3 Things To Do Before Hiring a Brand Designer
You’ve started a business, or you’re very close! You’ve been tapping around on Instagram and Pinterest, checking out the competition and looking at brand designs. You’re really excited to hire a brand designer, maybe even one you’ve had your eye on for some time. You reach out, and ….. whoops. They need way more from you than you thought!
In my few years of experience, I have noticed that branding has been used as a catch-all term for a variety of things: images, strategy, messaging, design. And while branding does cover a lot of bases, each one of those sub-definitions means something different. With that in mind, I realized that perhaps a blog post might help clear up some confusion and bring clarity to both brand designers and business owners looking to hire brand designers.
For business owners, when the time comes for you to hire a brand designer, here are 3 things you need to do first:
One // I always recommend you research a brand strategy workbook or course to really nail down those important details. There are lots of options out there, both free and paid. Once you have your strategy and messaging clearly defined, it’s time to hire a brand designer! They will appreciate all of those details.
Two // if your designer is creating a website for you, make sure you have already done a brand photo shoot. There are many amazing photographers out there who offer brand photography to small businesses/creatives. This is an important component to have as you start working with a brand designer – they may also create custom social media graphics for you, and will need some good photos of you working or in your workspace.
Three // Make sure you are reaching out to a brand designer whose style you admire and want for your own branding. A round peg can’t fit into a square hole, so neither should you hire a brand designer and expect them to create something for you that’s outside of their own style (i.e. you want a dreamy, bohemian logo but you hired a very minimalist designer because you like their pricing). Remember that the style you want is worth the investment you put into it!
For brand designers:
It is very important that you are clear about exactly which services you offer. For example, here at Melody Fulone Design, I offer design services only. My clients are expected to already have their brand strategy in place and a clear idea of what their business entails, who they serve, and what their needs are. I do provide a questionnaire at the beginning of each project to help clients write those details out, but I do not provide strategy services. Make sure your service packages are clearly described, and you’ll save time and frustration for both you and your client!
I hope this little post brought some clarity to the branding process and all of the different components along the way! Branding is an exciting step for your business, and the brand design is like the icing on the cake bringing it all to life. If you’re ready to dive into your own brand design (and you have worked through all three steps above!), I’d love to hear from you!
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