15 Tasks for a Graphic Design Virtual Assistant

Have you been searching for a way to get some graphic design off your plate?

Of course, you want to also make sure that you are leaving these tasks in capable hands. You can’t just throw caution to the wind because you haven’t got the time or expertise to do everything yourself. You need quality help that will handle your business with the same care that you would give it.

There are a lot of people you can hire who can do a lot of things to make your life easier.

But there’s one particular person who can really take that load off your shoulders – a graphic design virtual assistant.

Why a Graphic Design Virtual Assistant?

A graphic design virtual assistant is a great asset for any business or individual. From time to time, we all could use a high quality design, and we don’t all have the talent or technical skills to do it ourselves. A graphic design virtual assistant does.

Time is another major consideration. So maybe you do have knowledge of design principles, own professional design software and know how to use it. Is this really the best use of your time? It takes a lot to put together a really compelling design. If you’re running a business, it is probably the more practical choice to outsource graphic design.

Plus, you can hire for graphic design without hassles to do a one-off project today, or build a longer-term relationship for ongoing work. It’s all about having that reliable resource you can reach out to whenever you need something done, and done well.

Here are 15 of the common tasks that a graphic design virtual assistant can take off your plate so you are free to focus on what you do best:

(1)  Logos

Logos are one of the first graphic assets that you need to promote a brand.

While they may look simple at first glance, a lot goes into logo creation. No element is random – the lines, colors and overall design are carefully crafted to send a specific message about your brand.

You need a professional who understands how all this works. A graphic design virtual assistant knows how to translate your branding into a visual presentation, effectively executing your message in that compact symbol that will represent your brand moving forward.

An alternative option to design a logo if you don’t want to go through a virtual assistant is using an online logo maker like LogoGenie.

(2)  Website Graphics

A good website is made up of more than just a few visual elements here and there to break up the text. People these days are highly visual, and they rely mostly on these elements to get information and evaluate brands.

You need a graphic design virtual assistant to help you create not only appealing and informative visuals, but to work with the website as a whole to create a unified and purposeful visual strategy. It’s simply not enough to download a few free stock photos that you think look OK and throw them into your website. There’s a science behind it, and that means getting professional assistance to maximize on your website’s potential.

There are many benefits to using a graphic designer to help create graphics for your website. A graphic designer can help create a professional look for your website that will help you stand out from the competition. They can also help you create custom graphics that will help you communicate your message to your target audience. If you are looking to create a website that is both professional and visually appealing, then working with a graphic designer is a great option.

(3)  Social Media Graphics

Like your website, effective social media pages are not just a random collection of images slapped onto various bits of text. A strategy is required to maximize audience potential – and it’s not the same for every social platform.

You need niche specialists who know which social platforms are best for your needs, first of all. Then you need advice on what types of content will work best for each of these platforms, and to create them for you. Only these experienced VAs will know how each platform works and how to create, test and tweak all of the graphic-to-text elements. Moreover, there’s the timing to it all so you can grab your targets’ attention, increase engagement and properly funnel leads.

(4)  Infographics

Infographics are awesome brand collateral. They are the best of visuals, information and marketing all rolled into one. It comes as no surprise, then, that there’s a science behind them as well that goes beyond just fitting text into boxed layouts and finding neat icons and illustrations to spice things up.

A graphic design virtual assistant with experience in creating infographics for your niche can help boost brand awareness, increase traffic, and bolster sales. It all comes down to the experience that they have in layering these different elements in a visually appealing and easy-to-follow layout that makes the information easy to digest and leaves the reader feeling the value that has just been offered to them.

There are many benefits to using a graphic designer to help with infographics. They can help to make the process of creating infographics much easier and can also add a professional touch that can make them more effective. In addition, graphic designers can help to ensure that the finished product is high quality and looks great.

(5)  Business Cards

You may be thinking that handing out business cards is a thing of the past. But they are still very useful for networking at a variety of events. How else would you let everyone know how to contact you after you’ve made that vital first impression?

Like many things in the Internet Age, business cards have also gone digital. You can share them via Bluetooth, use a version of one for a more professional email signature, add them to other brand collateral like product slips, package inserts and stickers, and so much more.

Your brand and contact information in a catchy layout goes a long way to attracting new prospects.

(6)  Branded Stationery

Even if you run an online business, there’s always a time when you need to go the traditional route. Having branded stationery designed adds that professional touch that makes both first contact and follow-ups so much smoother.

Your communications are an extension of your brand. Creating that professional image is important for building trust with your contacts.

(7)  Image Editing

Even with professional shots, image editing can be tricky.

A graphic design virtual assistant with Photoshop (or other image software) skills can remove the hassle of enhancing images that you’ve taken yourself, received from customers, or downloaded from stock photo sites. This way, you have clean and optimized images to use instead of just making do with what’s there and hoping they’ll work.

(8)  Print Design

Visuals for print are different than visuals for upload to a website or social channels.

For starters, there’s the technical aspect. You can’t just print them out and expect them to look just as good as they do on screen.

Moreover, there’s a different psychology behind printed materials. An experienced graphic design virtual assistant will know how to translate images for various print uses like on mugs, t-shirts, pens, car stickers, window decals, magazine ads, flyers, brochures, and the like.

(9)  Book Covers

If you’ve spent a lot of time in your niche, you may want to get a book out that can be a great source of information for your audience. Books are also a great way to give back, and of course, to attract even more attention and build more trust for your brand.

Like for any other product, a bunch of text needs a great visual to express in one look – and this is the first thing that everyone will see – the value that’s inside.

If you are looking for someone to help create a book cover, a graphic designer may be a good option. A graphic designer can help you conceptualize and create a book cover that accurately reflects the content and tone of your book. In addition, a graphic designer can help ensure that your book cover is visually appealing and Eye–catching, two important factors in making your book successful.

(10)  eBook Design

More than just designing a captivating cover, every page of an ebook needs to be fetching.

Many eBooks are the short versions of the traditional paper books that today’s impatient netizen prefers. People just don’t normally have the time to sit with hot cocoa and dive into a book. Whether you’re using one as a magnet or selling it, each ebook you put out needs to provide great value.

Having your ebooks designed by a graphic design virtual assistant ensures that you are packing a punch on every page with visuals and a layout that gives all the vital information in as short a time as possible.

(11)  Flyers

A graphic designer can be extremely helpful when it comes to creating flyer designs. They can help to create a custom design that fits your specific needs and can also be a great resource for ideas and inspiration. They can also help to ensure that your flyer is professional looking and effective.

Whether print or digital, flyers are useful marketing materials in situations where you need more than just your logo and a phone number or website link.

Here, you have the opportunity to use more colors, style your text, and add visual elements to expand your message – and it’s still conveniently sized for the busy consumer.

Use the skills of a professional to make use of that space to market to new targets, retarget customers, or just spread the word about your brand.

(12)  Brochures

There are many benefits to using a graphic designer to help with your brochure design. A good designer will be able to take your ideas and turn them into a professional, eye–catching design that will help your brochure stand out.

They will also be able to help with the layout and ensure that all the information is easy to read and understand. A graphic designer can also help to make sure that your brochure is print–ready, which will save you time and money.

Expand your message even further in a brochure that has all the essential elements of your brand on one or two pages.

Again, it can be a digital one, designed to cater to people who have taken the next step and want to know more about who you are – or want to share all the details with their discerning friends in a more compact form than your website.

(13)  Guides

If you have complex products or services, you’ll want to put out guides for customers so they don’t get annoyed with their purchase.

Properly designed guides can save you loads of time trying to explain things over and over to different customers – if they are even willing to grant you that much of their precious time.

Clarity and accuracy are as important as having concise yet complete information. Entrust this task to a graphic design virtual assistant who can strategically couple images and illustrations with text instructions to make your guides painless to follow. It can go a long way to preventing hasty returns and reviews that are motivated by frustration.

(14)  Animation

More than images, video is becoming the top method for reaching out to customers and prospects. Video combines all the visual elements in a smooth experience, plus adds audio and even text so you’ve got all your bases covered.

One way to get more of this media out faster is to create animated video clips. A graphic design virtual assistant can create the basic elements that can then be recombined in a variety of ways to produce an array of materials for brand awareness, marketing, retargeting, and many other uses.

(15)  Branded Characters

As you build your brand, you may want to leverage the power of a brand persona.

Today, this often comes in the form of a brand character, or mascot – a relatable animated figure that is more comfortable and attractive to many than a real person. (Think the Michelin Man, Tony the Tiger, the Geico Gecko, and of course, MailChimp’s Frederick von Chimpenheimer).

A graphic design virtual assistant can work with you to create this mascot to represent your brand in a more personal way, and to create a variety of versions to communicate the different key aspects of your brand in any media form you might need for all your marketing efforts – socials, infographics, animated videos, brochures, and more.

Final Thoughts

You may be able to get along without a graphic design virtual assistant, but having this key person available can really up your game.

What’s even better than the ability to produce professional quality graphics is the flexibility that this hire can provide. Virtual assistants can work on one-time projects, take on short-term work, or even work with you over a period of months or years – it all depends on what you need.

There are no long-term commitments to mull over, and if you hire a graphic designer through FreeeUp, the process to find one who fits your needs is simple and really fast.

Get Started

Why wait to get the ball rolling?

Take a moment to write down all the graphic design items that you could use right now to help you boost sales, reach out to more customers, get new leads and funnel them to convert faster.

Take a few more to write down your idea of the perfect person to help you work on them and get that sent over to FreeUp lickety-split. You could very well be chatting with your perfect match by the end of the day, and seeing real growth by the end of the month.

Check out the FreeUp Outsourcing and Scaling show on Itunes, the FreeUp Youtube channel, and the FreeUp Facebook page.