Are you a non-designer being asked to design?

“DIY”

We’ve all done it. Whether it’s the occasional faucet change, electrical switch replacement, or the ambitious deck construction. We try. We have our successes and we have our failures. Hopefully we learn something through the process.

We have our core competencies. For each challenge we weigh our options. Should I give it a go, or do I call someone?

Too Many Hats

I receive countless calls from professionals who are being tasked with design. These calls come mostly from office managers, account managers, and marketing managers who have little to no experience in actual design, or with the use of design tools. Their job descriptions cover lots of territory. They’re being asked to wear many hats — one of which is ‘graphic designer’. For a non-designer this can be incredibly stressful and can lead to a deep level of frustration and dissatisfaction in their role.

DIY Design

So you find yourself in a role and you’re being asked (told) to create a professional marketing campaign. Maybe your company needs creative social media graphics, sell sheets for the sales reps, or a branded slide deck for the sales director. Fortunately (and unfortunately) there are DIY tools available. There are countless web-based applications that provide templates and graphics. Many common applications such as the one’s offered by Microsoft offer the same…. templates and graphics. So… this may sound like the way to go… right? Well… allow me to point out the downside:

• Templates are not branded. Meaning, they are generic… not designed to fit the brand of your company. Sure you can add your logo, but do the graphics complement the brand image? Do any of the fonts available match the brand font? You end up making design decisions that do not fit your brand aesthetic.
• Templates are available to anyone accessing the tool. So what? Why does that matter?. Well… your brand is your unique identity. When you share aspects of your brand identity, it’s simply no longer unique. This leads to brand confusion and can stand in the way of establishing a deep emotional connection with your audience.
• There is a tendency to overuse common stock imagery. People shaking hands to represent collaboration, a hand with a seedling to represent growth… you see where I’m going. Professional designers can identify imagery and use it in a way that looks distinctive to your brand. A professional designer can also work with a photographer to create unique imagery to enhance your brand story.
• There is a tendency to to use imagery that you do not have the right to use. Intellectual property is a big deal. When a photographer takes a photo, that photographer owns the rights to that image. They can choose to offer it as royalty-free or stock, sell it outright, or offer it for free if they choose. It’s up to them. When searching for imagery online to use in your design you need to fully understand your rights to that image. Infringement can, and often does, lead to legal trouble.
• You want to re-use the design elements ‘off-line’. After you create a design using one of these tools, often it is impossible to extract the graphics for use outside of that tool. The bottom line is that the site wants you to use their tool so they make it difficult or at times impossible for you to freely use what you’ve created.
• You just may not know how to design. Hey… it’s not for everyone. What font should I use? Where should I place this graphic? This should not be an arbitrary process. Professional designers understand composition, hierarchy, typography and that when all used correctly it will create an effective and positive interaction with your audience.

Professional Design To The Rescue!

My core competency is design. I live and breath it. I understand aspects of design and also how to implement design in digital form, and in print. There’s a unique language for each, and I as well as most professional designers are fluent in both. Most are versed enough to know what questions to ask, or who to connect with to make for an efficient and successful design project.

The big takeaway…
Call in a professional designer before you waste countless hours and create something that will dilute your brand image.