Recently on a Facebook group that I administer for church communicators, we’ve been a lot of questions asking about ideas for branding designs. The subjects range from choosing a font to asking for logo ideas. In other words, there are a lot of people out there with design questions.
I love our Facebook group and the ability to crowdsource ideas and suggestions when people are trying to tackle daily work issues. However, there are moments when I don’t think crowdsourcing an answer will actually yield the results people are looking for. For me, design related questions fit into that category.When someone on our Facebook group asks for design ideas, my response is “Have you thought about bringing in a professional designer to help you?”. Let me be clear, it’s not that I think the person asking the question is incompetent or cheap. I’m also aware there services like Canva and 99Designs that can offer templated and crowdsourced options.
I’m asking because I believe there are fundamental reasons why you should look at hiring a professional designer. There are some things that a professional designer can provide that you can’t outsource or get from a templated design. Here are four reasons I believe this:
Four Reasons to Hire a Professional Designer
They know the right questions to ask. One crucial mistake that a lot of people make when approaching design is assuming they already know the solution to their design problem. It may be the fact that they saw another design they liked or maybe they’ve been given the task to start something new, so their first idea is to create a new brand. Whatever the reasoning is, there’s a high probability they haven’t taken the time to ask the right questions.
A professional designer who knows how to ask the right questions can unlock a whole new set of possibilities. They can help determine what the brand should look like and feel like. They know how to determine if what you need is a brand new logo or just refresh your existing brand. With a designer who knows the right questions to ask, they can get to the heart of the problem.
They can help the design grow over time. One of the things I love about working with professional designers is that when you find the right one, you’ll want to stick with that person for as long as you can. Why? Because if they’ve done their job correctly, they’re going to know the brand as well as you do. Which means when you’re communicating about projects, there’s no need to re-explain everything. Instead, they have a history with you which means projects can move faster.
It also means that as you watch the brand evolve, the designer can help with that process. They can help you think through the small tweaks as the audience changes or re-imagine what it could look like if you have a new vision for the brand itself. That working knowledge that they have is invaluable to you and the brand.
They can keep your style up to date. I’d like to think that I have a good grasp on what design style is in fashion and what styles I should avoid. However, as my work expands and I have more projects that require my attention, I can’t be engulfed in the latest design trends.
Instead, I have to rely on a professional designer to let me know if we’re heading down the right path or if I’m about to make a significant design mistake and set us back design-wise.
They know what you don’t know that you don’t know. That sounds like a mouthful. Essentially professional designers know a lot of things you may not be aware of that you don’t even know. This could be anything from design trends to color schemes. There’s a lot behind a design, and a professional designer is trained to understand those things. To be clear, it’s not your fault that you don’t know those things, it’s not your job. However, it is your job to get the right people on board to get the job done right.
Whenever I’m working on a construction project there’s a guideline I always follow: “Measure twice, cut once.” If you take the time on the front end to get things right, everything falls into place. It’s why I think you should hire a professional designer when you’re approaching a massive project. Sure, you could be a templated logo, but you’re trying to shortcut a process that should be a deliberate one. While you may feel that you saved money, you may end up creating a whole different set of issues down the road.