Should I Hire a Professional Graphic Designer for Little Things?
Many business owners and managers don’t see the need to hire a professional graphic designer for small or day-to-day jobs. You might assume that you’d only hire a graphic designer for some high-priority, high-concept, and high-priced major endeavor. With high stakes, you’d certainly want a professional to ensure the project earns a good return on investment. But, a graphic designer is important for more than just those big, sexy projects. When you consider your company’s brand presentation as a whole, every detail counts.
A Little Goes a Long Way.
Even the smallest of visuals can benefit from a professional graphic designer’s touch, and the effect can make a difference in your business’ success. Business cards may seem like a boring, albeit necessary chore. However, with a great design, you’ll be excited to hand them out at any and every opportunity. Plus, they’ll actually make the impression you want.
Even the tiniest details can make a difference in the effectiveness of a design. The smallest of the small: Character Spacing. This seemingly insignificant bit of typography can have a subtle, yet crucial, effect on the appeal and effectiveness of the design. Big adjustments to character spacing can make a design more interesting, but small adjustments can make a design just feel better. It’s a minute detail that most people don’t consciously notice or recognize, but if the character spacing is just a little awkward (which can sometimes be the default setting with some fonts), then something about the layout is just slightly off, and it’s not going to produce the desired reaction in the viewer.
Brand by Hand
Just imagine yourself about to enter a business. You’re about to put your trust in that business that they’re going to handle your request with care, be responsible in their practices, and deliver what you need. Now imagine that the first thing you see as you approach is a piece of paper taped to the door with a message scribbled in black marker. Has your confidence in that business lowered?
Many retail businesses write out small point-of-sale cards and shelf talkers by hand, and tape up temporary paper signs in the front windows. These may seem like quick-fixes that work fine, but it sends a message of hastiness and low-quality to everyone who visits the business. The idea is to show off and get more sales, right?
This is not to suggest that the hand-drawn look can’t work for your business. It absolutely can, if that’s your brand style and you commit to it. Many businesses use an organic, hand-crafted brand motif, and do so with great success. But don’t discount the importance of typography and composition here, as even the hand-made approach can benefit from the professional treatment. A pro can combine the personal feeling that comes with hand-drawn art, with the principles of graphic design for a truly effective brand presentation.
Don’t Try This at Home.
You’ve spent years learning how to do what you do for a living. You’ve studied, practiced, apprenticed, and invested quite a lot of your life in knowing all the ins and outs of your field. Graphic designers have done the same in our field, and it’s our job to put that time, training, and expertise to work to help your business succeed.
Maybe you’ve become familiar with MS Word, Publisher, or another publishing software, and you’ve been doing some business graphics yourself. It’s certainly a step-up from marker signs, and it may seem to save money, but is it getting the results you want? A home-made layout that looks good at a glance may be missing the mark without a professional’s touch.
There’s more to an effective design than getting all the information into it. Fitting everything in is not the same as making everything work. An ad design that’s appealing, balanced, and colorful could still ultimately be ineffective if it’s not properly guiding the viewer’s eye to the important information. If the design isn’t focused on the selling point in a way that’s easy for the viewer to read and respond to, then they may miss the whole point, even if it looks “good.”
Hire a Professional Graphic Designer and Empower Your Business to Succeed.
Every interaction your customers have with your brand should be a positive one. This means that every bit of visual communication–no matter how small–can help produce the desired response in your customers, if they’re designed well and on-brand. It’s called Brand Commitment, and it’s vital to any business’ success.
Don’t fear the cost! It doesn’t cost all that much to hire a professional graphic designer to work on something small, and the return-on-investment will be well worth it! Quality graphic design isn’t a money-saver, it’s a money-maker. Just imagine how much business you might be missing out on because of something as small and simple as a little hand-written sign!
Your business has just a few precious seconds to make the right impression and win a customer. It’s an unfortunate truth that people tend to “judge a book by its cover,” and unattractive or inconsistent branding can inadvertently make a superior company look inferior. Don’t sabotage your own business’ potential with makeshift quickies. Charles River Creative will work with you to make sure your business shines with the high-quality image it deserves.