Seems logical enough right?
With the rise of web-based design programs that put the power to create in anyone’s hands, we’ve noticed that not all things created can be considered Designed.
Today we’re talking about what makes graphic design a craft to be valued and how it can serve your business best.
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It doesn’t matter whether you’re a full-blown corporation or a single-person business, the need for graphic design is endless. Think about it…Logos, websites, social posts, marketing pieces, packaging, signage, advertisements, and the list goes on.
With that demand has come a barrage of low-cost and sometimes even free online platforms and apps that allow you to create your own assets in a “drag-and-drop” environment, and/or, creates the opportunity for businesses to hire inexperienced and therefore inexpensive creators.
Web-based design programs can be so helpful to businesses without resources to allocate to a professional Graphic Designer, or who are short on time. The problem with this is that if the person doing the dragging and dropping is not a professional Designer, the materials they are creating are likely missing important design principles. This can cause businesses to damage the integrity of their brand and dilute their potential to use marketing materials to visually communicate a clear, consistent message to the public about their company.
Even in our brand management platform, Suitespace, that allows you to customize your own marketing materials, we still make sure that a Graphic Designer has set the template and parameters of what can be changed to ensure Design principles are present.
Here’s why professional Graphic Design should matter to businesses
- Expertise: Professionally trained Graphic Designers have spent years learning, understanding and perfecting the nuances of the principles of design: how colors, imagery and fonts can cohesively work together to visually communicate a specific message, feeling and/or experience. By utilizing a professional Designer you can ensure your brand’s message is consistent across all channels and mediums.
- Efficiency: It’s a pretty safe assumption that regardless of your role at your organization/company that you’ve got a long to-do list and are often juggling many different responsibilities. In a world where there’s never enough time, do what you do best and let the Designers do what they do best. Designers are working in various brands and projects day-in and day-out. They are well-versed in the intricacies of design programs, mediums, and print processes. Projects that could take you a whole day to complete because you’re trying to understand the nuances of design programs you open once a year, could be finished with a high standard of quality in a few hours by a professional graphic designer. Graphic Designers also ensure files are correctly set up and saved out for prepress/print and digital, in turn saving time on fixing mistakes (i.e. when files are sent without crop marks and bleed / digital files are not optimized for web).
- Effectiveness: As mentioned before, professional designers do design work every day. We know that you’re an expert when it comes to your business, but often times it helps to have a fresh take on how you’re visually communicating your image, products and services. Professional Designers have the tribal knowledge of working within different industries and companies. They will be able to offer you innovative ideas and fresh perspective that will help your business visually stand out and hold up to industry standards.
Parting Thoughts
We hear all the following all the time, “Oh my Niece (or friend or Kid) is creative and artsy, they can just put something together for us.” That may be the case for you too, so we hope that our points above have illustrated what the pros of using a professional Graphic Designer are.
Further, do-it-yourself “design” programs give you what you need quickly and in a cost-effective manner. It’s hard to knock that.
However, if we think about the long-game and want our brands to be consistent, sustainable, and taken seriously, a professional Graphic Designer needs to be involved. Even if you are one of those people who aren’t convinced that brand consistency is important to your bottom line, consider this: Without hiring professionals, either you or someone you pay to do a job other than design is spending time at their computer trying to do design. Can you justify that cost and time spent?
If you are now convinced you want expert, efficient and effective creative work. See below.
Here at VSG Marketing, creative work is one of the core solutions we offer. We have a talented team of professional Designers who ensure your design work from branding projects, marketing collateral and digital assets meets your needs and are completed with a high standard of quality. Take a look at some of our work. Need help with your brand or design? Contact VSG Marketing to put your ideas into action.
We are proud to be nominated as one of The Best Logo Design Companies. If you need help with your branding or design, we would love to help!
