This blog post shares what to expect when hiring graphic design services, and it comes down to asking the right questions from a graphic designer’s point of view.
Evaluating Graphic Design Agencies
Portfolio and Past Work
Review previous case studies or a library of images portfolio. Ask for testimonials and case studies from a branding point of view to see what they have rebranded.
Graphic Design Services in NJ
Ensure your branding looks nice on mobile, on iPad, and on desktop if they are doing the website design and creating the wireframes.
Software and Technical Tools
Ask about the Graphic Design tools and software they use for branding. They might be using Canva, Photoshop, or Adobe Illustrator. Depending on your choice, Canva graphic design agencies charge differently than Photoshop. If you want 3D design work done, they might be using something like Cinema 4D.
Lead Times and Revisions
Inquire about the lead time and how quickly they can deliver. Good graphic design services for branding a business can get work back within 48 or 72 hours. Check if revisions are included in the process. In some cases, a designer may have a completely different idea of how the design should actually look. When it is delivered, you might say you do not like the colors or the shape of the logo or menu. Revisions should be included, so this is one thing you should definitely ask the graphic design agency.
Comprehensive Brand Strategy and Assets
Graphic Design vs Branding Agencies
The difference between graphic design services for branding a business and a full branding agency is that a branding agency will take care of everything. Whether you need quote templates, a website, logos done, or assets for markets and events, they will do everything for you. This helps you know what you can actually get out of that graphic design agency.
Message Matching and Brand Strategy
Ask if they can put together a strategy as part of an audit. This includes designs of signs that go on vehicles, leaflets, event displays, and putting the stand together. Branding is key, and branding is important to make certain there is a message match on letterheaded paper and at the bottom of email signatures. They can put a strategy together to make certain all your branding looks the same throughout.
Preparing for Brand Design
Defining Target Audience
The brand has to appeal to your customers and audience, so take time to get to know them and understand why your brand appeals to them.
Look at their lifestyle. For example, a luxury watch brand would gather lifestyle images, urban images, and elegant feeling images to give an idea of that customer lifestyle. Conversely, a rugged watch company would gather images of outdoor landscapes and dramatic scenery representing that audience’s lifestyle.
Establishing Brand Personality
Understand your brand personality as if your brand were a person, and sum this up in three words. Sliders can be useful by giving your brand a score from zero to ten on parameters like affordable versus expensive, playful and fun versus serious and corporate, or ordinary versus quirky and unique. Add visuals that relate to your brand, such as typography examples, color ways, lifestyle images, and design styles that go alongside your vision. Include notes on local competitors and other unrelated brands that you like.
Creative Process
The creative process depends on the individual designer and their level of expertise:
- Research stage: The designer will talk to you to understand your brand, your mission, and where you are trying to get to with it. They will look at your customers, target audience, and competitors while gathering images to make mood boards and stylescapes.
- Development stage: The designer takes the ideas and knowledge from the research stage to form a visual around your brand. They sketch shapes and ideas, considering how typography and colors come together to create a logo.
Frequently Asked Questions
What portfolio questions should be asked when hiring?
A library of images: a portfolio of images of what they’ve done. Look at it very quickly and understand: do I like the type of designs that they’re doing, and then decide whether I think they’re good at graphic design or not.
How does a branding agency differ from graphic design?
The difference between, like, more of a graphic design and brand is they take care of everything. So if you’ve got, like, potentially quote templates, if you’ve got a website, if you’ve got logos needing done, if you’ve got, like, potentially you’re going to any market and events, they’ll do everything for you.
Why is message matching important for brand colors?
Message matching is important because, say for example you went to like a networking event and you’got a big booth and your Booth’s pink but your website’s blue and your email fitters are red people are going to be like, what business is this and they’ve got the business cards as well but the designing as well everything just needs to to match up with the brand colors.
What happens during the research stage?
This is where your designer will talk to you a lot, try to really understand your brand, what your mission is and sort of where you’re trying to get to with it. They’ll try to look at your customers and your target audience and sort of really understand that side as well.
What assets are delivered in the output stage?
The output phase is just producing all the final assets, so if you’re just getting the logo done, this might just be your logo in a few different formats that you can use and maybe a couple of different colorways. If you’re getting a full brand system, it could include your logo and brand guidelines that might even talk about your tone of voice, the images you should use, and the ones you shouldn’t. If you’ve got secondary brand assets like patterns and colors, that’ll all be packaged up and sent over to you.
