I get it. Hiring a brand designer can be costly, especially for a new business with little to no budget. The resources to be able to create your own brand design now are amazing and it probably feels easier than ever to just DIY and be done, coupled with thoughts like ‘I need to be more established before I think about my brand identity’, or ‘I just need something simple in place first’ or even ‘branding is not important for my business, sale are’ 😱.
I can not tell you what to do with your money, if you want to use Canva, something similar or even AI to create your logo for free - go for it! But first, let’s explore the pros and cons of hiring a brand designer Vs DIY brand design.
The Appeal of DIY Brand Design
There’s no denying the allure of creating your brand yourself. Platforms like Canva make it simple to design a logo, choose colors, and whip up social media graphics without any prior design experience. DIY brand design offers:
✔️ Affordability: For a new business on a tight budget, free or low-cost tools like Canva are hard to beat.
✔️ Speed: You can create a basic logo or design elements in just a few hours.
✔️ Control: When you’re in charge, you have complete creative freedom.
However, while DIY branding might work as a quick fix, it often comes with limitations that can impact your business’s long-term success:
Generic Designs: Many DIY platforms rely on pre-made templates that thousands of other businesses also use. This can leave your brand looking generic and blending in with the crowd rather than standing out. There’s a good chance another business is using the same elements in a slightly different arrangement.
Missed Strategy: Creating a logo is just one piece of the puzzle. Professional branding considers your values, target audience, and long-term business goals to create a cohesive identity that works across all platforms. DIY tools focus on aesthetics, but they don’t guide you through the strategic aspects of brand identity.
Technical Issues: Files from DIY platforms often lack the scalability and versatility needed for professional use. For example, you might end up with a low-resolution logo that looks pixelated when enlarged for signage or print materials.
Color Consistency: DIY tools often don’t offer the precision needed for consistent color usage across digital and print media, which can dilute your brand’s visual impact.
Time Sink: What starts as a money-saving project can become a frustrating time drain as you wrestle with design tools or try to achieve a polished result. (This is always the biggest issue I hear from previous clients before they decided to invest!)
Lack of Ownership: Many Canva templates don’t give you exclusive rights, meaning other businesses can use the same design. Do you own font/element licenses? Do you have proof? Can you use these on end products for sale? On your socials multiple times? On printed materials multiple times with many impressions?
Trademark Issues: It can be challenging to trademark a logo created from generic or pre-made elements.
Limited Scalability: Canva’s default file types often don’t include the vector formats needed for professional printing or resizing. Folks DIY-ing things often don't consider size and variations to their logo - one size does not fit all my friends!
Amateur Appearance: A poorly designed logo can make your business appear less credible, potentially turning away customers. We have seconds to impress someone - is a DIY job making those seconds really count?
So, Why Hire a Professional Brand Designer?
Investing in a professional brand designer might seem like a big step, but the value we bring to your business often outweighs the cost. Here’s what a designer can offer:
✔️ A Unique Identity: A professional designer creates custom solutions tailored to your business, ensuring your brand stands out in your industry.
✔️ Strategic Thinking: Designers work with you to understand your values, ideal clients, and goals, translating these into visuals that resonate with your audience.
✔️ High-Quality Assets: You’ll receive versatile, scalable (and multiple!) files that look sharp and professional across all mediums, from your website to packaging and socials.
✔️ Expert Guidance: A designer can advise on everything from colour psychology to font choices, ensuring your branding aligns with your message. There is also the fact that they have worked with multiple businesses, and are in the small business field themselves - they know what works and what does not.
✔️ Time Savings: While the DIY route might seem faster, a designer’s expertise means they can deliver results more efficiently, freeing you to focus on running your business.
Not only are you paying for a design but also the designers time, research and expertise. It is an investment - not a cost, into your business thus into your success because it brings added value to your business. You will come away with something that is not only unique but strategic for your business, a design that's made with intention and purpose to not only look good, but be beneficial for your business as part of a whole brand design. It will also be yours, you will 100% have the copyright to use your branding wherever, however you like.
👉🏻Truth bomb: There’s likely no thought or reasons behind your DIY logo, the fonts are generic and/or over used. You likely based colours and fonts on your preferences when it should be about them, not you. Just because your best friend/autie/brother in law is good at art… doesn’t mean they know how to create a strategic brand design 🤭
Finding the Right Balance
Ultimately, the choice between DIY and hiring a designer depends on your business goals, budget, and priorities. If you’re just starting out and need something temporary, DIY might be a good short-term solution. However, if you’re serious about building a strong, memorable brand that resonates with your ideal clients, investing in professional branding is a decision that will pay off for years to come.
You need to think about the message you are putting out there, what will resonate and attract your ideal customer, what opinions they will form about your business which ultimately dictates whether they invest with you or not. At Magic Feather Designs, I specialise in creating colorful, personality-packed brand identities for solo small business owners. If you’re ready to take your brand to the next level, let’s chat about how we can bring your vision to life!
How to Book Your Future Brand Project!
If you feel ready to take that next step, then firstly - yey! How exciting!
Next, you can head to my contact page and fill in my contact form, or you can email me directly at jen@magicfeatherdesigns.com or look me up on socials and pop me a DM - Instagram is best www.instagram.com/magicfeatherdesigns . There are not silly or small questions with me, I am here to help!
Check out my portfolio page to see what brand magic I created with previous clients, and what they had to say about working with me 🥰
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