Graphic design

Hire a graphic design virtual assistant for social posts, decks and brand files

A graphic design virtual assistant produces your social graphics, ad creative, presentations and documents, and keeps your brand files in order. They work from your brand guide at the Graphic designer rate, from £4.50 an hour. We find the candidate and run four screening steps.

Book a free call
Send an enquiry
  • Four screening steps before you meet a candidate
  • Hours tracked
  • Earliest start within 48 to 72 hours of choosing a candidate
Illustration of a design canvas with shapes, a pen path and colour swatches.

The design work an assistant takes on

Design work comes in small, regular pieces: a post for Tuesday, a deck for Thursday, a header for the newsletter. A graphic design assistant clears that stream so it stops waiting on you.

Marketing design

  • Social media graphics. Posts and stories sized for each platform, in your colours and fonts.
  • Ad creative. Banners and image ads in the sizes the ad platforms ask for, with variations for testing.
  • Email headers. Header images for newsletters and campaigns that match the rest of your brand.

Documents

  • Presentations and decks. Sales decks, pitch decks and internal slides that follow one layout.
  • Brochures and one pagers. Printed or PDF sheets for a product, a service or an event.
  • Reports. Turning figures and text from your team into a laid out document that people will read.

Brand upkeep

  • Templates. Reusable files for the pieces you make often, so anyone on your team can fill them in.
  • Asset libraries. Logos, images and fonts named and filed where the team can find them.
  • Brand guideline upkeep. Updating the guide when a colour, a logo or a layout rule changes.

Where the assistant stops

A graphic design assistant works to a brand you already have. For moving images, see the video editor virtual assistant.

Tools

Designers commonly work in Figma or Adobe tools. Tell us which you use and we match the candidate to them.

What a graphic design virtual assistant costs

Graphic design is priced at the Graphic designer rate, per hour by experience, in pounds. The pricing page lists every role.

Experience levelPer hourPart time, 80 hours a monthFull time, 160 hours a month
Beginner (1 to 2 years)£4.50£360£720
Intermediate (2 to 4 years)£6.50£520£1,040
Expert (4 to 6 years)£8.50£680£1,360
Pro (6 to 8 years)£11.50£920£1,840

A worked example

Illustration, not a quote. A small business needs the weekly social graphics, a monthly deck and tidy brand files, which it estimates at 80 hours a month. At the beginner level, 80 hours at £4.50 an hour comes to £360 a month. At the expert level, 80 hours at £8.50 an hour comes to £680 a month. The difference buys more experience on the same hours.

Use the cost calculator to try your own hours.

Book a free call

A call to talk through the work

The work a graphic design assistant takes on, at a glance: Social media graphicsThe work, at a glance: Social media graphics; Ad creative; Presentations and decks; Brand guideline upkeep.GRAPHIC DESIGN ASSISTANTThe work an assistant takes onSocial mediagraphicsAd creativePresentationsand decksBrandguidelineupkeep

Is a graphic design assistant right for you?

A graphic design assistant suits you if

  • You already have a logo, colours and fonts, and need a steady supply of pieces made in that style.
  • Your design requests arrive weekly and wait on someone with time.
  • You want files you can edit yourself later, kept in order.

Another role may suit you better if

What you should receive

General guidance, not a promise about any one assistant. Finished design is more than a picture. Ask for the editable source file as well as the exports you publish, a consistent file name for each piece, and the fonts and images used, so someone else can open the work later.

What you should receive from a graphic design assistant: Editable source file; EWhat you should receive: Editable source file; Exports to publish; Consistent file names; Fonts and images used.GRAPHIC DESIGN ASSISTANTWhat you should receiveEditablesource fileExports topublishConsistentfile namesFonts andimages used

A brief you can copy

  1. The purpose. What the piece must make someone do or understand.
  2. The audience. Who sees it, and where.
  3. The format. Platform, size and file type.
  4. The words. Final text, checked for spelling, or the date it will arrive.
  5. The brand. Logo, colours, fonts and two examples you like.
  6. The limits. What must appear, and what must not.
An example first week with a graphic design assistant, day by day: Share brand fAn example first week, day by day. 1 Share brand files: Logo, colours, fonts. 2 Share the brief: Size, message, where it runs. 3 First design: One piece, to review. 4 Feedback round: Specific notes on what to change. 5 Final files: Source file and exports. Example only. Your real plan is agreed with you.GRAPHIC DESIGN ASSISTANTAn example first week1Share brand filesLogo, colours, fonts2Share the briefSize, message, where it runs3First designOne piece, to review4Feedback roundSpecific notes on what to change5Final filesSource file and exportsExample only. Your real plan is agreed with you.

Quality checks before you approve

  • The colours and fonts match the guide.
  • Text is readable against its background, including on a phone.
  • The size is right for the platform.
  • Spelling, dates and prices are correct.
  • Every image is one you have the right to use.

Common mistakes

  • Starting with no brand guide, then judging by taste.
  • Asking for changes in adjectives instead of instructions.
  • Collecting feedback from several people in turn, so rounds multiply.
  • Using images whose licence nobody recorded.

Worked example: feedback that works

Example only. The wording is invented to show the difference between vague and specific feedback.

Vague: “Make it pop and move things around.” Specific: “Put the date above the photo at the size of the headline. Use the dark blue from the guide for the button. Cut the second paragraph to one line.” The second version can be done in one pass and checked against a list.

Questions to ask any design provider

  • Who owns the finished artwork? Under UK guidance on copyright, a freelancer or contractor usually keeps copyright unless the contract says otherwise, so agree it in writing.
  • Which editable files will I get?
  • How many rounds of changes are expected, and who decides when it is done?

What is included

The hourly rate covers the whole service: finding the candidate, the four screening steps below, setting up the design platforms and tools your assistant needs, hours tracked with tools such as Time Doctor, and our management of recruitment, payroll management and quality management. There is no separate recruitment fee.

How hiring works

We start with a free call about the work and the hours you have in mind. We shortlist candidates who have passed our screening, you interview them and you choose. The earliest start is within 48 to 72 hours of choosing a candidate.

Four screening steps before you meet anyone

  1. CV screening.
  2. A first interview on personality and the general benchmark criteria.
  3. A technical interview.
  4. A practical task, to test the candidate in the field.

Notice, replacement and fees are set out on how it works.

Four steps to hiring a graphic design assistant: a free call about the work and Four steps. 1 Free call: About the work and the hours you have in mind. 2 Shortlist: Candidates who passed four screening steps. 3 You choose: Interview the shortlist and pick one. 4 Start: Earliest start: within 48 to 72 hours of choosing a candidate. Four screening steps come before you meet anyone.HIRING GRAPHIC DESIGN ASSISTANTFrom first call to first task1Free callAbout the work and the hours you have in mind2ShortlistCandidates who passed four screening steps3You chooseInterview the shortlist and pick one4StartEarliest start: within 48 to 72 hours of choosing a candidateFour screening steps come before you meet anyone.

Questions about hiring a graphic design assistant

Do they use Figma or Adobe?

Both are common among designers. Tell us which tools you use and we match the candidate to them. If your files are already in one of them, the assistant can work in your existing files.

Can they match our brand?

Yes, if you share your brand guide and examples of work you like. The assistant builds pieces to that guide and can keep the guide up to date as it changes.

What can a virtual assistant do for creatives?

For a creative business, an assistant takes the repeatable production work: resizing graphics for each platform, formatting decks, filing assets and updating templates. That leaves you free for the work that needs your eye. The tasks above show where the hours go.

What should I send a graphic design assistant on day one?

Your logo, colours, fonts and brand guide, plus examples of work you like. The assistant builds pieces to them and files your assets where the team can find them.

Who owns the designs a graphic design assistant makes?

That depends on the contract, so agree it in writing before work starts. GOV.UK says a contractor usually keeps copyright unless an agreement says otherwise, and a commissioner may only get a limited licence to use the work. Ask any provider how ownership is handled. This is general information, not legal advice.

How should I give design feedback?

Give instructions, not adjectives. Say what to move, what size, which colour from your guide, and what to cut. Gather every reviewer's comments into one list before sending it, so the assistant works from a single set of changes.

How much does a graphic design virtual assistant cost?

At the beginner level the Graphic designer rate is £4.50 an hour, which is £360 a month part time and £720 full time. Rates rise with experience. The pricing page shows every level.

Book a free call

Related roles

Browse the web design virtual assistant, the video editor virtual assistant or all virtual assistant roles. If you want a full week of one person’s time, see the full time virtual assistant.

Get started

Prefer to write? Send an enquiry.

Tell us the role and the hours you have in mind, and we will reply to the email address you give.

Book a discovery call

We use your details only to reply to this enquiry. See our privacy policy.