Okay, short answer? Yes. But hey, I am biased! After all, this is my job, and it’s one that I’m deeply passionate about.
If you’ve clicked through to read this post, I’m guessing you’re weighing your options and considering whether or not to hire a professional to take care of your logo design, visual identity, or some other kind of branding or marketing material.
And if that’s the case, then great! It means you understand the importance of your business’s image, and you’re giving some serious thought about the advantages of investing in some good design. (Still learning about what branding is all about? Check out this post!)
So, how do you know whether you should hire a graphic designer? Let’s run through some reasons together.
It’s time to grow beyond the DIY look
It’s normal for budding business owners to try and save costs by taking care of everything themselves. You might not be a professional designer, but hey, you can put something half-decent together using Canva. It’s worked just fine, for now!
As time passes though, you will probably start to see how your home-made logo is limiting your business’s potential growth. Whether you like it or not, people are highly influenced by what they see. Your brand visuals play a big part of how your business is portrayed and perceived by your customers. It can be critical for the success or failure of your business.
Professional graphic design equals a professional look. Don’t let low-priced or DIY graphics hurt the long-term success of your business.
Related post: Why logo templates can’t stand up to professionally-made, custom brand identities
Your business needs a strong presence
There’s tough competition out there. Today’s market is saturated with so many options for consumers that finding a way to stand out is getting really hard. Consumers also move FAST. Online, you’ve got only seconds to make an impression on potential customers. So how do you do it? How do you stand out?
Well, that’s exactly what graphic designers can help you with. A good graphic designer will develop a unique, carefully-considered approach that ensures your brand is distinct. We research your industry, learn about your target market, listen to your brand story, and put it all together in a way that helps your business make an impact. We’ll develop new ideas to market familiar services and products, and ensure your brand’s personality (take the quiz!) and voice cuts through the noise and reaches your intended audience.
It’s about more than just the surface details
Graphic designers are communicators and problem-solvers. We seek to understand your business’s values, aims and goals in order to work out the best way to reach your customers. Those sleek logos, stunningly curated images, and beautiful layouts — they’re just a part of a solution developed through meticulous analysis and a tonne of thought.
It would be easy to brush off graphic design as an unnecessary expense if all it did was make things “look pretty”. The reality though, is that good graphic design is far less about how good something looks, and much more about how well it works.
How well does it showcase your professionalism? Your expertise? Your experience and story? How efficiently does it tell someone if they’re in the right place? How easy does it make it for a customer to get what they need? THAT’S what graphic design is about.
(Side note: Do you want to analyse how well your brand is working for you? Consider conducting a brand audit!)
It saves you time and money
Look, if you’re a small business owner, then it’s probably safe to assume that you’re also a busy person. Business owners have to wear a lot of hats, but nothing will make you crazier than trying to wear ALL the hats. At the same time. People should never wear multiple hats at once, you know?
They say “do what do you do best, delegate the rest”. Save yourself the time and trouble of trying to figure out various design tools, working out how to set up files correctly and liaising with printers. (And that’s to say nothing about trying to somehow pick up years of experience of how to visually communicate concepts to your intended audience.) Your time is such a valuable resource — spend it wisely, doing what you’re good at.
When it comes to design, hire a graphic designer who will get things done for you, using the right tools, right from the start, and reap the benefits of investing in a professional — successful marketing, heightened interest, and increase in sales in the short-term, and a loyal customer base, and strong brand equity in the long-term.
Get new ideas
Having a creatively-minded person on your team can be invaluable. Coming up with fresh concepts for how to promote your business, engage your customers, and renew interest, is hard! Hiring a graphic designer gives you access someone you can bounce thoughts around with. We can give you a different perspective of your problems, pitch new solutions, and bring in ideas that might never have crossed your mind.
If you’re able to develop a good relationship with your graphic designer, you’ll have someone who can be incredibly supportive to your business, and help you address the problems you face as a business owner.
Your brand needs consistency
This one always comes up (like in this post: How to use consistent branding to grow your business), but only because it’s so important! It all comes back to presenting a professional, trust-worthy image. By knowing what to expect from your business, you’ll be able to grow an engaged, loyal customer base. In order to do that, your branding needs to be on-point, all the time.
Graphic designers tend to be obsessive about consistency. We know how important it is to establish a visual identity that is dependable. It needs to communicate the same values, story and personality in every aspect. Every piece of collateral has to be coherent, and clearly part of one big picture, and that’s more than just making sure your logo is present on all your branding and marketing material.
Last thoughts
Last thoughtsYour visual branding can make or break your business. There’s just no ignoring the value good design has on your business’s image. And hey, it’s your business! You should have a brand identity that you can take pride in — one that reflects what you’re truly about, and works just as hard as you do.
Ready to take your graphic design needs seriously?
Looking for more content? Try these:
- 6 tips for choosing the right graphic designer for your business
- The true value of logo design and why logos are worth investing in
- 3 common myths about rebranding that need breaking down
- The difference between art and design, and how design solves business problems
- A complete guide to creating a brand that perfectly suits your business
- 5 essential elements your visual brand identity needs
- Branding vs Marketing – What’s the difference?
My sister is working at growing her small baby boutique into a full business and she is hoping to get a logo designed that will tell her story. Thank you for also pointing out that hiring a graphic designer will get the job done quickly by using the right tools. I think she would be smart to contact a professional designer to help her with this major project.
Hey, this is such a great article! Thanks for sharing. Our team will be excited to read this. We are UI UX design agency in Mumbai and we regularly also express our views on UI UX and product design. Do visit our website for more related content.