Four Reasons You Should Invest in a Brand Designer
How many small business owners have DIY'd their branding?! Well, we don't blame you. You've got big dreams and the passion to do it all. But with any start-up, budgets are tight and you need to get your business up and running. Oftentimes, DIYing a logo or a website is the easiest solution, especially when you are using free software such as Wix or Canva. While these platforms can be great tools, it doesn't take long to outgrow a DIY brand. In most cases, a DIY brand doesn’t measure up to the polish and professionalism of the service or product offered. The business then misses the opportunity to stand out against its competitors and/or reach its ideal audience.
Creating a successful brand involves research, strategy, and expertise. That’s why we’ve put together four reasons why a professional brand designer is a valuable investment for your business. We know we're biased on this topic, but hear us out.
1) Research and Strategy.
When onboarding our clients, we have them go through a brand discovery process. This discovery allows clients to assess their audience, target demographic, competitors, goals, brand personality, and voice. Following this process allows us to do further research and construct a customized strategy that becomes the backbone of your brand. This strategy ensures that everything we create is strategic and aligns with your values, vision, and audience. It also ensures your brand is designed for growth, so you don’t have to go through another rebrand a few years later.
2) Going beyond the Logo.
A logo is not a brand, it’s a graphic that identifies a company but does not trigger any emotional cues or explain your brand’s purpose. When working on a logo project, we think beyond the logo. What colours or typography will be used; how do they make people feel? What would brand extensions, like graphics or patterns look like? What imagery and photo treatments support this brands story? Designers use these questions when mapping out the various ways branding can be applied (product packaging, websites, social media), while maintaining a clear voice and direction that builds a unique experience for your customers.
3) Creating For Consistency.
Good design engages the brain and 90% of information that our brains receive is visual. Have you ever scrolled through Instagram or clicked a captivating ad only to go to the website and it looks completely different? This lack of clear identity appears unprofessional and flakey. Consistency creates results and by having your branding, social media, and website align in a central way it creates connection and trust with your customers. When handing over final logo files to our clients, we include a set of easy-to-follow branding guidelines that will help you keep things consistent going forward. We also offer customized branded templates on a variety of platforms so that you have the flexibility to create content for your brand that still has professional polish.
4) Attract the Right Audience.
When you think about some of your favourite brands, they are successful because they’ve built a following. Customers notice the difference in brands that have invested in a professional designer. These small details show your audience that you are serious about your business. Using our brand discovery process, us designers look at your target audience when deciding on the brand’s look and feel. For example, branding for a spa should look, and feel very different than branding for a law firm. Using the correct strategy can help you reach your ideal audience, and start to build brand loyalty and customer retention.
Have any of these points resonated with you? Starting your own business is an exciting time and we love the energy and enthusiasm of our small business clients. We believe designers should be flexible and can find ways to work within tight budgets. If you are a business owner looking for a refresh, we can start with a brand audit; where we go through your existing brand to assess what is working, what is not, and what can be improved. We love to see the success of all our clients, so let us know if we can help you.
- The LCC Team