So you’re thinking of designing a brand for your business, or maybe you’ve already got one that needs repair, and you aren’t sure what to do? Graphic design and branding is extremely important as it’s the face of your business, and it tells your customers who you are and what you value. Here are four tips for making sure you come out with a solid design for your business.
#1 Get Yourself a Good Graphic Designer
You may have considered taking on the design aspect of your business yourself, but in reality, your best chances of coming out with a solid design are to leave it in the hands of a professional. You can find a good designer by requesting samples, meeting with them, and testing their turn-around times. Be sure to create technical and creative briefs with your designer so that you are both on the same page as far as the design and brand are concerned. Of course at Kwik Kopy we believe your local Kwik Kopy graphic designer is a great place to start.
#2 Find Inspiration
If you’ve got a design in mind that inspires you, don’t neglect to share it with your designer. Of course, this does not mean that you should blatantly copy the design to fit your business, but you should use it for pointers or take certain mechanics from it. Maybe you like the balance of the design elements. You can most definitely incorporate this aspect into your design. Tell the designer what you like about the design you have in mind.
Three great blogs we recommend that you look to for inspiration include:
http://www.formfiftyfive.com/ – A showcase of creative international design work
http://www.underconsideration.com/brandnew/ – A blog which provides opinions on corporate and brand identity work
http://lovelypackage.com/ – A blog that focuses primarily on curating the best packaging design
#3 Determine Your Target Market
You’ll want to find out who your audience is, and your graphic design professional will more than likely be able to help you with this. Once you’ve found your target market, you want to cater to them through your design. If you’re trying to design for a nursing home, you probably shouldn’t use busy colors or outlandish colors. The details of your target audience should be covered in the briefs, and your designer should help you find a design for your brand that will speak to the correct demographic.
#4 Don’t Tell Your Designer How to Do Their Job
Lastly, don’t hang over your designer’s shoulder or tell them how to design. Many clients make the mistake of nitpicking and requesting unnecessary changes to designs that can majorly affect the overall message in the long run. Let the designer utilize the knowledge that they’ve gained through experience and education. It can be easy to feel paranoid about what the designer wants to do with your brand since, after all, it is a reflection of your business. However, this mentality must be somewhat thrown out the door. Let the designer work and the quality designs will come.
