Why you should let your graphic designer be your graphic designer

We’ve all been there – faced with a minor plumbing issue at home, we decide to tackle it ourselves. Two hours and a flooded kitchen later, we find ourselves sheepishly calling a plumber for rescue. We’re then left with a hefty invoice and an inconvenient clean-up. In hindsight, calling the plumber first would have been the better choice. And hindsight is usually right.

A similar scenario often unfolds in the graphic design world. Recently, a new client called us in a fluster – the series of flyers they’d painstakingly created in Canva had just been rejected by their printer. The primary issues involved bleed/trim and colour problems. However, a quick glance revealed that the issues ran much deeper.

The text was so small it was barely readable, uncomfortably close to the page's edge, and reversed out from colours that risked closing up during print. Images and logos were pixelated, stretched, or both. The overall design style contradicted everything they had established in their brand.

Did we mention they needed these flyers for an event the following week? So, out came the graphic designer superhero cape*, and we swung into action. We redesigned the flyers from scratch in a format the printer would accept, showcasing their brand and company professionally – and on time.

The moral of the story is that even though there are myriad tools available these days (Canva, MS Word, or PowerPoint) for the average person to whip up a flyer, we need to ask ourselves – just because we can, should we?

There are many good reasons to leave graphic design to qualified professionals:

We're trained professionals

Through years of training, we’ve learned various design principles and how to apply them. Colour theory, typography, layout, and user experience can all combine, in the right hands, to create stunning and effective communication. With many years of experience (18 years for myself), you can be sure we know what works and what doesn’t.

The devil is in the (technical) details

A stunning design is one thing, but if it doesn’t translate to print or web successfully, it’s useless. Many technical parameters need to be considered when designing for print or web. Taking these into account ensures smooth sailing and a high-quality finished product. Ignoring them can lead to print issues, added expenses, or worse – an entirely ineffective piece of communication.

We'll put your best foot forward

We’re experienced in observing your brand and its guidelines and running with them. This includes using your correct colours and typography, adhering to your imagery style, and ensuring that the end result is consistent and synonymous with your brand and business. 

We know marketing

While we’re not strictly marketers, we inherently work in the field and know from experience what works to communicate your message. Besides conveying your brand visually, we also understand best practices for headlines, easily digestible and meaningful messaging, and provocative call-to-actions. 

We've got the right tools

While design tools available to the average person have progressed greatly from the days of MS Paint to respectable offerings like Canva and Microsoft Office, they still have limitations and often lack the capability to address the various technical considerations I mentioned earlier. We use a range of software platforms that allow us to design with utmost creativity and flexibility, achieving results that are both visually stunning and technically correct. Our final files are always in the correct format preferred by printers and external suppliers. 

Budget

Yes, graphic designers cost money. However, so does the time you’ve just spent trying to design things yourself, only to have issues arise at the print stage and incur the added cost of re-printing. You might even end up with a piece of communication that simply isn’t effective – inadvertently costing you new business. That's why it’s worth the investment to hire a graphic designer from the start and putting your trust in their skills and knowledge, leading to a process that is more cost-effective in the long run.

So, next time you’re tempted to channel your inner DIY expert with graphic design, remember the flooded kitchen and the hefty plumber invoice. Trust a trained graphic designer to bring your vision to life without the headaches, using their expertise, technical know-how, and the right tools. Save yourself the time, frustration, and potential mishaps, and let us create you something that is not only visually stunning but also perfectly executed. After all, just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.

*Really just a small piece of fabric that we Blu-tack to our mouse finger.