adobe-proficient, English-fluent, and used to working Australian hours. The only difference is who finds them, and whether you pay a middleman every month for the privilege.

This guide explains exactly how to hire an offshore graphic designer directly, what it costs, and what to look for.

Hire Offshore Graphic Designer Australia: What an Offshore Graphic Designer Actually Does

A well-scoped offshore graphic design role can take on most of your visual content needs, and experienced offshore graphic designers can cover the day-to-day creative workload efficiently. Typical tasks include:

Marketing collateral: brochures, flyers, capability statements, proposal templates, presentation decks, and creative assets for both digital marketing and print

Social media graphics: branded posts, stories, LinkedIn carousels, ad creatives, and content formatted to platform specs

Brand asset management: maintaining brand consistency across templates, updating existing designs, and managing brand identity assets including logos

Digital and web graphics: email header artwork, website banners, blog feature images, infographics, digital reports, and other digital design needs

For Australian professional services firms like accounting practices, law firms, mortgage brokers, and consultancies, offshore graphic design services typically handle the steady stream of proposal documents, client presentations, and social content that your local team currently cobbles together in PowerPoint at 9pm. This model is especially useful for professional services businesses that need reliable design support without overloading internal staff. Tarino recruits designers within its offshore marketing assistant role, and works with marketing agencies building design capacity.

What does it cost to hire a graphic designer for brand identity, locally vs offshore?

Here’s the honest cost comparison. The figures are typical market estimates, not quotes:

Local hire (Australia): typically around $70,000–$90,000 per year in salary, plus superannuation, payroll tax and leave entitlements. Total employment cost: typically around $85,000–$110,000 per year.

Direct offshore hire (Philippines): typically around $18,000–$28,000 per year in salary, depending on experience level and specialisation. Australian super and payroll tax generally don’t apply to an offshore contractor (check your own position with an adviser), and leave liability is usually lower. That’s typically a 65–75% reduction in cost for equivalent output. Add Tarino’s one-time fee of $250 upfront and $4,750 on hire ($5,000 excl. GST) if we run the search.

Agency managed service: the same offshore salary, plus a typical agency markup of around $2,000–$3,500 per month. That’s around $24,000–$42,000 per year in fees going to a middleman, on top of the designer’s actual wage. Compared with hiring directly, many offshore graphic design services become less cost effective over time. Over three years, you could pay around $70,000–$125,000 to an agency just for ongoing access to someone you could have hired directly.

A detailed breakdown of what agencies charge on top of talent costs is covered in our guide to offshore agency markups. The numbers are often larger than businesses expect, especially when agencies are layering fees over offshore teams.

You can also see typical salary ranges for Filipino graphic designers and other roles in our Filipino staff cost guide, or model your own numbers in the offshore hiring cost calculator.

Why every search result shows an agency

Search “hire offshore graphic designer Australia” and you’ll find company results dominated by providers selling graphic design services or offshore graphic design services, with Satellite Office, Beepo, Offshore 24/7, and similar managed providers taking most of the first page. Job boards like SEEK and Indeed fill the rest.

This isn’t because agencies are the only option. It’s because they have large marketing budgets and publish content targeting businesses researching outsourcing options across every offshore hiring query. Direct hire is quieter. It doesn’t advertise itself. But the talent pool agencies draw from (Filipino designers on OnlineJobs.ph and LinkedIn) is the same pool you can access yourself. You’re just cutting out the layer in between. One of the biggest differences is direct access to the designer.

How to hire an offshore graphic designer directly: a 6-step graphic design outsourcing process

Step 1: Write a specific brief, not a generic job ad. List the tools you use (Adobe Creative Cloud, Canva, Figma), the types of assets you need most often, such as packaging design or pitch decks, your brand guidelines, and the volume of work expected weekly. Be clear if the role is project based or focused on ongoing creative work. A clear brief attracts candidates who already know how to do what you need.

Step 2: Post on the right platforms. OnlineJobs.ph is the primary source for offshore design talent in the Philippines. LinkedIn works well for mid-to-senior designers. Budget around $100–$200 for job postings. Expect applications within 48–72 hours.

Step 3: Screen with a practical design test first. Before interviews, send shortlisted candidates a real brief, something representative of your actual work. Ask them to produce a sample in 2–3 hours. This tells you far more than a portfolio: it shows how they interpret a brief, the creative ideas they bring, and whether their creative output fits your brand.

Step 4: Video interview with a structured scorecard. Assess communication clarity, how they talk through design decisions, and English fluency. A scorecard across all candidates lets you compare objectively rather than going on gut feel.

Step 5: Run a background check independently. Use a Philippines-based background check provider. It typically costs around $80–$150 per candidate and takes roughly a week. Don’t skip it.

Step 6: Onboard with a clear first-30-days plan. Grant access to your brand assets, project management tool (Asana, ClickUp, Trello), and communication channels. Treat the designer as part of the internal team from day one, and set expectations early for regular updates or progress reports. Assign one contact on your team for feedback. Our guide on your first 30 days with an offshore hire covers exactly how to structure this so the relationship starts well. That foundation keeps the working relationship on track as it matures.

What to look for in offshore graphic design services

Beyond a strong portfolio, prioritise quality and creativity as the baseline standard:

Tool proficiency that matches your stack. Adobe Creative Suite (including Illustrator, InDesign and Photoshop), Canva and Figma. Confirm they’re experienced with what you use, not just listing tools on a CV.

Brief interpretation skills. Look for designers who ask clarifying questions before starting, not ones who dive in and miss the intent. Designers who communicate well about the work tend to create assets from a brief that land first time.

Brand consistency track record. Ask to see examples where they worked within an existing brand system rather than creating from scratch. Designers who have worked across industries often adapt faster to established brand systems.

Turnaround reliability. Graphic design is often deadline-sensitive. Ask how they deliver on deadlines and handle multiple design tasks without losing quality, and check references if possible.

A dedicated hire may offer more consistency than a freelancer who is juggling multiple clients. Also assess time zones early, especially if they need to collaborate closely with marketing teams.

Before you start, it’s worth reviewing the offshore hiring compliance guide so your contractor agreement and data handling setup are in order from day one, particularly if your work involves client-facing materials with sensitive brand assets.

Ready to hire without the agency markup?

If you’d rather not run the search yourself, Tarino finds and screens your offshore graphic designer for a one-time fee of $250 upfront and $4,750 on hire, $5,000 excl. GST. No monthly margin. No ongoing fees. See pricing for the detail.

Each search starts with 1,000+ candidates per role. They move through CV and quality screening (40% remain), video screening (20%), a practical assessment (10%), a structured interview (5%) and finalist review (2%), and you receive 3–4 finalists, typically within about 2 weeks. Each placement includes 6-month replacement cover for the same role, on the conditions in your Scope of Work, and more than 95% of placements are still in the role at 6 months. You hire and pay the designer directly from day one, so your team can focus on core work while the designer handles design execution inside your business, in your tools, on your schedule.

It’s the same talent you’d find through an agency, without paying for access to it every month.

Book a 30-minute call to talk through whether a graphic designer is the right fit for offshore, whether you need one-off project help or ongoing support, or browse our resources to learn more about how direct offshore hiring works.