5 Must Ask Questions for your Brand Designer

A little over a month ago a friend reached out to me complaining about the brand designer she hired for her business’s rebrand. “What would you do if…”, “Would you ever do ______?” and “Why isn’t she putting in the effort for my business?” were all questions my friend asked ending with “I should have gone with you”.

Now, this isn’t the case with everyone because there are lots of brand designers out there that take the time, creativity and talent to help you design a brand that beautifully reflects your business. However, because there are a lot of brand designers you could potentially work with, you want to make sure they are a good fit.

Before you invest your time, money and heart (your business is your baby!), working with a brand designer to create or refresh your business’s look, there are 5 key questions to your new design bestie.

1. How long does the process take?

This is an important to ask right off the bat, especially if you’re on a time crunch. You want to make sure your brand designer understands your needs and that they can accommodate you if you do need it by a certain time/date.

Most brand designers that create custom logos and websites process takes between 4-6 weeks. Take into consideration you are getting custom 1-1 service which takes a lot of strategy, time and creativity to get completed. The reason Etsy and fiverr logos are cheap and quick are because they aren’t custom, but if that’s what you want you’ll get what you pay for.

2. What exactly is included in the brand package?

Every designer is different, which means they offer different components in their packages. Some just offer logo design, others offer the whole shabang. Because you want the whole shabang (a brand isn’t just a logo), be sure to ask your new brand designer what exactly is included in the package you’re purchasing.

For example, here is what’s included in mine:

• Vision Planning
  • Brand Strategy Questionnaire
  • Vision Meeting
  • Pinterest Board
  • Inspiration Board
• Brand Identity
  • Logo Design
  • Pattern Design
  • Font Hierarchy
  • Brand Guidelines
  • Logo Files (100+)
• Website Design
  • Custom Website Design
  • SEO
• Collateral
  • Instagram graphics
  • Email Marketing Set up
  • Email Opt In
  • Business Card Design

When taking on new clients I always lay this out and go through it so they know (and I know) exactly what they’re getting. There are some occasions where clients want to switch out collateral for something they need.

It’s important to ask for exactly what is included in the package you are purchasing so there are no surprises when invoices are sent! I also like to give a timeline so that the client can know what step of the process we’re in along the way. As a client, you don’t want to be kept in the dark at where in the process you are (especially if you have a deadline!).

3. Who have you worked with and can I read the testimonials?

Get the details! Chances are your brand designer has worked with other people – so do some digging. Read testimonials, look at their portfolio or ask their former clients to see what it’s like working with them.

It’s one thing to be a great designer, but if they’re not a good person to work with it can ruin the entire process for you (which is supposed to be exciting!).

4. How many file types do I get?

You want to make sure you have file types for literally everything you could ever possibly need. Circle, square, rectangle, big, little, B&W, etc. etc. for whatever might come your way 1,2, 5 years down the road.

You don’t want to be stuck a few years later needing a specific file, but you can’t get ahold of the brand designer. Knowing the file types you need before speaking with your brand designer could be helpful, but your brand designer should know what it is you need.

5. How much will we be communicating?

The brand design process is collaborative and intimate, so you want to make sure you’re involved! Ask how often you’ll be communicating, if there are any phone call check-ins or how involved you’ll be in the process.

It’s often I hear people say they were charged the invoice and then hadn’t heard from the designer in 2 weeks. This is unacceptable as you should be kept in the loop for everything that is going on with your redesign.

This is such an exciting time for you and your business, so you want to make sure you’re working with someone you get along with and that shares the same vision as you for your business. I say it all the time (and I’m not kidding!), I would go out to happy hour with each and every one of my clients. We share the same vision and passion for our businesses and I make sure they feel special along each step of the process.

If you have any questions, let me know! I currently have 4 openings for January to March for custom brand and website design. If you’re interested in working together you can email me here or check out the portfolio here.

Rooting for you! Olivia