Remember that phrase from The Matrix? There can be only one.
There can be only one of you and your brand which is why you should always hire an actual graphic designer (ahem) when it comes to developing your brand.
You don’t have to look very far to see the work of a wannabe “designer.” Every time you see a piece of clipart in a website header or a brochure, that’s the work of someone who might aspire to be a designer one day, but has found a way to make a buck in the meantime by piecing together pretty fonts and clipart and calling it design.
That is not a true designer and you don’t want this person mucking around with your brand.
Someone like this might have fun playing with design elements and that’s fine if it’s kept as a personal hobby. I think it’s great. I encourage it. But, I don’t think it’s cool when someone like this decides to call him or herself a designer and starts offering to design logos and websites and taking money for it.
See, design is a lot more technical than most people think.
Besides the tremendous amount of forethought required, you need a firm grasp on color analogy and some sort of background that helps you understand why you’re incorporating certain elements into a design.
A real designer never uses clipart or a template. One problem with doing so is that these are free images that a million other people (with bad taste or a bad “designer”) could conceivably be using in their own “branding.” To brand yourself is to set your business apart from your competitors and the world by portraying an identifiable icon or design that directly identifies with you and your company. Clipart totally defeats the purpose.
A designer who specializes in branding knows how to use professional design software. They understand color and fonts and how to make different elements work together. They know what file formats you need for different applications.
When you trust your brand to a real graphic designer (ahem) – a professional artist rather than a wannabe – you will be blown away by your own corporate image because it will seem as though your designer has been inside your head.
That’s because they’re going to ask you questions and probe a lot about your business and your aspirations for the future. Branding is about the whole picture. The big picture. And it’s about making your image match your mission and your goals, all the while resonating with your target audience.
Don’t put your business into the hands of a serial clipart user. It’s not worth it.
It can cost more up front to hire a professional designer to develop your brand, but it will work out to be more cost-effective in the long run because you won’t end up hiring someone to redo it when the day comes and you realize your image sucks or you don’t have one at all.
Remember, there is only one. One chance to get it right. One chance to stand out. One chance to make your impression. Do it right or don’t do it at all.
