Design Business Ideas

Do you have a passion for creating and designing? Or you may need design business ideas that can help you a start up a design venture. If your answer is yes, then we have the most profitable design business ideas for you.

Precisely, we’ve shortlisted 12 different design business ideas in this article to make it easy for you to decide what business you want to start.

However, before we dive deeper into the design business ideas, let’s consider a general overview of the designing business.

Keep reading to find out all you need to know about this business.

Design Business Ideas; An Overview

A designer is a person who is skillful and knowledgeable enough to create things either from scratch or by rebranding.

The creation can be tangible or intangible/products or services.

Furthermore, to be a good designer, there are essential features you must have to stand out from the crowd.

Essential Qualities Of A Good Designer

Creativity

This is one of the most essential features of a good designer.

As an intending designer, creativity will make you go out of your way to deliver unique, effective, and memorable designs.

Having unique, effective, and memorable designs can easily attract customers to your designs, which can bring sales and profitability.

Patience

Normally, design work is always slow, and the result doesn’t come quickly.

It takes lots of time and effort to process the ideas, develop the plan, and deliver nice work.

So, to get the best result as an aspiring designer, you’ll have to be patient enough.

Logical Thinking

A designer is a thinker.

Not just a thinker but a logical thinker.

It is expected you think critically and logistically to make things work.

The difference between average designers and great designers is the ability to think logically.

You have to think outside the box not just to produce something nice but also to bring together different concepts and turn them into a finished product.

Overall, a designer sees opportunity where others see a problem.

Open-Mindedness

To be a great designer, you have to be open-minded and willing to try new things.

The more you expose yourself to new things, the more ideas you get to create outstanding designs.

Also, you should be flexible enough to take advice from other sources.

Having this mindset, you will allow yourself to be exposed to different things that would promote your design career.

Willingness To Take Correction/Criticism

This is one of the toughest things to do in the world of design.

But those who are open to criticism do better and excellently.

So to be a great designer with a difference, you should be positive at taking corrections to improve your work.

Overall, being open to correction and criticism often yield positive end results because you get to learn from your mistakes, improve on them, and get better at what you do.

Reliability

Every client wants someone that can always deliver expected results within a given timeline.

Being reliable will help you win your client’s trust and promote continued patronage.

So, to be reliable, you should deliver quality work, be consistent, and exceed your client’s expectations.

These will help in building a long-lasting and happy working relationship.

Confidence

Truth be told, whenever you start losing confidence in yourself, then your clients will start doing the same.

So, to be successful in the design world, you need to be confident in yourself and trust your ability to deliver unique designs that are valuable to your client’s needs.

To build your confidence as a designer, you need to;

Sharpen your design skills by learning new design techniques and practicing often
Avoid comparing yourself to other people
Be open to feedback and improve where necessary
Trust in your abilities, among other things.

Good Communication Skills

Good communication skills is also essential for turning concepts into beautifully finished designs.

This skill would help you clearly translate your client’s message into meaningful designs.

Specifically, this skill helps you decide what design elements will clearly capture the message you’re trying to pass across with your design.

Good communication skills are also essential for understanding your client’s needs and communicating your ideas to them.

Now you know what it takes to be a good designer, now let’s talk about the profitability and future relevance of the design business.

Future Relevance On Design Business Ideas

The design sector is one of the most innovative industries around the globe.

It is a place where creativity and technology meet.

According to research carried out by Forrester, the 2021 estimate of the global design industry is $162 billion.

And the multiple software devices used in design will grow by more than 20% within the year.

Going by these reports, the design industry is one of the industries that will continue to grow both now and in the future.

Also, it provides lots of promising opportunities for entrepreneurs who aspire to become independent and successful business owners.

With that, let’s discuss the various design businesses you can explore.

12 Profitable Design Business Ideas

1. Graphics Design Business

Graphics design is one of the profitable business ideas in the design industry that can fetch you good profit depending on your efforts.

The demand for graphics designers increases as schools, private, and public organizations demand their services on daily basis.

So, in the graphics design sector, there are several opportunities for you to make money on daily basis depending on your interests.

For instance, you could specialize in designing book covers, Ad banners, or creating customized/branded items.

The career requires you to be a creative thinker, enjoy art, know more about technology, and be a good communicator.

A graphic designer’s responsibilities include;

Studying design briefs and determining the requirements.
Conceptualizing visuals based on their requirements.
Preparing rough drafts and presenting reasonable ideas.
Developing illustrations, design logos, and any other design work using software or by hand.

Overall, it is a steady business you start with and make a good living from it.

2. Interior Design Business; Design Business Ideas

Interior design is one of the thriving fields in the design industry.

The business is very lucrative and profitable as well.

It’s all about decorating the interior of buildings and making them look their best.

You can render this service to either residential or commercial buildings.

So, to render quality services, you should have an eye for creativity and understand color to make excellent designs.

Also, you need a working knowledge of how to manage space, materials, textiles, colors, sustainability, etc.

More importantly, you should know the software applications for 2D and 3D rendering and building information modeling (BIM).

Above all, it is expected you have a complete degree in interior design and decoration.

Though, not all the areas of internal design require having a degree.

Furthermore, interior design has many business opportunities for you to choose from.

They include;

Cabinet door making and repairing
Ceramic tiles sales and installation
Custom furniture covers
Basement Remodeling
Artificial flowers
Antique furniture refurnishing
Florist
Fabric Shop

So you can decide on which interior design business opportunity you would like to pursue, develop a plan, and launch your business.

3. Designing Children’s Books

Designing children’s books is another good business opportunity for a designer searching for profitable business ideas.

It is also lucrative and has low startup capital.

To design children’s drawing books, storybooks, and comic books, you need creative skills in designing.

This will help you design an amazing cover page, whether it is in a hard copy or digital.

Furthermore, the global demand for this kind of service is quite increasing -making a way for entrepreneurs to have lots of business options.

You can decide to run this business part-time as a side hustle or as a full-time business.

Finally, you could work with book publishing companies or independent authors (self-publishers).

Whichever way, you’ll need to promote your business so you can attract your ideal customers.

4. Clothing Design Business

If you love fashion or you are always pushing the boundaries of fashion, this business is the right one for you.

The industry has a large scope for growth, and it is one of the most profitable ventures around the globe.

By estimate, the fashion global market has reached 3 trillion dollars, and it is growing by 2% annually.

These statistics show that the fashion business is tremendously growing and will continue to grow.

So, fashion designing is a profitable business that can fetch you a good amount of money depending on the amount of effort applied.

Furthermore, it is a business you can start with an average capital.

With a few thousand dollars or less, you can own a standard fashion business with all the required equipment.

However, this depends on the size of your business.

More importantly, you should have enough capital to cover rent, labor, and all other things for a startup.

The basic equipment you’ll need includes; a sewing machine, weaving machine, embroidery machine, sewing materials, pressing iron, etc.

On the other hand, you can choose to run your business online.

All you will need is to open an online store where you can advertise your business and attract larger customers.

You can do your sewing from home.

This will help to reduce your startup cost.

Overall, the profit you will make from your designing business will depend on the efforts you put into delivering unique clothing designs and your customer base.

5. Web Design

Web designing is also one of the profitable and popular business ideas within the design industry.

It involves designing the visual interface of a website to make it appealing and intuitive for the user.

For this, you’ll need to have good graphic design skills.

Fortunately, you can always learn graphics design to enable you to do this business.

Also, as a web designer, you may need to do a little bit of;

Coding
Content/copywriting
SEO

So, it would be helpful to have basic knowledge in each of these areas to allow you to do an excellent job.

6. T-shirt Sales; Design Business Ideas

Selling T-shirts is another design-related business idea you can go for.

This is a perfect business for entrepreneurs and artists looking for an inexpensive way to start a business.

The demand and sales of T-shirt is on the increase.

Also, there is a high rate of competition in the T-shirt business since there are a lot of people going into the business.

You can always overcome this challenge by building a unique brand for a specific target audience.

Also, you create and supply T-shirt designs needed by your customers.

One of the easiest ways to do this business is to go online.

The popularity of online selling has helped so many businesses, and it attracts lots of customers.

Having established these facts, here are some guidelines that can help you start a T-shirt business without hassle.

Identify a niche.
Source for quality materials and the best T-shirt printing options.
Create unique T-shirt designs for your business.
Create mock-ups (prototypes) designs for T-shirts.
Validate your designs.
Then set up an online store to advertise and sell your designs.

7. Product Designing Business; Design Business Ideas

This is another design business idea you can start today and earn huge profits.

Product design involves developing unique products that solve customers’ problems and meet their specific needs.

Talking of product designers, there are those responsible for both aesthetics and the functionality of any given product.

To start this kind of business, it is important you have a workable knowledge of size, color, weight, ergonomics, and shape.

You should also know various cost-efficient production methods and have a clear understanding of the needed materials.

With this knowledge, your chances of getting rewarding business offers are greater since product design is crucial to almost every industry.

Also, you can earn a reasonable amount of money being a product designer, depending on your knowledge and what you have to offer.

According to research, product designers emerge highly in the salary stakes, and they enjoy an average income of $89,885 annually.

Overall, if you have a passion for product designing and you have what it takes to deliver, here’s an ample opportunity for you to start something.

8. Video Editing

Video editing is yet another thriving design business idea you can opt for.

The business is quite lucrative as people continually need this service for various reasons.

Most people demand memorial family videos and create videos for fun, school projects, and even business purposes.

Going by this, the business holds relevance and will always sell.

That said, the business can be initiated in two different ways.

You can start the business from home as a part-time or with a full-fledged studio setup.

Starting up a video editing business will require you to have basic knowledge in video editing, a reasonable amount of money for the equipment, then a studio.

Likewise, you can take the business online to attract as many customers as possible.

Overall, the business is an all-time hot opportunity, so you can as well start today and make huge profits from it.

To get started, learn video editing skills, get the required equipment (a video-editing computer), and have a solid plan for your business.

9. Multimedia Art And Animation

This is also one of the most financially rewarding design business ideas you can start your entrepreneurial journey with.

Multimedia art and animation involve using animation and illustration software to create graphics and animation.

Aside from its financial benefits, it has a larger field with lots of potential careers you can venture into and make cool cash.

Depending on your specialization, you can work as a computer graphics or storyboard developer.

Also, multimedia art and animators can create drawings, design 3D figures, and special characters.

Interestingly, the business does not require huge startup costs.

All you need is to be knowledgeable enough in using computer amination software, conducting your project research, and then present your ideas in a unique way.

For those with a higher degree in multimedia, you can possibly find yourself working in a video game industry, advertising firm, PR, TV, or film industry.

More so, a degree in fine arts would also prove useful for this business.

Overall, multimedia art and animation are both steady and interesting careers to build on.

10. Exhibit Design

Exhibit design is another profitable design business idea you can choose from.

It is a well-paying career with an average earning salary of $57,600 per year.

Exhibit design involves creating the physical representation of concepts and ideas based on a specific topic of interest.

Exhibit designers are usually genius in creativity.

They are responsible for all the displays and fixtures you see at conferences, trade shows, museums, and galleries.

Furthermore, there are two ways you can run this business.

You can be an independent exhibit designer.

Here, you’ll have a large studio where you sketch out your ideas, create computer-generated models, and turn them into prototypes for final approval.

On the other hand, you can work with different organizations or companies or museums based on a contract to deliver amazing projects.

Overall, this business will require you to have excellent communication and listening skills.

It also requires a combination of skills such as; architecture, interior design, graphic design, multimedia and technology, lighting, and audio, among other things.

Also, you should be able to handle criticism and have a positive attitude towards handling feedback.

11. Designer Pillows Business

This is another design-related business idea that can yield you more money.

The business is lucrative and profitable, so you can still add it to your designing business.

Designer pillows business involves creating customized pillows for decorative purposes or special occasions.

In fact, it is a business with low capital investment.

The only requirement you would need is to have tailoring skills.

Also, it is essential you have artistic and creative skills, so you can able to create and design attractive pillows.

Furthermore, you can easily run this pillow business in two ways.

Firstly, you can open a physical store where you produce and sell your pillows.

At least for a beginner, you can start from the confines of your home and expand the business with time.

Secondly, you can own an online store where you attract customers from different corners of the world.

Overall, the cost of starting a pillow designing business is quite less when compared to most businesses out there.

12. Greeting Card Business

If you have a passion for turning your creativity into a successful venture, the greeting card business is a perfect one for you.

Nowadays, greeting cards are more rampant, and people need them for many reasons.

Some need it for birthdays, anniversaries, and for business purposes.

Thankfully, you can start the business from the comfort of your home and expand it as time goes on.

Also, it’s a business with low startup investment, so you always start with whatever amount you have.

Decide on what type of greeting cards you want to design, identify your target market and promote your business to them.

Finally, as a beginner, there are a few steps you’ll need to follow to set up a successful business venture.