Should I hire a graphic designer for my project?

Should I hire a graphic designer for my project? Is graphic design as effective as they say it is? From where I am standing, the answer seems very obvious. However, rather than stating, “- yes, of course!” I will break it down to hopefully shed some light on this layered matter. First of all, we need to establish what great design is and then analyze how it helps the internal team market your offerings and keeps you attractive in the eyes of your audience.

From my logo sketchbook

Great Design
I once read that great design is invisible. No doubt, it will sound odd (especially considering that those words are coming from a designer), but I agree with that wholeheartedly. Great design is subtle; it drives attention to important matters, reinforces the message, and adds ambience to the whole brand experience, but it never (ever) is in the way.
Let’s say I am running a farm grocery e-commerce website. I want to make sure that my customer who wants to buy a loaf of sourdough bread, can easily search the stock, and get to the product quickly. And then once the decision is made, the journey from the shop window to checkout takes the least possible number of steps. All of this happens in an aesthetically pleasing environment that adds to the experience.

The Internal Team
The most significant advantage of having design tailored for your business is purely logistical. It frees the time you would spend researching and creating designs while maintaining the visual side of your brand consistent and cohesive.

So, let’s revisit my farm shop. I have decided to run a Hygge-inspired campaign focusing on comfort food. Being aware of where I can reach my audience, I am choosing to launch a campaign through email, social media, and the website. Those three channels use different layouts, ratios, and sizes of assets and will need the design to fit them all. If my designer did a good job when crafting my brand identity and website, I would have a “bank” of assets and all the guidelines to pull from to create a design that fits any channel and stays on brand. The only thing that I need to focus on is writing compelling copy and choosing product photography.

The Users
Here the situation is more complicated because, in my opinion, it is more intangible and we will need to consider emotions. For users, graphic design is not on the radar (unless it’s jarring). It is a bonus but not the sole reason that makes them stick with your brand. I think here the biggest design contribution to retaining clients and bringing new ones is the user experience and consistent aesthetics that are never in the way of the important stuff. Graphic Design and UX design are silent powers that, if deployed correctly and backed by exceptional delivery, will make your brand remarkable.

So rather than creating a fictional audience of a farm shop, I will ask you to go inward a tiny bit and reflect on your reactions. Think of a lifestyle or food brand that you adore and answer those questions:
– Are you excited just seeing their logo on the packaging when it arrives?
– Do you feel that the logo has value and that there is something behind it, not just an empty graphic that sits in the middle of the box?
– Can you tell when you scroll your feed which post is theirs without seeing the caption?
– Does that bring a sense of familiarity or community to mind?
– Can you tell them apart from other brands based on how they use colour palettes or illustrations?
– If they add a beautifully printed thank you note, will you keep it on your desk just because it made you feel appreciated?
– Would you get all the same reactions if their graphics look amazing but your experience with that brand was below standard?

We might get hooked by a brilliant social media campaign, or we get to experience the product first, and from now on, we stay for the journey. Whatever it may be, one thing is clear: the design must be backed by great user experience and either a product or service that delivers on the promise.

It’s an investment that keeps on giving.
Bespoke graphic design is an asset that will continue to bring returns for years to come. It might be an investment but in the long run, it will save you money by bringing clarity to the design process, freeing up your internal team, and helping you sell. It will also reinforce the core message and the brand image in the minds of people who follow your endeavour.