When searching for the right creative solution for your most pressing design and marketing projects, you’re likely to look at the same options several times before picking one. Some companies opt for the freelance or staffing agency route, and others look for more unique models that will fit their ongoing needs.
If you’re one of the ones choosing to go the unique route, you may end up looking at both Superside and Designity, and wonder what exactly makes them so different. We’ll make this decision much easier for you by putting everything you need to know in one simple place.
Here is our comparison of Superside vs Designity.
What is Superside?
Based in Palo Alto, Superside is a tech-forward subscription design service. They work with a global network of creatives mostly in the design space to fulfill clients’ design needs.
Their creative teams are headed by project managers who help manage client projects. Superside primarily works with enterprise brands, but they also take small and mid-size clients as well.
What is Designity?
Designity is a US-based creative platform for creatives of all backgrounds, experience levels, and specialties. The variety in specialties allows them to cater to companies with a wide array of design and marketing needs.
All of the creative teams are supervised by a designated creative director who has at least fifteen years of experience. Creative directors work directly with clients and act as creative partners throughout the design process. This creates consistency and a hassle-free experience for clients.
A comparison at first glance
While these two companies sound very similar, there are some key differences in how they operate and engage with clients. Here is a quick comparison before diving into the details.
<div class="c-blog_table"><div class="c-blog_table-top"><div class="c-blog_table-row"><div class="c-blog_table-main"><div class="c-table_column cc-main cc-empty"></div></div><div class="c-blog_table-column cc-top_orange"><img src="https://global-uploads.webflow.com/61cdf3c5e0b8155f19e0105b/61cdf3c5e0b81507b4e010e2_table_logo.png" loading="lazy" alt="Designity" class="c-table_designity"><div class="c-text-1 cc-table_title cc-designity"><strong>Designity</strong></div></div><div class="c-blog_table-column cc-top_dark"><div class="c-text-1 cc-table_title">Superside</div></div></div><div class="c-table_row"><div class="c-blog_table-main cc-left"><div class="c-text-2">Creative Director supervision</div></div><div class="c-blog_table-column cc-orange"><div class="c-text-2">You're assigned a CD with 15+ years of industry knowledge<br></div></div><div class="c-blog_table-column"><div class="c-text-2 cc-table c-text-color-white">Customers are assigned project and design managers depending on the project.<br></div></div></div><div class="c-table_row"><div class="c-blog_table-main cc-left"><div class="c-text-2">Creative’s location & vetting process</div></div><div class="c-blog_table-column cc-orange"><div class="c-text-2">US-Based creatives. Only 3% of candidates are accepted<br></div></div><div class="c-blog_table-column"><div class="c-text-2 cc-table c-text-color-white">Global network of creatives spanning 50 countries. <br></div></div></div><div class="c-table_row"><div class="c-blog_table-main cc-left"><div class="c-text-2">Sourcing creatives</div></div><div class="c-blog_table-column cc-orange"><div class="c-text-2">Your Creative Director sources creatives<br></div></div><div class="c-blog_table-column"><div class="c-text-2 cc-table c-text-color-white">Project Manager sources creatives.<br></div></div></div><div class="c-table_row"><div class="c-blog_table-main cc-left"><div class="c-text-2">Number of hired creatives</div></div><div class="c-blog_table-column cc-orange"><div class="c-text-2">An interchangeable team of creatives and a designated creative director.<br></div></div><div class="c-blog_table-column"><div class="c-text-2 cc-table c-text-color-white">An interchangeable team of creatives depending on the project. Does not always include a project manager.<br></div></div></div><div class="c-table_row"><div class="c-blog_table-main cc-left"><div class="c-text-2">Unlimited project requests & revisions</div></div><div class="c-blog_table-column cc-orange"><div class="c-text-2">Yes<br></div></div><div class="c-blog_table-column"><div class="c-text-2 cc-table c-text-color-white">No: Depends on package/hours allocated</div></div></div><div class="c-table_row"><div class="c-blog_table-main cc-left"><div class="c-text-2">Weekly video check-ins</div></div><div class="c-blog_table-column cc-orange"><div class="c-text-2">Ongoing weekly calls from day 1<br></div></div><div class="c-blog_table-column"><div class="c-text-2 cc-table c-text-color-white">Assigned a designated Slack channel where you communicate with your team<br></div></div></div><div class="c-table_row"><div class="c-blog_table-main cc-left"><div class="c-text-2">Trial period?</div></div><div class="c-blog_table-column cc-orange"><div class="c-text-2">Yes<br></div></div><div class="c-blog_table-column"><div class="c-text-2 cc-table c-text-color-white">No (Very limited, not risk-free)<br></div></div></div></div></div>
Let’s dive into the main components differentiating Superside and Designity, starting with…
Creative Director Supervision
Superside
Superside doesn’t utilize creative directors on most of its projects. They do however utilize project managers. Project managers are less experienced than creative directors, but it doesn’t mean that they’re ‘bad’ at managing projects or navigating client needs. Their primary purpose is to set project goals and vet creatives for projects.
The job description is less hands-on than a creative director’s would be.
Another thing to note is that Superside does not include project managers on all of their projects or packages. Clients have to request them specifically, or if a project is too complex or lengthy, clients may automatically be assigned a project manager.
Designity
At Designity, every single client that signs up for a package is assigned a designated creative director no matter the package size. The creative director is much more hands-on than Superside’s project managers, but this is because the creative directors are meant to act as an extension of the client’s team.
The creative directors in this case go beyond simple project management and setting timelines. Clients are actually encouraged to bounce ideas off of their creative director, work through creative struggles, and keep an open line of communication via weekly video calls.
Designity’s creative directors also manage the creative team so that the client doesn’t have to.
While this approach is great for clients who prefer a more collaborative approach to their creative projects, some businesses might prefer a more removed approach.
All about the creatives
Superside
Location: Superside has a global network of employees. Their designers and project managers are located all over the world. This can be a positive for clients who want specialized international campaigns but may not work for clients wanting a solely US-based creative team.
Scope: Superside offers a wide range of creative specialties, but its offerings seem to be limited to design projects. There is no option for copywriting and content services or coding and development.
Designity
Location: Designity’s network of creatives and creative directors are all US-based, spanning all US time zones. The reason for a solely US-based team is that it makes it easier for clients to collaborate on projects with a creative team in their time zone.
Scope: The scope of services offered is broad and is not limited to design projects. In addition to the full gamut of design services, Designity also offers content and copywriting, coding and development, and brand audits for companies that may want to refresh their current marketing strategies.
Vetting
Superside
Creative hiring process: Most Superside creatives are full-time, but some are freelancers who are sourced based on project needs. Their creatives must complete the first interview, then complete a creative competency test before moving on to the next round of interviews.
If they pass the interview round, then they are required to complete a final assessment on a hypothetical business case. Creatives are required to complete the assessment within 1-2 days.
Sourcing for creative projects: The creative sourcing process is mostly the project manager’s job, but if a client or package does not have a project manager, then it can be assumed that creatives are automatically assigned to projects.
Designity
Creative hiring process: Designity works with a wide range of both full-time and part-time employees as well as recent design school graduates. The hiring process is lengthy, and creatives must complete two rounds of interviews before being given a ‘challenge’ project.
The creatives set their own deadlines for this project and are required to adhere to it. Delivering a challenge late is automatic grounds for not moving forward with the applicant. Challenges vary depending on the creative’s specialty.
Once the challenge is submitted, it is reviewed by a team of creative directors specializing in that particular field. The team scores the project, and based on that score, the creative is either terminated or approved for the final round of interviews.
It’s important to note that only the top 3% of applicants are approved to move forward which is why Designity’s creative team is more exclusive than other players in the design space.
Sourcing for creative projects: Once a client submits a project request, their creative director is tasked with going into Designity’s creative pool and sourcing the right creatives based on the client’s individual project needs.
For example, if a healthcare client is running an ad campaign, they can request that the designer and copywriter on the project have prior healthcare experience. If they want to narrow it down further to only recent grads or maybe creatives with multiple years of experience, they can also do that.
Unlimited Project Requests and Revisions
Superside
One thing to note about Superside is that although clients have access to a very tech-forward platform that allows them to give quick feedback and see revisions as they come in, their packages are based on hourly metrics.
While project requests are technically ‘unlimited’, clients must be very conscious of the hours required to complete specific tasks within their projects to stay within the parameters of the maximum allotted hours per package.
For example, if a client has an ongoing full stack design project at level 1 pricing, they are allotted 65 hours of creative work. If you exceed that amount, then you either have to upgrade by adding more hours to your plan or wait for the next month for the hours to ‘reset’.
Designity
Designity offers clients unlimited project requests and revisions without worrying about hours. The reason for this is that creativity can’t be confined to hourly metrics. The ideation process, developing concepts and mood boards, and collaboration are something that shouldn’t be overlooked for the sake of package hours.
Clients are encouraged to give as much feedback as possible and submit their revision requests until they receive the desired result.
Pricing
Superside
Superside’s pricing is very similar to what you would expect from a creative agency. They separate their package options based on the service category (Communications, Full Stack Design, Digital Advertising, End-to-End Creative, and Social Video Ads) and then further separate it into levels. Each level gives clients an allocated amount of hours per month.
For example, for a Communications package at Level 2, clients get 105 hours per month at a price tag of $7,000 per month to be billed annually. There is no option for monthly or quarterly payments.
Do they offer a trial?
Currently, Superside does not offer clients a risk-free trial. The closest thing to this would be the option to cancel three months into your yearly contract with them. You do not get your money back even if you are unsatisfied with the service you received while working with them.
The quarterly trial period is only offered on a limited basis.
Designity
Designity’s pricing model is very straightforward. Clients can choose between three different package options and can fluctuate between the three whenever they want, depending on their needs.
The main difference between the three packages is the number of creatives (in addition to the creative director) and the scope of services. For example, under the Essentials plan, clients will have one creative on their plan plus their creative director. Certain project categories like mobile app design and copywriting are not included.
The scope of services and the allocated creatives increase the higher the package is. If a client has an urgent deadline and needs an e-commerce website design, they would be better suited to the Plus Plan which is $5,495 per month.
The price never fluctuates unless clients utilize add-ons or upgrade to a higher package.
Do they offer a trial?
Designity offers all clients a two-week, risk-free trial regardless of the client’s commitment. One thing to note about Designity’s trial is that if clients cancel within the fourteen-day trial period, they do not get the copyrights to any deliverables provided during that time.
If they continue, the two-week trial is automatically absorbed into their first month.
<div class="c-blog_comp-cta cc-component-1"><div class="c-blog_comp-cta-left"><div class="c-blog_comp-cta-left-wrap"><img src="https://global-uploads.webflow.com/61cdf3c5e0b8155f19e0105b/6369722e59155470b6840033_Potential-clients.png" loading="lazy" alt="" class="c-blog_comp-cta-left-img"></div></div><div class="c-blog_comp-cta-right"><div class="c-blog_comp-content"><div class="c-text-wrapper cc-mb-32"><div class="c-title-4 cc-bold"><strong>Want to save money without sacrificing the quality?</strong></div></div><div class="c-text-wrapper"><div class="c-text-2">Say goodbye to traditional, expensive agencies and unreliable marketplaces. Say hello to Designity.<br></div></div></div><div class="c-blog_comp-wrapper"><a href="/pricing" target="_blank" class="c-button cc-primary cc-inverted w-button"><strong>Get Your 2-Week Trial</strong></a></div></div></div>
The Verdict
In the end, choosing the right design company for your marketing needs wholly depends on you and your preferences. You may love the hands-on and personalized approach that Designity offers, or you might prefer the tech-first approach of Superside.
We hope this helped, and happy searching!
To learn more about Designity or take us out for a test drive, sign up for your risk-free two-week trial today!
