7 Reasons Hiring a Graphic Designer is a Good Idea

Should you hire a graphic designer? YES. you should. In this article, I’m going to give you 7 reasons to hire a graphic designer and I’m also going to give you my insider tips on HOW to hire a graphic designer.

Visual communication is one of the most crucial parts of branding. Well-designed visuals can also draw stronger feelings, elicit better recall, and catch attention longer compared to using words alone.

Some startups tend to think that hiring graphic designer is unnecessary. After all, you can do the visual graphics yourself by simply using online software, right? Not quite.

Professional design is not a luxury. It’s a must. If you’re serious about creating a brand that people can trust, you’ll need a pro. “To see is to believe,” so the saying goes. Excellent graphic designers translate ideas to visuals that can easily be understood and digested by the viewers.

Do you want to make a good impression and appeal to your audience’s emotions? Then you should invest in visuals that create an impact.

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A graphic designer plays a crucial role in developing a strong brand identity and visual branding, which is essential for distinguishing your business and engaging visually with your target audience.

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1. Hiring a Graphic Designer Gets You Better Aesthetics

You probably know what a good and bad poster looks like. After all, it’s easy to spot the difference between amateur-looking graphics and one crafted by an expert creative graphic designer who can develop compelling graphics with strong visual appeal. However, this doesn’t mean that you’ll know how to create one yourself.

Most marketers have a clear idea of how they want to send their message across. However, this may not always be congruent with how the audiences want to receive a message. Professional designers know how to build a bridge between the two to create a steady line of communication. A well-crafted graphic designer job description is crucial for attracting qualified candidates who can effectively fulfill this role.

2. You’ll Get a Good Grasp of Design Elements

There’s more to design than popular colors and trendy fonts. A proper grasp of design principles and elements is necessary to come up with a design that looks good and doesn’t overwhelm. Projects like logo design require a good understanding of these elements. A structured design process is crucial in achieving a cohesive and effective design. Have you ever seen a design that could’ve looked good if not for a little awkwardness that you can’t quite point out? Maybe it’s the kerning, or perhaps the weird color combination. Whatever it is, it’s a mistake that a professional isn’t likely to commit.

A graphic designer knows how to use lines, shapes, colors, images, typography, and negative space to express an idea. They use these elements, much like a writer would use words to send a message across. In short, visual communication is a language they’re fluent in. With designers’ knowledge and skills, you won’t be lost in translation when speaking to your audience.

3. Graphic Designers Have Extensive Experience

As in any other field, nothing beats the expertise of a professional graphic designer with specialized skills and extensive experience. Conducting a thorough portfolio review can help you assess the range and quality of work a designer has done in the past. Professional designers have a wide range of work in their portfolios. Consequently, they know in an instant what would work well for your industry and what wouldn’t. This expertise is golden, especially for startups who might still be working to find their unique voice and build their branding. It is also crucial to strategically find and interview graphic designer candidates to ensure a successful hire for your business.

Aside from that, designers are always updated and in-the-know about the latest trends and best practices in graphics. They know if a design you’re suggesting is passe, or if your idea might not be the best way to present your pitch. Experience is the best teacher, and designers who have been in the profession for years are well-taught professionals.

4. Hiring a Freelance Graphic Designer is Cost-Efficient

As mentioned earlier, DIY graphic design appears cheaper on the surface. After all, you won’t need to spend a single cent. However, amateur graphics can hurt your sales in the long run. For instance, customers are more likely to buy products and services from legit businesses. It’s hard to get quality leads if your visuals don’t look reliable and trustworthy. On the other hand, excellent graphics can trigger word-of-mouth marketing, widening the reach of your message and opening new doors for your brand.

Hiring freelance graphic designers for specific projects can be cost-effective, especially for infrequent or one-time design needs. This is particularly true if you have budget constraints and need to manage costs effectively. Well-crafted graphics are more likely to convince prospects that they can depend on your brand. Despite some niches’ tendency to support micro-businesses in contrast to big conglomerates, customers still appreciate ventures that are stable and consistent. Therefore, allotting money for good design is investing in your business. Plus, DIY graphic design can be time consuming. Why not outsource that so you can spend time growing your business? More on that below.

5. You’ll save time.

Time is gold. Or more aptly in business, time is money. Developing a creative strategy campaign schedule and sticking to it can make all the difference between success and failure, especially when adhering to strict project timelines. That said, having your graphics done on time is crucial. You can’t leave it to chance.

This is where the value of getting professional graphic design services comes in. Reliable designers or agencies would give you a precise turnaround time from the get-go. Though getting cheap services from freelancing platforms can be tempting for penny-pinching startups, resist the urge to do so. Look for dependable service providers with a team of designers who will work hard to give you high-quality graphics on time. Additionally, using various strategies to find graphic designers efficiently can ensure you source the right candidates for your specific needs.

6. You’ll Have Design Experts on Your Side

It can be hard to traverse the road of marketing when you don’t have enough knowledge about design. With a reliable service provider, you’ll always have a team of experts you can consult at any time for a design consultation. To enhance your brand identity and engage your target audience, it’s often beneficial to hire a graphic designer. Brand identity design is crucial in creating a cohesive and recognizable brand image that resonates with your target audience. With a reliable service provider, however, you’ll always have a team of experts you can consult at any time. Be it your website redesign, social media images, or posters, they can give you expert advice. Better yet, they will do it for you. All you have to do is provide them with a brief and forget about it until the due date. This gives you more time to focus on other parts of the business.

When you work with professional designers, however, be prepared to learn more about design. For instance, an expert designer is not likely to keep mum if they know that what you’re suggesting doesn’t make for a good design. Nevertheless, you, as the client, will always call the shots. That said, be sure to consider their point of view as professionals. After all, it’s your brand that will suffer if the result doesn’t deliver.

7. You’ll End Up with an Improved Brand Identity

Last but not least, professional designs put your brand in the best light. Well-crafted visuals tell your audience that you care for their business enough that you’re investing in creating graphics to earn their trust. A consistent and well-thought-of design also increases the credibility of a brand and emphasizes its expertise within its industry, ensuring brand consistency.

Hiring the best graphic designer is crucial to achieving the best results for your brand. Therefore, it’s essential to hire a graphic designer who understands your vision and can enhance your brand identity effectively.

What Type of Graphic Designer Do You Need? There are Two Types to Choose From

Huh? There are different TYPES of graphic designers? There sure are – and it took me a little while to learn this and now I’m sharing it with you because it has transformed how I hire graphic designers and how I work with them.

Many graphic designers don’t even realize this. So don’t blame them. It all depends on you and what you want. Understanding the different types of graphic designer candidates and their design specialization is crucial for making a successful hire.

If you think about graphic design projects, you’ll notice that they fall in one of two categories:

1. You know exactly what you want. You know what images you want, how you want it to look, where you want different elements, etc. BUT, you don’t have the design skills to create this graphic.

2. You have a vision for what you want. This comes up most often in web design or branding design. Where you know the personality of the brand, the look and feel, kinds of colors – but nothing specific.

Now there is a BIG difference in skill sets for these two types of projects.

If you know exactly what you want and you need a good graphic designer to implement your vision or create a design from your specifications, you’re looking for a designer who:

• Will ask for mock ups, examples, specifications and specifics about your project. They will ask you for images, color codes, etc.

• Will happily make as many edits as you need or want until the design looks like the example you brought them.

If you are vague and simply have an idea of what you want and you expect the designer to create from a conversation with you and some inspiration pieces – you’re looking for a designer who:

• Is more of an artist, who can think creatively about your design project.

• Is more focused on creative skills than technical skills.

• Has exceptional communication skills and can translate your vision and idea into a design concept.

Once you know the type of designer you need, here are my tips on how to work with each type of graphic designer.

How to work with technical designers

Technical designers will take your specifications and turn them into a finished design product; social graphic, info graphic, marketing materials, business cards, etc.

For this relationship to work, and for you to get exactly what you want, you need to have examples; a website you like, an example of a brochure or flyer, fonts, layouts, etc., and ensure the designer has the necessary technical skills. If you want to get the best outcome, you’ll need to be as specific as possible and give them as much clarity and insight into what you want. A clear graphic designer job description is crucial for outlining the role’s responsibilities and ensuring the technical designer understands the expectations.

Assuming you have all of these things, the technical designer will do whatever it takes to bring your vision to life. They will edit, change, and do several iterations until you are satisfied. They will do this easily and happily because you know what you want, and their job is to give it to you.

How to work with creative designers

Creative designers are first and foremost artists. Their creative process involves taking your vague ideas and inspiration to create stunning designs. They have this uncanny ability to take your vague ideas and inspiration, process them and create – often from nothing, gorgeous designs. Logo design is a prime example of a project where their expertise truly shines.

They will often give you a few options to choose from. There will be thought, philosophy, artistry, and a lot of strategy behind their design.

I’m telling you this because while these folks will take your comments and make some changes – I’m telling you if you meddle with their design it will piss them off and (more importantly) you will RUIN the design.

In short, if you come to a graphic designer without a lot of specifics and you want them to create something amazing – they will do that. They will take your input and they will create – but your best bet is to select one of their options and stick with it – DO NOT make big changes. I promise you that you’ll be unsatisfied and the designer won’t work with you again.

How Much Should You Pay a Graphic Designer?

Like everything else, you get what you pay for, and understanding the pricing structure of graphic designers is crucial. I’ve found that technical graphic designers often charge by the hour and that can be anything from $50-$150 per hour. While creative designers tend to charge by project, so a flat fee based on what you’re creating. I would say that choosing a creative graphic designer is like choosing a doctor. You have to have a great relationship with them, they have to know and understand you and your brand, and their design style has to match what you want. Expect to pay no less than $500 for a very simple thing like a business card – and up from there; $5000 for a website design, for example. Freelance graphic designers often offer more flexible pricing compared to in-house designers, which can be a cost-effective option for many businesses.

Where can I Find a Good Graphic Designer?

If I am unsure about what I want and have no idea what style I’m looking for, my first stop to find graphic designers is 99designs, one of the many design platforms available. This is a crowdsourced design platform that has tens of thousands of graphic designers. You submit your project, pay upfront and get dozens of designs from a variety of designers that you can choose from.

I love this option because you have the ability to see all different styles of designs and designers and this makes it much easier to pick one you like. They also have a poll function that you can use to share with your community and get them in on the action to see which ones they like best.

How to Get the Most Value From a Graphic Designer

I want to finish this article with a few tips on how to get the most value from hiring a graphic designer.

Let’s assume that you are starting from scratch – you are looking for a brand new design, you have a vision and aren’t sure exactly what your ultimate brand identity will be. Providing a detailed design brief can help ensure the designer understands your vision.

1. Go to a marketplace like 99designs or Fivrr and find a designer that you have a good relationship with.

2. Have them design your full brand identity – logo, look, feel, business cards, web design, etc. This way everything is cohesive.

3. Be sure to have them create a brand book or style guide that you can reference and share with any other designers or outsourced team members.

4. Ask the designer to create a series of templates on Canva that you can use for specific customized images and presentations.

5. Have the designer create presentation templates either in PowerPoint or Google Slides so that all your internal and external presentations have the same brand identity.

6. Stay away from trendy fonts or designs – so that you can use the same templates for at least 3 years from the date of creation.

In the end, I highly recommend hiring a professional graphic designer to create your brand look and feel, templates, presentations, videos, etc. With these elements in your marketing toolkit, you can customize all of these things yourself OR, you can hire a technical designer to edit or customize any new or custom graphics,

Happy designing.

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