Penji Review 2023: Is It Worth The HYPE? (TRUTH)

One way to make your advertisements more impactful is by integrating customized graphic designs. Without a doubt, graphic design is a powerful communication tool that lets brands connect with their target audience. And with so many graphic design services in the market, which one should aspiring brands go for?

On-demand services are all the rage these days, and the graphic design industry is one that doesn’t get left behind. In this Penji review, we write about one of the top on-demand graphic design services hailing from Camden, NJ, Penji. Let’s get to know Penji as we delve into how the company started, why their offers are irresistible, and the benefits of subscribing to their services.

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Penji’s History: A Company Built on Passion

Co-founders Johnathan Grzybowski and Khai Tran had once struggled with graphic design as well. But both leaders didn’t initially start with graphic design. They ran a full-service agency with specialties in SEO, web design and development, app design, and social media marketing.

Unfortunately, the two felt that something was missing. Their agency lacked the zeal, and they felt that they were only pursuing the money. Despite their successful agency, their clients lauded the founders’ exceptional skills in graphic design. After a trip to Vietnam, both John and Khai re-assessed their company values.

And that’s when they thought about launching Penji on October 21, 2017.

Both Johnathan and Khai knew how startups and small businesses struggle with unreliable and expensive graphic design. And they wanted to change this and give equal opportunities to up-and-coming brands.

Until today, Penji’s core values are still apparent on every client, and every project, regardless of the business level. The company shows its passion for creating captivating graphic design for their customers. Big brands such as Reebok, Lyft, Express, UPenn, and AWeber have entrusted their graphic design needs to Penji.

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Penji’s Core Values

Penji revolves around five core values, which are:

Putting the customers first above all.
Becoming a dependable company for its clients and team members.
Being transparent and honest all the time.
Giving back to the community wholeheartedly.
Putting quality work a top priority at all times.

What makes Penji different from other graphic design services is their willingness to push others who are helping others. For one, they initially hired Camden residents and students to give back to the Camden community. Also, Penji supports nonprofits in their advocacies by offering a monthly fee of $1 in exchange for their full services. That is if the nonprofit can pass Penji’s requirements for availing this offer.

Overall, Penji has disrupted the graphic design industry through its quality, fast, and affordable graphic design service.

Penji Review: Fixed Rate for Unlimited Graphic Designs

Penji’s unique business structure is built by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs. The struggle to find quality, reliable, and affordable graphic designers has been a dilemma for many companies.

But with Penji, they aim to change this and provide a solution that will cater to every business’s graphic design needs. The company works on a subscription-based model that lets clients pay a fixed monthly rate in exchange for unlimited graphic designs.

They are considered as an “on-demand” service, which means they cater to clients when they want it. Clients don’t have to commit to a yearly contract or a per-project contract. Penji believes that giving the clients the freedom to choose their design partners makes for a stellar outcome. Hence, not requiring contracts.

Companies that subscribe to Penji can unsubscribe anytime if they don’t need their services anymore. This benefit will not cost them cancellation fees. Then, they can re-subscribe anytime they want as well. Overall, Penji is perfect for scalability.

Who Can Subscribe to Penji?

Speaking of scalability, Penji’s business model helps brands if they increase or decrease business operations. While any company can subscribe to Penji, they are well-suited for these types of businesses:

Startups and Small Businesses:

Startups and small businesses struggle to gain traction in their niche, especially if they’re going against the more prominent brands. While graphic design is essential in marketing, startups and small businesses don’t have enough resources to hire professional graphic designers.

And this is where Penji comes in. Because the founders experienced and understood the struggles of startups and small businesses, Penji offers affordable graphic designs to scale new brands.

Agencies:

If you’re running an agency, Penji can be your best design partner. Penji has a user-friendly design platform that can let you add up to 10 of your team members. Moreover, since agencies have a steady flow of graphic designs, agencies can maximize Penji’s unlimited design offer.

Merch Sellers:

Merch sellers can take advantage of the fixed monthly rate in exchange for customized graphic designs. You can get as many customized designs and illustrations that will sell.

You’re also assigned to different designers on every project (unless you request a particular designer), which means you’ll get versatile skills and creativity.

Marketing Teams:

Marketing teams can also hire Penji as their design partner. Marketers run on a tight schedule. They need to whip up different advertisements consistently, and Penji’s fast turnaround helps marketing teams stay on track.

What Designs Does Penji Offer?

Penji takes pride in hiring the top two percent of graphic designers. This means clients will benefit from working with designers with versatile skills and expertise. Moreover, there is a no-holds-barred when clients request designs from Penji.

Here are some of the design types you can request from Penji:

Branding (logos, pitch decks, etc.)
Custom UX/UI (app design, web design)
Digital (banners, digital ads, social media content, etc.)
Illustrations (custom illustrations, typography, etc.)
Marketing (business cards, flyers, sales sheet, infographics, etc.)
Merch sellers (promotional materials, t-shirts, etc.)
Print (books, magazines, packaging, labels, stationeries, etc.)

Penji Review: Reasonable Pricing

Penji’s plans are incredibly affordable. There are no hidden costs and additional fees, making the service perfect for startups and small businesses. Here is an overview of Penji’s plans and their inclusions:

Pro (Graphic design only):

The Pro plan is $399 per month. This is perfect for startups or small businesses that need marketing graphics to kick off their brand. This plan includes:

Unlimited graphic designs
Unlimited brands
One designer
Two users

Team (Graphic design + Illustration + UX/UI):

The Team plan is priced at $499 a month and is made for marketing teams or any business levels. This plan includes:

Everything in Pro
Web and app design
Custom illustrations
Infographics
Five users

Agency (Team plan + Double output):

As the name suggests, the Agency plan is well-suited to agencies or huge businesses that require a massive amount of designs. This is priced at $899 a month and includes:

Everything in Team
Two designers
10 users
Prioritized support

Penji also gives huge discounts when clients pay quarterly and yearly, letting them save 10 percent and 15 percent, respectively.

Penji Review: Seamless Design Process

Penji employs a user-friendly design platform where clients can request designs, ask revisions, download files, and give feedback. And it takes three steps:

1. Create:

Create a new project on the dashboard. Fill in the description form to let the designer know what you want precisely. You may also upload images and links for inspiration. Wait until you get assigned to the best designer for the project.

2. Review:

Penji’s turnaround time is 24 hours. But for complex designs, it may take up to 48 hours. If you’re not happy with the design, you can use the point-and-click feature to ask for revisions. All plans come with unlimited revisions at no extra cost.

3. Download:

Download the design from the platform, and it will automatically save on your computer. You’ll have all rights and licenses for all designs created.

Penji Review: Pros and Cons of Subscribing to Penji

Now that we’ve tackled Penji’s business model, pricing, plans, and design process, is Penji worth it? Here’s a run-through of the pros and cons.

PROS:

Affordable rates:

Compared to other graphic design services, Penji’s rates are relatively more affordable.

Vetted designers:

Marketers, recruiters, and entrepreneurs don’t have to go through the tedious hiring process. Penji does all the vetting for you.

Unlimited:

Since Penji offers unlimited designs and revisions, you can get the most out of your monthly subscription.

Fast turnaround:

Imagine having the designs after 24 to 48 hours. That means you won’t have any delays in your marketing strategies or overall business operations.

No contracts:

Companies can subscribe or re-subscribe anytime they want. There are no contracts, unlike hiring freelance graphic designers or agencies.

Professional designs:

Since Penji only hires the top two percent of designers, rest assured all their clients will get high-quality and professional designs all the time.

CONS:

Too expensive for businesses with a few design needs:

Since clients pay a fixed monthly rate, Penji isn’t worth it if you have a few graphic design needs. If you’re a new business that only needs a handful of designs per month, we suggest looking for other options.

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Penji Alternative :

Canva

With over 30 million users and a price of $6 billion, Canva is without a doubt the most popular piece of graphic creation software that can be used online.

I learned about Canva right about the time when it first became available. I decided to look into it since it generated a lot of buzz. To tell you the truth, back then I did not like it at all.

When it comes to design, I previously relied on a mix of Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, and PicMonkey until I discovered Canva.

After some time, I was able to navigate both with ease, although I found that Canva was more difficult to use than PicMonkey. Canva has a steep learning curve and lacked several of the capabilities I was looking for in a design tool.

I paid it no attention. But I decided to give it another go around two or three years ago, and this time I was impressed enough to switch PicMonkey out for it in my collection of editing tools. Canva has added a large number of features that made the program simpler to use and gave users the ability to do more.

Canva is an all-inclusive design tool that can be used by anybody who isn’t a professional designer. Although the majority of people think of it as an image creation tool, it really does a great deal more. You are able to create everything from printed documents and PDFs to invoices and flyers as well as infographics and websites.

You have the option of beginning completely from scratch or using their pre-made templates, depending on the level of skill you possess.

There is a version for the web, as well as applications for mobile phones and desktop computers.

Canva Pricing :

There is a free plan, a Pro plan that costs $9.95 per user per month and is paid annually, and an Enterprise plan that costs $30 per user per month and is billed annually.

Freelancers who develop 10 to 15 designs each month are good candidates for the free edition. You will have access to more than one hundred different design kinds, more than eight thousand free templates, and thousands of free images and graphics.

If you intend on creating a significant number of photographs, either for yourself or for your customers, you should consider upgrading to the Pro plan. You will get access to more than 420,000 pre-made templates, more than 75 million graphics, pictures, stock images, and videos, in addition to a number of other services. One feature that stands out is called Brand Kit, and it’s used for storing brand materials (color palette, logo, etc.).

The Enterprise plan is ideal for large businesses and organisations that have a number of employees working together on a project. You will get access to a variety of different Brand Kits, as well as design processes and limitless storage.

👉 Get Started With Canva

Final Verdict: Penji Review 2023

Overall, subscribing to Penji is a win-win for businesses. Unfortunately, for companies that only need five to 10 designs per month, the fixed rate will be a burden. On the flip side, we recommend Penji for brands who want efficient and affordable graphic designs with no billing surprises.

👉 Get Started With Penji

Last but not least, Penji takes pride in a no-commitment set-up. That’s why the company also offers a 15-day money-back guarantee so you can try Penji’s service risk-free. Now, how’s that for a great bargain?

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