You’ve spent time brainstorming the perfect brand name, gathering materials, and planning out your company’s future. The next step? Figuring out a logo and design element that will be used on your social media accounts, promotional tools, and seen around town. You may be wanting to cut costs and design your own logo to slap on your brand. But, is this a wise decision?
First, let’s get into exploring what exactly a graphic designer does and does not do. A graphic designer brings your vision to life by taking your ideas and presenting them in one concise design. In order to benefit from hiring a graphic designer, constant communication is essential to create a final product that both parties are thrilled with. Without detail direction – such as a color palette, brand theme, or inspiration board – a graphic designer might struggle with bringing exactly what you’re wanting to life.
Next, decide on what you need to be designed for your business. Are you just needing a digital logo? Are you looking for business cards, envelopes, and folders? Figuring out what you need will help you narrow down what to look for in a graphic designer. You should also decide who your target audience is, what your company voice will be, and what you want your brand to look like. If you’re targeting families with younger children, you would want your graphic to use lighter colors and be more family-friendly. If you’re targeting college students you would want something edgier.
Then, you need to find a graphic designer. If you’re looking for a shorter termed project, than a site like Upwork, Fiverr, or 99designs would be helpful finding a freelancer. If you’re looking for someone to continuously work with your brand, it might be more beneficial to hire a designer to work in-house. Before hiring a designer, look at their portfolio to make sure that their design style fits what you are looking for. If you’re hiring a freelancer, make sure to create a contract that outlines both of your expectations and agreements.
Here’s what RRF’s Graphic Designers had to say on the subject:
Daphne, Art Director: “The benefit of hiring graphic designers is that visual elements are always going to be important for businesses and organizations, big or small, large office complex or web-based. Using the creativity of graphic designers is a great method of putting your words into a visual story. Graphics are always going to catch people’s eyes and compel potential clients, customers or viewers to learn more into what you are selling or promoting.”
Joan, Senior Graphic Designer: “People react to design with emotions (which can be either good or bad). Graphic designers are trained to understand how people react to design. When someone chooses from Canva, if they are not trained in graphic design, they may miss the mark and that always costs, either money-wise or reputation-wise. Graphic designers are masters of visual communication who know how to avoid these mistakes. Going it alone is not going to save you money or time. You may have a nice idea, but execution will be problematic if you don’t have the technical skills to bring your vision to life. Graphic designers understand the technical requirements across all platforms and anticipate customer needs based on the end product.”
Hiring a graphic designer can alleviate stress on your part. Going it alone is not going to save you money or time. You may have a nice idea, but execution will be problematic if you don’t have the technical skills to bring your vision to life. A graphic designer will bring their creativity and will create a visual story based on your ideas. Ready to take the dive? Find out how we can bring your vision to life.
