A case study on hiring senior designers globally and building predictable delivery
About OneNine
OneNine is a US-based web design and website management company. They help businesses build, maintain, and improve high-performing websites through ongoing design, development, and support.
Design quality is central to their reputation. Their work is client-facing, deadline-driven, and held to a high standard. If design output slows or quality drops, it directly affects client satisfaction and retention.
The Requirement
OneNine did not approach Pavago with the intention of reducing costs.
They were clear about what they needed:
- senior designers with strong portfolios
- experience working in agency environments
- the ability to deliver consistently under real client timelines
They did not care where the web designers lived or which time zone they worked in. The only requirement was that the work matched the quality OneNine is known for.
The Hiring Decision
Rather than limiting hiring to a local market, they chose to hire globally through Pavago.
The goal was to expand design capacity while maintaining the same quality bar. Every hire needed to integrate into existing workflows and contribute immediately to client work.
What Was Hired
To date, OneNine has hired five senior designers through Pavago.
Each designer costs approximately $5,000 to $6,000 per month, depending on experience and role scope.
These were full-time hires, not freelancers or short-term contractors. The intention was long-term integration and stable, reliable output.
Why This Worked
The designers were hired to do core client work, not overflow tasks.
They:
- worked directly on active client accounts
- followed OneNine’s internal processes
- delivered consistently across projects
- Reduced pressure on existing team members
Because quality remained high, OneNine did not need to compensate with excessive review cycles or rework. The designers contributed in a way that felt additive, not disruptive.
Cost and ROI
From a cost perspective, hiring senior designers locally would have required significantly higher investment once salary, benefits, and hiring risk were considered.
By hiring globally:
- They built a multi-designer team without inflating overhead
- design capacity scaled in a predictable way
- Client delivery improved without sacrificing quality
The strongest signal of return was behavioral.
OneNine returned to Pavago repeatedly to hire additional designers. That only happens when the work pays for itself through client outcomes and delivery confidence.
What This Changed for the Business
The biggest change was predictability.
Before, hiring designers meant long searches, delayed starts, and uncertainty about whether the next hire would meet OneNine’s standards. Design capacity often became a bottleneck.
After working with Pavago, that constraint was removed.
They now knows that when demand increases, they can initiate a search and expect to see strong designer profiles within around three weeks.
That certainty changed how the business plans.
Instead of stretching the existing team or hesitating to take on new work, OneNine can scale design capacity on demand, knowing both the timeline and quality bar are reliable.
Hiring shifted from a risk event to a repeatable process.
Pavago’s Role
Pavago did not produce design work for them.
Our role was to:
- Identify senior designers with proven agency experience
- vet for quality, consistency, and reliability
- Support OneNine in building a design team that matches their standards
The value was not tied to location. It was access to hiring offshore talent that could meet a high bar and scale with the business.
The Takeaway
OneNine did not hire offshore designers to save money.
They hired globally to maintain quality while scaling their delivery.
By removing geography as a constraint and keeping standards high, they built a design team that supports growth without introducing risk.
The fact that they continue to hire more designers is the clearest proof that the model works.
Scale Design Capacity Without Losing Quality
