Graphic Design Niches
For inspiration and to see what is possible, check out these graphic design niches! For each niche on the list, there is also a business case: A real-life freelance graphic designer or small graphic design agency targeting that particular niche.
| Targeted Niche | Type of Niche | Business Example | Company Size | Positioning | Founded | Interview | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3D animation and visualisation | Technology Specialization Focus | Steve Wilson | 1 | 2005 | |||
| 3D animations for the oil and gas industry | Horizontal and Vertical Combo Focus | Ben Stone | 1 | We specialize in developing 3D animations for the oil and gas industry. | 2007 | ||
| 3D art for games | Horizontal and Vertical Combo Focus | Sucha Sing | 1 | 3D. Games. Web. Design. | 2008 | ||
| Alcohol branding | Horizontal and Vertical Combo Focus | Dando Projects | 1 | 2013 | |||
| Animated trailers and story apps for children books | Horizontal and Vertical Combo Focus | Cynthia Nugent | 1 | Animated book trailers, app design, children's book publisher | 2012 | ||
| Architectural visualization | Horizontal and Vertical Combo Focus | Joshua Allen Donini | 1 | J•D•ZŸN is a graphics studio specializing in creating architectural renderings and conceptual designs for architects and developers. | 2001 | ||
| Architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) | Related-Industry Focus | Industrial Brand | 1 | We help businesses grow authentic and deliberate brands with a strategy-first approach. Building brands. By design. | 1998 | ||
| Autographix montages and car show display boards | Vertical Focus | Jonathan Nickens | 1 | ||||
| Badass branding (for small service businesses) | Umbrella Focus | Worstofall Design | 1 | Bad ass brands without the BS. | 2008 | ||
| Baking businesses | Vertical Focus | Kirsty Montgomery | 1 | Website & branding design for small or home-based baking businesses | 2014 | ||
| Bars and restaurants | Vertical Focus | Melissa Price | 1 | 2003 | |||
| Biotech | Vertical Focus | Irina Turovets | 1 | Biotech graphic design | |||
| Book design for young readers | We Understand Your Customer Focus | Tom Carling | 1 | Designs great books that get young people reading in print and on screen | 1990 | ||
| Bossladies | Vertical Focus | Moriah Anne Reusing | 1 | You're a lady on a mission - a one-woman show - a high-heel wearing, Evernote wielding force to be reckoned with. | 2008 | ||
| Brand identity design | Horizontal Focus | David Airey | 1 | I'm a graphic designer and writer who specialises in brand identity design. | 2005 | ||
| Busy moms and business owners who are trying to find the balance between the two | Vertical Focus | Rachel Green | 1 | Balance. Grace. Intention. I believe in building purposeful and intentional lives and businesses, that serve each other well instead of taking away from one another. | 2012 | ||
| Cannabis | Vertical Focus | Studio 420 | 1 | A cannabis friendly creative agency | 2014 | ||
| Cannabis | Vertical Focus | Carrie Kuehn | 1 | Our artistic ability, creative media skills and years of design experience can help brand & grow your legal marijuana business | 2015 | ||
| Cardboard engineering | Technology Specialization Focus | Thomas Forsayeth | 1 | Structural packaging designer specialising in cardboard engineering. | 1999 | ||
| Charities and education | Vertical Focus | Cathy Hull | 1 | Specialist graphic design for charities, educators and small businesses | 1992 | ||
| Charities and social enterprises | Vertical Focus | Goodthinking | 1 | Communications for the voluntary sector | 2004 | ||
| Cheer and sports apparel/dye-sublimation | Horizontal and Vertical Combo Focus | Triune Design Studio | 1 | We specialize in apparel & t-shirt design, with a huge client base in the cheer industry & athletic apparel industry. | 2012 | ||
| Churches | Vertical Focus | Benjamin Smith | 1 | Because the message matters | 2007 | ||
| Coins and medals | Technology Specialization Focus | Matt Dent | 1 | Coin and medal designer | 2010 | ||
| Content for kids | Horizontal and Vertical Combo Focus | Kathleen Giarrano | 1 | Fun. Kids. Design. It doesnt get any better than that. | 1983 | ||
| Corporate brochures | Horizontal Focus | Brochure Design Service | 1 | Brochure design | 1999 | ||
| Couture invitations & stationary | Horizontal Focus | Twig & Fig | 1 | Couture stationary | 2004 | ||
| Craft beer | Vertical Focus | Blindtiger Design | 1 | Your Beer Deserves Great Design | 2013 | ||
| Creative lettering | Signature Style | Ricardo Gonzalez | 1 | 2011 | |||
| Creative support for marketing, communications and public relations professionals | Horizontal and Vertical Combo Focus | Shannon Scheels | 1 | 2003 | |||
| Custom drag racing T-shirts, crew shirts and designs | Vertical Focus | Tyler Clark | 1 | Home of the baddest T-shirts in drag racing | 2002 | ||
| Data visualization | Technology Specialization Focus | Andy Kirk | 1 | Visualising data | 2011 | ||
| Distilled spirits & craft beer (package design and brand identity) | Related-Industry Focus | Scott Wetzel | 1 | Hot. Tasty. Fresh. We partner with you to increase sales, presence & credibility through your brand identity & package design. | 2012 | ||
| Eco-consciousness | Issue-Driven Focus | Sonja Meyer | 1 | Graphic design for the real world | 2009 | ||
| Entertainment advertising (and yoga marketing) | Vertical Focus | Stefani Manger | 1 | Marketing & promotional graphic designer / art director who specializes in creating dynamic artwork and advertising for the entertainment industry as well as for health & wellness businesses, such as yoga studios. | 2004 | ||
| Enthusiasts brands | Related-Industry Focus | Saltworks Inc. | 1 | Enthusiast brands | 2001 | ||
| ePub design | Technology Specialization Focus | Megan Hoogenboom | 1 | Design, concepts, research & development | 2012 | ||
| Fashion retail | Vertical Focus | Grace O'Leary | 1 | Sizzling fashion graphics | 2012 | ||
| Film and music | Related-Industry Focus | Jeff Scheinkopf | 1 | 2000 | |||
| Filmmaking | Vertical Focus | Annie Atkins | 1 | Graphic design for film, games, and real life | |||
| Football/Soccer | Vertical Focus | Chris Payne | 1 | Football brand designer | 2015 | ||
| Gaming and eSports | Vertical Focus | Creative Grenade | 1 | Branding & web design for the gaming world | 2008 | ||
| Geek Art Deco | Signature Style | Fabled Creative | 1 | 2015 | |||
| Graffiti-inspired designs | Signature Style | Oliver Gelbrich | 1 | graffiti art and graphic design: hybrid art | |||
| Greenfield | Umbrella Focus | Kathy Lacy | 1 | A green field is where it all starts. Horses graze and compete, race meets are run, seeds are sown and food is harvested. | 2006 | ||
| Halloween and haunted attraction industry | Related-Industry Focus | Craig Hines | 1 | Haunted house websites, graphics, logos, changing portraits, & spooky special effects for haunted attractions and halloween enthusiasts. | 2006 | ||
| Healthcare & wellness | Related-Industry Focus | Stephanie Helline | 1 | Invigorating healthcare and wellness organizations | 2006 | ||
| Historical romance book covers | Vertical Focus | Holly Perret | 1 | The Swoonies | 2019 | ||
| Holistic therapists | Vertical Focus | Samantha Winstanley | 1 | Spiritual websites | 2008 | ||
| Identity design for museums and independent businesses. | Horizontal and Vertical Combo Focus | Margot Lombaert | 1 | Design - Visual communication | 2013 | ||
| Indigenous (aboriginal) design | Issue-Driven Focus | Balarinji | 1 | Ancient culture - Contemporary design | 1983 | ||
| Indigenous design | Issue-Driven Focus | We Are 27 Creative | 1 | An Indigenous art, design & communications agency. | 2016 | ||
| Indulgence brands (wine, spirits and beer) | Related-Industry Focus | Sterling Creative Works | 1 | Smart design for indulgence brands | 1998 | ||
| Infographics | Horizontal Focus | Jack Hagley | 1 | Jack Hagley is a London based graphic designer specialising in infographics. | 2010 | ||
| Information graphics and designs for complex information (for mission-based organizations) | Horizontal Focus | Elissa Schloesser | 1 | Design understanding. Inspire action. | 2009 | ||
| Large companies with complex deliveries | Company Size and Need Focus | Wendy Wood | 1 | Design Strategist who provides spot-on creative and a flawless workflow for your complex, multi-deliverable projects | 2007 | ||
| Lettering animation | Technology Specialization Focus | Austin Saylor | 1 | Freelance motion designer | 2016 | ||
| Life coaches | Vertical Focus | Deena Rutter | 1 | I help life coaches elevate their online brand | 1999 | ||
| Life science technical marketing communications | Related-Industry Focus | Joel Pinkston | 1 | Your one-stop technical and creative life science marketing studio | 2006 | ||
| Limousine marketing | Vertical Focus | EFX Marketing & Media Design | 1 | Marketing tools for transportation professionals | 2009 | ||
| Liquor branding & package design | Vertical Focus | Chad Michael | 1 | Crafted under scrutiny | 2014 | ||
| Logo design | Horizontal Focus | Ian Paget | 1 | I design logos | 2011 | ||
| Magazine design | Horizontal and Vertical Combo Focus | Graeme Thomas | 1 | Design and print specialist | 2011 | ||
| Marine industry | Related-Industry Focus | BoldWater | 1 | Handcrafted bold brands | 2005 | ||
| Medical animation | Horizontal and Vertical Combo Focus | AXS Studio | 1 | Your science, beautifully told. | 2004 | ||
| Metal band merch | Vertical Focus | All4Band | 1 | All that your band needs | |||
| Motion design | Technology Specialization Focus | Justin Carrington | 1 | ||||
| Movie title sequences | Vertical Focus | Fugitive Studios | 1 | Fugitive is an independent post production company based in central London specialising in the design and creation of titles and visual effects for cinema and television. | 2007 | ||
| Movie title sequences | Vertical Focus | Dan Perri | 1 | The movie titles company | |||
| Multi-language lettering | Horizontal Focus | Moataz Ahmed | 1 | Here you can learn multi-language lettering or hire me to do it for you | 2015 | ||
| Museums and exhibitions | Vertical Focus | Malcolm Kirton | 1 | Graphic design for museums, galleries and exhibitions | 1994 | ||
| Online entrepreneurs | Vertical Focus | Andrei Blanda | 1 | Branding for software entrepreneurs | 2010 | ||
| Packaging design | Horizontal Focus | Kristin Murphy Design | 1 | We package fun! Need stand-out packaging for your unique product? | 2008 | ||
| Packaging design for food | Horizontal and Vertical Combo Focus | Karla Dominguez | 1 | Delivering custom packaging design solutions | 2013 | ||
| Party designs | Horizontal Focus | Jessica Richard | 1 | Wamp party designs | 2014 | ||
| Pet industry, animal organizations, dogs | Related-Industry Focus | Rosa Fierro | 1 | Design and illustration for the pet industry, animal organizations and extreme dog lovers | 2010 | ||
| Photographers (brand identity) | Horizontal and Vertical Combo Focus | Danielle Currier | 1 | 2010 | |||
| Photoshop templates for photographers | Horizontal and Vertical Combo Focus | 3 Dollar Templates | 1 | Pre-designed Photoshop templates - Just drop in your images! | 2008 | ||
| Podcast branding | Vertical Focus | Mark Des Cotes | 1 | Your podcast deserves a visual identity as unique as the voice behind the microphone. | 2006 | ||
| Positive change | Issue-Driven Focus | Andrea Brody | 1 | Hi, I'm Andrea! With the right visuals, wellness and positive change spread quicker. I can help. | 2007 | ||
| Poster design | Horizontal Focus | Arden Avett | 1 | 2010 | |||
| Powerpoint presentations | Technology Specialization Focus | Laura M Foley | 1 | Cheat death by PowerPoint! | 2001 | ||
| Presentation design | Horizontal Focus | Duarte | 1 | Persuasive presentation experts | 1988 | ||
| Presentation design | Horizontal Focus | Dan Newmark | 1 | Presentation designer: Multimedia keynote, PowerPoint, iPad, web video presentations | |||
| Print design | Horizontal Focus | Lindsay Fournier | 1 | Graphic design | 2008 | ||
| Promotional products | Vertical Focus | Marty Daley | 1 | 2004 | |||
| Public affairs | Related-Industry Focus | Lindsay Smail | 1 | 2013 | |||
| Publication design for nonprofits | Vertical Focus | MillerCox Design | 1 | Publication design for mission-driven organizations | 2001 | ||
| Restaurants | Vertical Focus | Melissa Fox-Austin | 1 | Melissa Fox Austin is a freelance graphic designer specializing in restaurant design | 2007 | ||
| Restaurants, food and beverage | Related-Industry Focus | Ashley Howell | 1 | Graphic design services for restaurateurs and food & beverage | 2006 | ||
| School branding | Vertical Focus | Craig Burton | 1 | Helping New Zealand schools craft compelling visual brands. | 2001 | ||
| Science-related businesses, organizations and academics | Vertical Focus | Shelley Sandiford | 1 | Graphics and animation to help science-related businesses, organizations and academics explain science | |||
| Shirt graphics for bands | Vertical Focus | Randon Brike | 1 | Graphic artist | 2002 | ||
| Shopify D2C brands | Horizontal and Vertical Combo Focus | D2C Design | 1 | CPG design & dev partner for growing Shopify D2C brands | 2021 | ||
| Small businesses | Company Size and Need Focus | Rhonda Brown | 1 | Helping small businesses stand out | 2009 | ||
| Sports graphics | Vertical Focus | Craig Hogben | 1 | Freelance Sports Designer | 2019 | ||
| Sports identity design | Horizontal and Vertical Combo Focus | John Hartwell | 1 | Connects sports brands to sports brands. Sports design that ignites passion and the bottom line. | 2001 | ||
| Supplement packaging & branding | Vertical Focus | Brandon Hasbrook | 1 | 2017 | |||
| SVG cut files for crafters | Technology Specialization Focus | Viktoria Braylovski | 1 | High quality, trendy, easy-to-use SVG Cut Files and Templates | 2022 | ||
| T-shirt design | Horizontal Focus | Brent Galloway | 1 | T-Shirt design that helps your brand stay creatively relevant. | 2010 | ||
| Targeting US clients from abroad | Vertical Focus | Alberto Kaiser Sosa | 1 | A truly rockstar designer | 2001 | ||
| Theatrical advertising | Horizontal and Vertical Combo Focus | Jaime Vallés | 1 | 2011 | |||
| Theatrical key art, home video packaging, alternative posters | Related-Industry Focus | Scott Saslow | 1 | 2015 | |||
| Toronto's financial industry (retainers) | Vertical Focus | Sebastian Petrescu | 1 | A freelance graphic design retainer service for Toronto's financial industry | 2000 | ||
| Transit maps | Vertical Focus | Cameron Booth | 1 | Transit maps, graphic design and photography | 2011 | ||
| Twitch graphics | Vertical Focus | Humantek Art | 1 | Gaming logo & banner designing | 2021 | ||
| Typography | Technology Specialization Focus | Claire Coullon | 1 | Graphic design, typography & lettering | 2009 | ||
| Unlimited graphic design & revisions (queue-based) | The Way You Work Focus | Brett Williams | 1 | A design agency with a twist - Design subscriptions to scale your business. | 2017 | ||
| Unlimited graphic design & revisions (queue-based) | The Way You Work Focus | Design Pickle | 1 | Unlimited graphic design | 2015 | ||
| Vegan graphic design | Issue-Driven Focus | Shiri Takacs | 1 | Design solutions dedicated to ethical businesses | 2014 | ||
| Video projections for ballets, operas and classical concerts | Horizontal and Vertical Combo Focus | Jacopo Castellano | 1 | Video projections for ballet, opera and classical concerts | 2013 | ||
| Vinyl graphics, banners, and sign installation | Technology Specialization Focus | Tim Neal | 1 | Specializing in signage solutions | 2012 | ||
| Virtual studio sets | Horizontal and Vertical Combo Focus | Mike Afford | 1 | Premium Virtual Studio Sets to download. For TriCaster, vMix and post-production. | 2007 | ||
| Visual data/storytelling (infographics, microsites, microcontent, video) | Horizontal Focus | Lemonly | 1 | Create understanding through visuals | 2011 | ||
| Wayfinding design | Horizontal Focus | Gregory Scott Souchock | 1 | Because life is to short to be lost | 1997 | ||
| Wayfinding design (for cities, events, institutions and transit systems) | Horizontal Focus | Lance Wyman | 1 | 1979 | |||
| Wine | Vertical Focus | Pere Pagà | 1 | 1991 |
Graphic Design Niches