A lot of businesses from start up to pre-existing have a similar mind set; ‘we don’t need a designer, I can do it. The thing that many businesses do not understand is that design work should be done by a professional. It may seem as you are saving money by doing everything yourself or having someone in your company do your design work. The truth is having a nonprofessional doing your design work can be hurtful and be more cost effective in the long run.
Trying to do it yourself
When you need a logo or brochure done for yourself or small business and you are questioning if you should hire a designer; the answer should be yes. The fact is yes a designer might be expensive but there are other ways of getting a graphic designer to fit in your budget. If you are under a tight budget and only need a single service you can go to a smaller design firm, freelancer, or even go to a college and ask for student work. Though if you need multiple services you can see if a design firm or freelancer has bundling options to help you save money. Remember if you are a small business and need design work done always try to stick with local designers it can help with communication and will in most cases help you save money.
Having someone doing it in your company
Having an employee with no previous design can be hurtful to any company of any size. Without the professionalism and insight of a graphic designer your company could be sending your customers the wrong message about you company. Most companies usually do not hire a graphic designer because of the fear of a designer breaking the bank. Every company has options a company can either hire a contract designer, have a graphic design intern, or hire a small design firm.
Having a sign or print shop do your graphic design
Some print shops offer design services to their customers and it seems smart. Going to the same place that you get your marketing material printed may seem like a good idea. The truth is that, yes some print shops do have a graphic design team. The truth is that the graphic designers who work at a print shop start to get in a rhythm of only working on print documents and not other avenues of the design world. So be cautious of using a print shop and the quality of the work may be not up to par to other designers who are better-rounded.
What should you take from this?
- Always hire a designer no matter how small the task
- There are many options to help any company to have a designer
- Even if you have a creative member part of your team, they may not have to eye for detail it takes to design
So next time you are thinking that you or one of your team members can do your design work, look at another option to find a graphic designer. Because design work always cost more when it needs to be done a second time around.
