• what is a graphic designer •
Your brand is what sets you apart from your competitors through the products, services and experiences you offer. However, one of the biggest challenges we face in the world of commerce is getting recognized and being remembered by the consumer. To put it simply, a graphic designer develops your brand identity by creating the visual elements that communicate to and connect a consumer to a brand. A brand identity is anything from the logo (the cornerstone of any identity), to your stationery, to your website and everything in between. The visual components of your brand should not only clearly state your brand name, but express the personality, culture and ethos you want the public to associate with you. You are asking the public to identitfy you, often in a matter of milliseconds, as someone they should come to for their needs. To trust you before any of your competitor. So much can be said with the nuance of design that the power and impact of these elements can not be understated.
• what is the value of your company's face •
You've spent countless hours and resources developing your product or service but you'll need to sell it effectively to reap the benefits of all of your hard labor. Don't short-change yourself where it matters most! If you want the public to trust you and take you seriously, then you'll need to commicate to them that you take yourself seriously. First impressions count and appearances do matter ... perhaps more than we like to admit. Using design and design principles are what express professionalism, friendliness, expertise and trustworthiness among a host of other attributes. Leave it to a professional who has been trained to understand these principles to custom taylor your brand's identity for you and only you.
• a note on logo mills •
You may be wondering how the price of just a logo can very so widely from using a professional designer vs. just purchasing a logo from an online logo mill for a couple hundred dollars. While it is true that the time required to create the logo in design software is virtually the same, the difference is in what exactly you are receiving.
Firstly, your experience with an online logo mill will not be customized for you specifically. You won't be interviewed about your brand's personality and therefore there is no assurance that your logo will express your values properly with tried and true design principles.
Secondly, one way that a logo mill keeps its costs down is by repackaging the same logo with different company names on them and reselling them over and over again. How will you stand out from the crowd if you look exactly a competitor? Or worse, what will happen if you find yourself in a copyright lawsuit?
Thirdly, many companies who purchase one-off logos from online outfits will eventually find that they do not have all the files or information they need to complete other materials and remain on-brand. If you’re going to pay your hard earned money for a logo, the very cornerstone of your brand, make sure you get everything out of it that you need. When working with a designer, you will receive information about your color palette and typography (fonts) so that these same colors and styles can be transmitted to all of your materials. Further, and more importantly, you may only receive a few files of your actual logo and may find that you don't have the correct files for many applications. These files and information are crucial to ensure you are “speaking” to the public in a unified voice.
And lastly, you have no idea the expertise or experience of the designer whose logo you have chosen. Online outfits often crowd source from people all over the world, none of whom are screened for quality before submitting work. Many people have access to and have learned on their own how to use specialized design software. That doesn't necessarily make them bad artists or say that they can't create really beautiful work! However, where things get sticky is that many people have not received the education or training to understand the necessary components and limitations of certain designed elements. Logos particularly need to be very versatile. They will need to be able to be applied to many different backgrounds and in a variety of sizes while being easily legible across all mediums. This requires education, not just artistic skill.