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Good news! Your business is growing, your team is absolutely crushing their goals, and you’re finally in the ‘good place’. While it may be tempting just to ride the wave and bask in your success, ask yourself:
When was the last time I assessed what my business looks like?
We don’t mean your social media footprint or investor spreadsheets. We’re talking about what you literally look like. When was the last time you thought about your company’s graphic design? This is an important question, especially if you design everything yourself, including your website, logo design, and brand identity.
We’ll cover everything you need to know about graphic design and why custom graphic design is so important for your growing business.
What is graphic design?
Think about the last time you went grocery shopping. Did you notice the iconic Campbell’s Soup cans? Maybe that clever in-season produce advertisement caught your eye. Perhaps it was the bright colors and silly characters of that sugary cereal brand.
All of that, and the colorful bus stop ad that stole your attention on the way to the store, is a form of graphic design.
Graphic design takes the complicated and makes it digestible, and it has the power to draw your eye from one product to another. The influence of graphic design can also be a make or break for your marketing efforts.
Graphic design is the visual and textual representation of your business. All other design elements like branding and video for example are built on top of it.
<div class="c-blog_comp-cta cc-component-1"><div class="c-blog_comp-cta-left"><div class="c-blog_comp-cta-left-wrap"><img src="https://global-uploads.webflow.com/61cdf3c5e0b8155f19e0105b/6334d81a29c751ccd8c26638_brain-orchestra.png" loading="lazy" alt="" sizes="(max-width: 479px) 93vw, (max-width: 767px) 96vw, 363px" srcset="https://global-uploads.webflow.com/61cdf3c5e0b8155f19e0105b/6334d81a29c751ccd8c26638_brain-orchestra-p-500.png 500w, https://global-uploads.webflow.com/61cdf3c5e0b8155f19e0105b/6334d81a29c751ccd8c26638_brain-orchestra.png 500w" class="c-blog_comp-cta-left-img"></div></div><div class="c-blog_comp-cta-right"><div class="c-blog_comp-content"><div class="c-text-wrapper cc-mb-32"><div class="c-title-4 cc-bold"><strong>Want to save money without sacrificing the quality?</strong></div></div><div class="c-text-wrapper"><div class="c-text-2">Say goodbye to traditional, expensive agencies and unreliable marketplaces. Say hello to Designity.</div></div></div><div class="c-blog_comp-wrapper"><a href="/pricing" target="_blank" class="c-button cc-primary cc-inverted w-button"><strong>Get Your 2-Week Trial</strong></a></div></div></div>
How graphic design and marketing intersect
Contrary to popular belief, great marketing doesn’t just depend on data points and numbers. What your marketing team uses to attract business, be it emails or ads, is just as contingent on the graphic design elements used to make your brand memorable and to generate clicks.
Here’s an example: you get two emails that say the exact same thing. One is plain, just text against the white background. The other one is vibrant with eye-catching graphics and a clear call to action.
Which of the two emails is likely to hold your attention for longer?
Here’s another example: You’re a tech company that recently launched a new machine learning capability. Cool, right? You’re crafting a press release to showcase what this new intelligence can do.
One is just copy with a nice border, and the other is an interactive infographic that digests complicated information and makes it engaging and easy to read.
If you were your client, which one would you want to see? Would you actually read that press release, or would you be more interested in the eye-catching infographic?
“Graphic designer near me…”
We know what you’re thinking. Now that you’ve realized the difference having a designer makes, you’re ready to hit the Google search and hire a graphic designer as soon as possible.
While it might be tempting to hit up the job boards and find a graphic design freelancer, it’s important that you understand what you are looking for. If you’re looking to spruce up your branding or create a one-off infographic, then freelancers can be a safe bet.
If you’re looking for a full graphic design audit, a logo update, and someone to be your go-to for your design projects, it might be better to look into hiring an in-house graphic designer or look into a design service.
Design services vs in-house graphic designers
The best way to know if you should hire an in-house designer or a design service is to look at the projects that you have in your pipeline.
If you have a multitude of design projects, then a design service may be the way to go. If you have an established style guide and consistent one-off design projects, then an in-house designer may work for you!
Design service companies are best used when you are looking for a creative partner to help you navigate the design process with you. For example, if you don’t have a definitive style guide or are looking to solidify your look and feel.
Another way to know is by understanding how much you’re willing to spend.
Graphic design pricing
Ah, we’ve made it to the fun stuff. Graphic design services range in price. It all depends on how much design you need and the type of designer that you are hiring.
According to CareerExplorer, graphic designer salaries range anywhere from $50,000 to $80,000 per year depending on the state that you live in. Paying this salary may be a feasible option for more established companies, but for small to mid-size businesses, this may not be a viable option.
Freelancers charge per project and vary widely in terms of the quality of the work. You may hire someone who is cost-effective, but the design results and the timelines they give you may not be what you’re looking for.
The best graphic design solution
Instead of paying that in-house salary or taking a gamble in the freelance market, place your bets on us.
Designity is a collaborative creative model that acts as an extension of your own team. We deep dive into your industry and project needs, assigning you a creative director who sources and manages the right creatives from our US-based pool all for one set monthly price.
If you’re convinced that it’s time to make your business look as good as you feel, don’t be shy! Take us out for a two-week test drive today.
