It’s a good question, one that requires a lot of thought and deliberation. Obviously, I might be a little bit biased as a designer, but instead of giving a blanket statement like – “everytime,” I thought I’d dig a little deeper and answer the question thoughtfully, as if I weren’t wearing my creative hat and assuming that I was someone else.
If I were to be perfectly honest, there are several very good reasons to not hire a designer. The main one is that we live in a digital day and age where you can learn virtually anything online! I have certainly benefited from this fact from other areas of my life. There are tons of free downloadable templates and resources out there, some of which are pretty high quality (dare I say, some that I’ve used myself). I’m all about design awareness and our ever-increasing visual culture has not only placed more of an emphasis in good art and design (back when I was in school, we had to explain what graphic design was), it has ultimately drawn more people into the DIY graphic arts movement.
So…why hire a designer?
I’ve given some examples below. If you’re facing at least one or two of these issues, then maybe it’s time to consider looking for a professional.
1. Lack of time, skill or interest
Let’s face it, some people are just too busy or are uninterested in spending the hours that it takes to build a website or create a logo. Others simply know that they are not good at it (take my mom, for example—she’ll admit it). They would be the perfect candidate to hand off the project and let the experts take care of it while they focus on building their business.
2. Past disappointment and frustration
This is actually where most of my clients find themselves before coming to me. Either they’ve tried to do something themselves and they didn’t like the result (what you see is not always what you get!) Or even worse, they entrusted someone else to work on it and the project was a partial or complete fail (scary!). This can be quite a stressful and demoralizing setback. But, with a little time, hand-holding and encouragement, it is possible to be really excited about your project once again.
3. Customization
As businesses build, it’s the hope that some projects venture outside of the scope manageable by the inside team. Maybe they need something more customized and less generic. Maybe they need a face lift. After you’ve looked at your own work a million times, it’s hard to see anything but those colours and that font. Designers can offer a fresh pair of eyes to tackle the next iteration of your business brand. Welcome version 2.0!