5 questions to ask before choosing a graphic designer for your (re)branding project

So, you’ve decided it’s time to update your branding (or maybe even invest in your branding for the first time).

Go you! 🥳

Your brand is your business’s biggest asset, and investing in it is really like investing in your future success.

But like any investment, there’s always some risk.

And the biggest risk when it comes to changing your brand is that you’ll damage your existing brand equity, or worse: create a brand identity that doesn’t align with you or your business.

To avoid either of these things happening, it’s essential to choose the right graphic designer to bring your brand to life.

But with so many designers out there, how do you know who’s right for you?

Well, the answer is different for every business, but there are some key questions you can ask upfront that’ll help you find your perfect match 💕

Here are 5 questions to ask before choosing a graphic designer for your (re)branding project.

1. What’s their design style?

When choosing a graphic designer to work on your brand, one of the first things you’ll need to know is what sort of design style do they have?

This is usually something you can work out by scrolling through their website and social media channels, or by looking at their portfolio of work.

While most designers are versatile and can apply different styles for different clients, they’ll usually have an underlying style and way of doing things.

For example, some may be more illustrative-based, while others may have a more typographic style.

Understanding your graphic designer’s style is particularly important if you have strong feelings about the kind of look and feel you want your brand to have.

(Although design is more than just aesthetics, and I ALWAYS recommend you start with your brand strategy and then design a brand identity to match).

But even if you have no idea what you want your brand to look like, it’s always a good start to choose a designer who has a style you admire (rather than, you know, hate 😅 ).

Related Post: How to create a brand identity that’s perfectly aligned with your business.

2. Who have they worked with?

When choosing a graphic designer, it’s also important to know who they’ve worked with before.

Testimonials are a great way to get the inside scoop on what it’s like working with that designer (and by checking out their clients’ branding, you can see their work in action!).

Knowing who a designer has worked with will also give you an idea of whether they specialise in any particular types of clients (for example, big brands vs small businesses, or particular industries).

But a word of warning:

I don’t recommend choosing a graphic designer who works with businesses that are too similar to yours.

For example, if you own a yoga studio, don’t choose a designer who’s worked with lots of other yoga studios.

Apart from it potentially being a conflict of interest for the designer, it can also result in you having a brand identity that looks really similar to your competitors. 

(Because as we covered in Question #1, every designer has an underlying style, and this ALWAYS seeps through in their work!).

Instead, it’s best to find a designer whose work you admire and who can also bring a fresh approach to your branding.

3. What’s included in their design service? 

Understanding what you get for your money is essential when buying any type of service.

But it’s especially important when buying graphic design or branding services, because there’s a lot of variation in what different design packages include.

Some questions to ask from the outset are:

• How many design concepts do you get?

• How many revisions do you get?

• What files and logo formats do you get? (As a minimum, you’ll need both print (CMYK) and web (RGB) versions of your logo and any submarks)

• Does the service include research and/or strategy development?

• Do you get brand guidelines and, if so, how comprehensive are they?

By asking these questions, you’ll be able to compare different packages and work out (a) if the package is right for you, and (b) whether you’ll be up for any surprise costs along the way 😡.

4. How much implementation support do you get?

Another key question to ask is how much support you’ll get to implement your brand.

Because it’s one thing to have a shiny new logo and brand identity, but it’s quite another to know how to actually implement it across all of your marketing assets.

And if implementation support isn’t included, you might find yourself in a situation where you have 20 different files but no idea what to actually do with them 😅

So, make sure you check if your design package includes things like templates and social media assets, and if your designer will be available to answer questions along the way.

5. Do you feel excited to work with them? 

This last question is actually a question for yourself, and it’s by far the most crucial one.

Because if you don’t vibe with your designer or believe they really get what you and your business stand for, it’s not going to be an enjoyable experience for you and might even affect the result you achieve.

One way to check if you’re going to work well together is to ask them what their design process looks like.

For example, how long will it take them to develop your new brand, and how will you communicate and share feedback with one another along the way?

By understanding these things, you’ll be able to quickly determine if their service matches your expectations and how you like to work.

Ultimately, you want to choose a graphic designer who you feel confident will deliver a brand identity you love.

This means don’t just hire someone because (a) they’re your best friend’s brother, (b) they’re available right now, or (c) they’re cheap as chips.

Take your time to find the right graphic designer for you – I promise you your future business will thank you for it! ❤️

Want to know if I’m the right graphic designer for you? Book a free 20-minute strategy call so you can ask all the questions and see if we’re a match! 💕