Branding and Graphic Design Services: How to Get Them?

‍Have you got a great idea for a business? Before you can launch your brand out into the world, you’ll need to find reliable branding and graphic design services. We’ll guide you through that process, step-by-step.

Did you know that 75% of consumers recognize a brand by its logo? So no matter how great your business idea might be, there’s no chance it will become a success without memorable brand design.

Of course, brand identity design is much more than a logo. But, what does a brand designer do, exactly? 

What does a brand designer do?

It’s much easier to create visuals for an existing brand. The reason is that most brands usually have brand style guides that provide directions, such as typography, color and other visual elements that need to be used in graphics.

However, if your business is at the very beginning, you’ll first need a brand designer to create your brand’s entire visual identity. Here’s what that entails.

Brand strategy

Brand designers often start by working closely with their clients to understand their business goals and target audience. They develop a strategic plan for how the brand should be perceived and communicated.

Logo design

A good logo is one visual meant to reflect your brand’s mission and vision, and appeal to your target audience. It should also adhere to good graphic design principles and be scalable and versatile. Sounds like a big ask? It most certainly is.

There’s a good reason famous logos cost several thousands dollars to create. Behind even the simplest visual solutions, there’s usually weeks, and even months of meticulous research, and dozens of variations.

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Brand guidelines

Once the logo is created, brand designers can start developing a brand guide. This document contains all the visual elements used in brand design, such as:

• Color palette: usually one primary, and 3-4 secondary colors;
• Typography: brand designers can create custom typography or choose to use existing fonts;
• Visual elements: illustrations, icons, shapes and guidelines on how they are used;
• Logo usage: variations of the logo design, such as a monochrome version and permitted and prohibited uses of the logo (e.g. many brands don’t allow placing logos on colorful backgrounds);
• Photographs: the style and type of custom or stock typography used.

Website design 

Whether you have a physical storefront or not, there’s no doubt that your business need a professional website. According to the latest research, 85% of customers look up a brand’s website before purchasing . Even more importantly, 75% of them will decide whether your company’s trustworthy based on website design.

Website design is a long and complex process that falls into the category of graphic design and branding services, as well as a special field called UI/UX design. This discipline requires specific skills, and often technical knowledge that’s not necessarily within the scope of graphic design and branding services.

So, sometimes brand designers work on developing the concept of the website, while a professional web designer executes the technical design of the website.

Business cards

Sales increase about 2.5% for every 2,000 business cards that you pass out. If you consider that business cards usually cost around or under $100 to produce, you’ll understand their ROI can be quite high.

Brand designers know all about the right business card sizes and printing requirements, which is pretty vital. You don’t want to create a beautiful design only to end up with cards that are unusable because contact information has been cut off, or the colors don’t look right in print. 

Social media

Brand consistency is especially important on social media. Unlike your website, this is where you compete with a lot of other brands for your target audience’s attention. So, you need to create a powerful brand image that they will recognize and connect with. 

Social media brand design includes the creation of custom profile and header images, as well as social media post templates that can be used to create a visually cohesive feed and cut design costs.

Stationery

Custom-made stationery might seem like a thing of the past. But in reality, few things can make such a big impact on potential clients, partners or investors, as these little branded details.

Branded letterheads, greeting or loyalty cards show that you take yourself and your business seriously. If they are well-designed, there’s a better chance that people will keep them and remember them - which strengthens your brand image. 

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Packaging design

Not all brands need packaging design, but if you do, this is definitely a job for professional branding and graphic design services. 

Packaging doesn’t just have to look good: it must be relatively affordable to produce (ideally also sustainable) and protect your products adequately.

Where to get branding and graphic design services

What services do graphic designers offer? In the case of brand design, these can be quite extensive. So, where can you find multitalented, experienced creative professionals like that? Here are some options.

Brand design agency

The most obvious and most expensive choice for brand identity and graphic design services are traditional design agencies. These companies usually have experience working with clients from different industries, although many smaller agencies like to specialize in one or two.

Brand design agencies often offer a full service, including extensive market research, copywriting and even web development. Of course, these premium services come at a cost. Agencies charge upwards of $10,000 for creative design services related to brand design. 

In-house designer

When you’re starting, one of the first people you’ll need to hire is a graphic designer. Hiring an in-house designer has numerous benefits. Thiis person can get to know your brand inside out. If you hire the person for branding and graphic design services, they’ll be able to create high-quality branded designs for years to come.

On the other hand, hiring an experienced graphic designer full-time comes with a hefty price tag. The average salary of a graphic designer in the US is around $60,000 a year.

Moreover, once you have graphic design and branding services sorted, there may be other types of design you need. For example, motion graphics or even complex website design require rather specific skills that one person may not possess.

Unlimited graphic design services

Want a professional graphic design service to cover all your design needs? Look no further than subscription-based unlimited design companies (e.g. Design Pickle, Penji and ManyPixels)! With design packages you can get your brand’s visual identity, and keep getting all the visuals you need to promote your business - at a fixed monthly rate.

You’ll work with a team of designers, with different expertise and style to match your every need. Our own service at ManyPixels also includes professional design project management to ensure the design process runs smoothly, and there are no delays or miscommunication. 

Of course, if you require branding and graphic design services, there’s no simpler or more affordable way to do it. Freelance designers charge between $300 and $1000 for a logo alone. Our unlimited design service subscriptions start at just $549! That means a month of design, where you can get a logo, brand style guide and more!

Pick your plan and get started today. Or book a free 1:1 consultation for a chance to ask us any questions!