CTO Guide to Hiring Indian Graphic Designers

CTOs, Creative Directors, and other business leaders take two routes when looking for the right design talent to fill their needs. They either try to find and hire designers locally—and often fail in the process due to talent shortages and prohibitive costs—or extend their creative team abroad.

India has become a popular destination for the latter.

Designers in creative hubs like Mumbai and Bangalore offer the same or better quality than their counterparts in the US and Europe. And at a much lower cost!

If you're considering hiring Indian graphic designers, this guide will walk you through exactly how to do it. You'll learn the practical steps to find and onboard top talent, where to locate the best designers across India's creative hubs, the specific advantages Indian designers bring to your team, and why offshoring offers the most reliable path to building a world-class design team.

Let's get started!

Why should you hire Indian graphic designers?

You've probably heard the stereotypes: Indian designers aren't creative enough to perform at the highest level, their understanding of Western aesthetics is lacking, and they struggle with brand consistency.

While some organisations have had bad experiences hiring Indian designers, the problem is not the quality of the creatives but rather the hiring process and engagement model. We'll cover that later in the article, where we'll explain why offshore design teams are the most effective way of setting up a creative team in India.

The main reason why you should consider hiring Indian graphic designers is that the country is home to some of the most talented and innovative creative professionals in the world:

• Indian designers have in-demand, niche creative skills that creative directors most seek. The country has a thriving design ecosystem with specialists in UI/UX, brand identity, motion graphics, 3D visualization, and digital illustration.
• Around 150,000 design graduates emerge from top creative institutions in India yearly. Schools like NID (National Institute of Design), MIT Institute of Design, and Srishti Institute produce world-class talent.
• Top Indian designers have a high level of English and strong cultural awareness of Western markets, making it easy for them to work with international businesses. India's exposure to global brands through advertising and media creates designers who understand diverse audiences.

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Advantages of hiring Indian designers

When you hire Indian graphic designers through the right model, you're gaining access to creatives who can genuinely elevate your brand and product.

These are the key advantages of hiring Indian designers:

You get specialists with experience in your industry

India's talent pool is deep enough that you can find people with the exact skills your business demands and a proven track record working with companies in your sector—whether that's SaaS, e-commerce, FinTech, healthcare, or consumer brands.

You save money (and still hire top talent)

When you offshore to India, you're saving 40-60% on average design costs and accessing the same calibre of talent you'd find at home. A senior designer in New York or London commands $80,000-$120,000 annually; in Mumbai, equivalent talent costs $25,000-$40,000.

You enjoy extended creative coverage

While your team sleeps, your Indian designers can push forward on critical deliverables. This means design reviews are ready when you arrive, campaigns launch faster, and you wake up to progress rather than bottlenecks.

You tap into a culture that values craftsmanship

Indian designers are trained through rigorous creative programmes where attention to detail and visual excellence are core to every curriculum. They don't just execute briefs to specification—they consider brand guidelines, suggest improvements, and take ownership of creative outcomes. That mindset is baked into how they approach work.

You build teams that stay for the long run

Turnover is lower among offshore Indian designers than among freelancers or contractors. When you hire through the right partner and model, these creatives become an integral part of your company.

“There's clearly been an evolution from thinking of India as a back office location where you just offshore some non-creative functions. Today, offshore creative teams make up a huge part of the value chain for a lot of organisations. They're a core, strategic part of the business.

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Where to find graphic designers in India

One of the first questions you must ask yourself before building your design team in India is where you want to establish operations, given that not every city in the country has the same talent pool or strengths.

There are many creative hubs you can pull talent from, but Mumbai, Bangalore, and Delhi are among the most popular destinations:

Mumbai: The Creative Capital

Mumbai is home to India's advertising, film, and media industries. The city has the highest concentration of senior creative talent, brand strategists, and designers who've worked with global Fortune 500 companies. If you need designers with brand experience, advertising backgrounds, or motion graphics expertise, Mumbai has the deepest pool of talent.

Bangalore: The Digital Design Hub

Bangalore's tech ecosystem has created a strong pool of UI/UX designers, product designers, and digital-first creatives. The city is home to design teams at Google, Microsoft, and thousands of startups—meaning designers here understand product thinking and user-centred design.

Delhi NCR: The Rising Star

Delhi NCR is growing fast as a design destination. The city has a younger designer population and lower costs than Mumbai, which means you can hire talented creatives early in their careers and grow them into senior roles.

How to hire Indian graphic designers: A 5-step process

Now let's get into the specifics. What's the best way to hire an Indian designer? How do you find a reliable partner that helps you build a high-performing creative team in the country?

Follow these five steps, and you'll have a team of talented designers working exclusively for you in no time:

Step 1: Define your design requirements

Before you start recruiting, be crystal clear about what you need. Ask yourself:

• What type of design work do you need? (Brand identity, UI/UX, marketing collateral, motion graphics, etc.)
• What tools and software must they know? (Figma, Adobe Creative Suite, After Effects, Cinema 4D, etc.)
• What seniority level do you need? (Junior, mid-level, senior, or a mix)
• How many designers do you need now, and how might that change in 12-24 months?
• What industry experience is valuable for your specific needs?

The clearer you are upfront, the faster and more accurate your hiring process will be.

Step 2: Choose your hiring and engagement model

You have three main options when hiring Indian designers:

• Freelancers: Flexible but unreliable. Good for one-off projects, but not for building consistent brand output.
• Outsourcing agencies: They handle projects end-to-end, but you lose control over quality and process.
• Dedicated offshore teams: Full-time designers who work exclusively for you, integrated into your workflows and culture.

For most organisations seeking consistent, high-quality creative output, the dedicated offshore team model delivers the best results. These aren't contractors—they're your designers, just based in India.

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Step 3: Find a trusted offshore partner

Unless you have local expertise, partnering with an established offshore provider is essential. A good partner handles:

• Recruitment and vetting of candidates
• Legal and compliance requirements
• Infrastructure and workspace
• HR, payroll, and benefits administration
• Ongoing team management and culture building

Look for partners with proven experience building creative teams, not just engineering teams. The skills required to assess design talent are different from technical recruitment.

Step 4: Pick the best candidates

With a good partner, you'll receive a shortlist of pre-vetted candidates. Your job is to conduct final interviews focused on:

• Portfolio review: Does their past work align with your brand and quality standards?
• Cultural fit: Will they integrate well with your existing team?
• Communication skills: Can they articulate their design decisions clearly?
• Problem-solving: How do they approach creative challenges?
• Tool proficiency: Are they experts in the software you use?

Step 5: Integrate your designers from day one

Treat your new designers as full members of your creative team, not remote contractors working in a silo. Effective integration includes:

• Comprehensive onboarding covering your brand guidelines, design systems, and processes
• Daily or weekly syncs to maintain alignment and momentum
• Access to the same tools and resources as your in-house team
• Clear feedback loops and approval workflows
• Investment in their professional development

Most importantly, help them understand the "why" behind your brand—not just the "what." Designers who grasp the bigger picture contribute better ideas and create more impactful work.

Challenges you may face when hiring Indian designers

We've covered the benefits of hiring Indian design talent, but as with anything, there are challenges you need to be aware of before making the move:

Time zone differences

It's not always easy to collaborate with your team when they're 5-10 hours ahead of your headquarters. Communication gaps and feedback delays can occur if not managed properly.

Solution: Structure overlapping hours for real-time collaboration, use async communication tools effectively, and establish clear handoff processes.

Brand consistency and quality assurance

Your designers can be talented, but are they following your brand guidelines precisely? Is there sufficient review in place to maintain high standards?

Solution: Create comprehensive brand documentation, implement design review processes, and use tools like Figma for real-time collaboration and version control.

Cultural and aesthetic differences

Design preferences can vary across cultures. What looks sophisticated in one market might feel different in another.

Solution: Hire designers with experience working on Western brands, provide clear visual references, and invest in initial alignment on aesthetic direction.

“These aren't dealbreakers—they're real considerations. The good news? A reliable offshore partner with a proven track record can help you navigate all three.

InfAI's approach solves creative team challenges

At InfAI, we've built an offshore model that sources the top creative talent in Mumbai. What's more, it addresses the most common issues leaders face when hiring Indian designers:

• We solve time zone challenges by establishing clear overlap hours, implementing async workflows, and assigning dedicated account managers who ensure smooth communication across time zones.
• We solve quality assurance by handpicking designers with proven portfolios and training them on your specific brand guidelines and quality standards.
• We solve cultural alignment by recruiting designers with international brand experience and providing ongoing cultural training to ensure they understand your target markets.

Ready to build your design team? Fill out our contact form, and one of our senior executives will reach out promptly.

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