There seems to be an ever growing myth that design is easy, with more and more digital programmes and apps now available on the market more and more people are taking it into their own hands to “whip up” designs for their brand, business and community. But before you jump down this rabbit hole I want you to stop and think about the potential damage you could be doing to your brand, and how a damaged brand could impact your lively hood.
It is true, anyone can design, with the proper tools and training, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they will be good at it. Design is not just combining images, colour, typography and text into a visual product, design is problem solving, it is about more than just aesthetic. It is due to this that I implore you to consult a professional when endeavouring on creating assets for your business or developing your brand.
A poorly constructed design can lead to clients walking out the door, to complaints, misunderstanding and loss of business. People do judge a book by its cover, and if your business is not aesthetically pleasing, easily understood and quality, then it won’t stand against the competition.
Let me introduce you to the quality, price and speed triangle. The basic principle of this is that you can get quality work, fast, but it won’t be cheap; you can get cheap fast work but it won’t be quality, and in rare cases you can get quality, cheap work, but it will be very slow going. Essentially it would be ideal to have all three but realistically this is an impossibility. I would recommend always leaning towards quality over all other categories. This is the only of the three categories that will directly impact your clients, you want the quality of the design work to be the best it can be to give your customer a positive experience and reason to return.
Getting the best quality might mean you pay a couple hundred more for that trained designer, rather than flash sale on a “freelance” website. You must remember, you are paying not only for the final product but the time and thought put into the end result, for the experience and training and dedication of the designer, for your customer experience and for a design solution which isn’t just aesthetically pleasing. For a good designer, your money would also get you market research and as such a competitive edge in your designed product that is attractive to your audience. The money paid for design is worth it.
You may be constrained by a budget, be honest about this, talk this over with the designers available to you. Many times there may be a solution to your problem and your designer might be able to produce the work for you fitted to your budget (I try to always keep my client within their financial comfort zone).
Time may also be an issue for you, however as I said if you want quality design quickly, you will have to be willing to pay for it. Often to push out a job fast a designer will need to push back their other clients, or do overtime, and as will all jobs, overtime costs extra, so be mindful that your designer is human and needs rest like everyone else, so if you give them a 24 hour deadline for a major project, they will need tout in a lot of work to get it done and will need to account this into the cost.
I hope this has been helpful to you. No matter what project you may have, I recommend seeking. advice or assistance from a professional designer, this will put you and your brand in the strongest position possible to hold a profitable business and bring in happy clients.
I myself would be happy to chat with you about your upcoming projects and design endeavours and help in any way I can. You can contact me with the form below. I hope you have a lovely day.