5 Things to Figure Out Before Hiring a Brand Designer - Ep. 72
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This article is adapted from an episode of Intentional Branding where I talk through this topic in more detail.
Hiring a designer can feel exciting, but it can also come with a very real fear: What happens if I hate everything they create? It's something I hear from a lot of clients right before we start working together.
You’re investing money into something that’s going to represent your business, so of course you want to know you’re going to love the end result.
But here’s what I want you to understand. You don’t need to come to a designer knowing exactly what you want your logo to look like. You don’t need to have your fonts picked out or your exact colors chosen. That’s why you’re hiring a designer to help you figure those things out.
What you do need is clarity around your business underneath those visuals.
Because a designer can work with design uncertainty, but if the foundation of the business is shaky, you really can’t expect a designer to create something that feels solid on top of it.
So before you hire a logo or brand designer, here are five things I think you should get clear on.
5 Things to Get Clear on Before You Hire a Brand Designer
1. Know Who Your Brand Needs to Speak To
Your visual brand isn't just about what you personally like. It needs to make sense to your target market, to the people you're trying to reach.
Think about who is actually making the decision to work with you or buy from your business. What needs to resonate with them?
Let's use a preschool as an example.
It might seem like you're designing for children, but ultimately you're speaking to the adults choosing the preschool. The branding still needs to have child-like elements so people immediately understand what kind of business it represents, but it also shouldn't alienate children.
When you think of preschool, you're probably not thinking of dark, moody colors. You think of red, blue, yellow, maybe a rainbow color palette. Those are the colors that people are expecting when they see a preschool.
You don't need to know how to translate your audience into colors, typography, graphics, or anything like that. That's the designer's job.
But if you don't know who you're trying to reach, you're asking your designer to visually communicate to an audience that hasn't been defined yet.
There are so many styles you could use when designing a brand. If you're not honing in on who that brand needs to resonate with, it's not going to do very well.
That's how you get brands that feel generic, or even a brand that you hate once you see it.
Your takeaway: You don't need to know how to design for your audience. You do need to know what audience your brand is trying to reach.
2. Get Clear on the Feeling You Want Your Brand to Create
Having a general vibe or feeling gives your designer a really strong starting point.
Maybe you want your brand to feel:
Dark and moody
Organic and boho
Clean and professional
Luxurious
Energetic
Something completely different
When you pair a couple of adjectives together, you immediately start narrowing down the possibilities.
If you say, "I want my brand to be dark and moody," your designer knows you're probably not going to want a pastel or neon color palette. They're going to start exploring darker, moodier colors.
That right there can help create a brand that you already love because it's going in the direction you want.
Visual examples can also be really helpful. If you have examples from other brands you're naturally drawn to, bring those to your designer.
But don't focus on copying what they did.
Instead, ask yourself:
What do I like about how this brand feels?
Maybe it's energetic. Maybe it pops. Maybe it feels calm, sophisticated, playful, or approachable.
That's the useful information.
You can show your designer visual examples, but if you don't understand why you like them, it's going to be much harder to translate that feeling into something that's specific to your business.
Your takeaway: Bring inspiration, but focus on the feeling behind it rather than trying to recreate someone else's brand.
3. Know What You Do and Don't Like
Sometimes it's easier to figure out what you don't like, and that's just as useful as trying to explain exactly what you do like.
If you've ever DIY'd your brand and nothing you've created feels right, you've probably learned quite a bit about what isn't working for you.
Bring those examples and reactions into the conversation with your designer.
But don't just say, "I hate this."
Explain why.
Does it feel:
Too feminine?
Too corporate?
Too playful?
Too busy?
Too trendy?
Too generic?
Every meaningful "no" eliminates another creative direction and helps your designer get closer to the right one.
You don't have to know exactly what you want. You just need to be able to recognize what isn't working and explain why.
That gives your designer valuable information to work with.
Your takeaway: Your dislikes are useful. The more specific you can be about why something doesn't feel right, the easier it is to narrow down the right direction.
4. Get Clear on Your Business Before You Get Clear on the Design
This is probably the biggest one.
You don't need to know everything about the future of your business, but you do need some clarity around the business you're building right now.
If you don't know:
Who you're serving
What you want to be known for
What services you're offering
What makes your business different
Where your business is heading
then it might not be the right time to invest heavily in branding.
Let's say you're building a wellness business and you're still deciding whether you want to focus on one-on-one nutrition coaching, group fitness programs, or a product-based supplement business.
Those are very different businesses.
They could have completely different audiences, messaging, and visual identities.
You don't need to have every future offer figured out. You need enough clarity to say:
This is the business I'm building right now. This is who I'm serving. This is what I want to be known for.
Otherwise, you could invest thousands of dollars in branding for a nutrition coaching business, only to realize six months later that you're actually building something completely different.
There is a sweet spot in your business where investing in branding makes sense.
If you're still in the beginning stages and your business is consistently shifting, DIY branding can actually be the perfect place to start.
That's why I created my DIY branding course, DIY Your Brand in Five Days. It's a place to start getting your brand together without bringing a designer in too early.
A designer can't create a solid visual identity on top of a business that's constantly shifting.
Get that business foundation steady first. Then all the design decisions become much easier because there's something clear underneath them. That's brand strategy in its simplest form.
Your takeaway: Your visuals can be uncertain. Your business foundation needs to have enough clarity to support the brand you're creating.
5. Understand Your Role in the Design Process
Designers shouldn't disappear after one email, come back weeks later, and hand you a finished logo you've never seen before.
There's a chance you're going to hate it.
Design is collaborative. Here's how it works in my business:
In my process, the first thing that happens is a discovery call and this is where I listen. I want to hear how you talk about the business, what you get excited about, what matters to you, and what you're envisioning.
Then after you choose to work with me we do client onboarding and book a design kickoff call.
This is where I essentially brain dump all of the creative directions I'm exploring. I'll show the mood board and early concepts so we can figure out what you're actually resonating with before I fully design and develop anything.
Sometimes I'm convinced a client is going to go with one direction, and then they surprise me by connecting with something completely different.
That's why those conversations matter.
And why the collaboration part of the process is so important.
Your job as the client is to be honest and specific with your feedback.
My job as the designer is to listen, bring my expertise, explain when something may not work, and translate everything we've uncovered into a visual identity.
The best results come from bouncing ideas off each other, not from one person trying to control the entire process.
Design is very collaborative.
And you can even use AI as part of that process if you want to.
For example, you could put some branding ideas into ChatGPT and see what it creates. You might look at the result and think, "Ugh, I hate this part," or, "Oh, I love these pieces."
That's actually useful information.
You don't need to bring an AI-generated logo to your designer and say, "This is my logo. Can you make it exactly like this?"
Instead, use it as a creative direction and a talking point. It can help you discover what you do and don't like before you start the design process.
Ultimately, you don't need to design the brand yourself.
You do need to participate.
Your takeaway: Trust your designer's expertise, but don't disappear from the process. Honest communication and thoughtful feedback help you and your designer get to the right result together.
You Don't Need to Know Exactly What You Want
You don't need to have your entire visual identity figured out before you hire a designer.
Honestly, if you already knew exactly which colors, fonts, graphics, and logo you needed, you probably wouldn't need a designer.
What you do need is enough clarity to give your designer a direction.
Know your business.
Know who you're serving.
Have some idea of the feeling you want to create.
Pay attention to what you do and don't like.
Then be willing to collaborate as that direction becomes more specific.
The goal isn't to walk into a design project knowing exactly what the finished brand should look like.
The goal is to know your business, have some sort of general direction, and then trust the process of working with your designer to bring that direction to life.
Recap: Key Takeaways
Know who your brand needs to speak to. You don't need to know how to design for your audience, but you do need to know who your brand is trying to reach.
Get clear on the feeling you want your brand to create. Have a general feeling or creative direction to give your designer a strong place to start.
Know what you do and don't like. Explain what you're drawn to, what isn't working for you, and why. Every meaningful "no" helps narrow down the right direction.
Get clear on your business before you get clear on the design. Your visuals can be uncertain, but your audience, offers, positioning, and overall business direction need enough clarity to create a strong brand on top of them.
Understand your role in the design process. You don't have to design the brand yourself, but you do need to participate. Communicate honestly, give thoughtful feedback, and collaborate with your designer to get the right result.
You don't need to show up with the perfect logo, color palette, or font combination. That's what your designer is there to help you figure out.
You just need enough clarity to give the design somewhere meaningful to go.
Happy designing! Rizza
Z Squared Studio is a Brand and Web Design Studio based in Juneau, Alaska. Check out www.zsquaredstudio.com for custom brand design, Alaska logo design, or web design.
Or sign up for our DIY Brand Yourself Mini-Course if you're ready for a standout, scroll-stopping brand without hiring a designer.
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