- Articulating the value of professional graphic design
is an important part of the job.
In my experience, most large organizations understand this
and have worked with designers before,
but every once in awhile, I'll meet someone who cannot
understand why the $100 online logo company
is not as valuable as the $10,000 fee I proposed.
That's where good persuasion skills come in handy.
You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink.
The same is true for a client who
refuses to believe design has value.
I can provide examples and show stats, but some people
will never accept that the right or wrong
design solution can make or break a company.
Let's presume you have someone open to the explanation.
Examples are a great place to start.
Ask the client to imagine Apple, Starbucks,
or any other successful brand without their brand visuals.
Not just the logo, but also the entire look and feel.
Each of these companies has beaten the competition,
not because their product is better,
but because the design elevated and communicated
the brand clearly and this set them apart.
Why not use the $100 online logo company,
or ask my cousin who knows Photoshop to help?
Is the client's brand worth $100 or is it far more valuable?
A $100 logo will be cheap, but it will look generic,
may have been copied from another logo, and won't answer
the bigger issues around brand attributes and communication.
The design is the first and primary
experience for the audience.
They are the voice and face of a brand.
When attending an important meeting,
would you wear a $100 suit from Goodwill,
or the well-made and higher cost Armani suit?
A professional designer is a partner,
a person who collaborates and can maintain
an on-going relationship with a client.
As the brand evolves or communications change,
that relationship maintains a targeted,
consistent, and professional tone.
The alternative, working with a series of amateur designers,
is a visual and communication strategy based on a
"spray and pray" inconsistent and schizophrenic approach.
Spray everything and hope something sticks.
No brand can survive this.
I want to make clear here that amateur designers
are not freelancers or sole proprietors.
They are people with little or no training or experience
who dabble in design here and there.
There is a reason why Walmart spent a billion dollars
on a new identity and roll-out to all of its stores.
It wasn't to make something prettier.
They understood the power of good design and recognized
the competition from other clear brands, like Target.
Professional graphic design will never make
a bad product or service good,
but it will make a good one spectacular.