Why Do You Need a Professional Graphic Designer?

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We are living in a world where much of communication is conveyed visually. Graphic Design plays an essential role to convey messages in a clear and concise manner. One just has to look at the world around us to see the many creations of graphic designers.

What is Graphic Design?

As business owners and decision-makers seem to have departed from the classic definition of “graphic design”, let us have a look at a definition: Graphic Design is “the art or profession of using design elements (as typography and images) to convey information or create an effect” – (Merriam-Webster).

More straight-forwardly put, graphic design is “the practice or profession of designing print or electronic forms of visual information, as for an advertisement, publication, or website.”

Graphic Design plays an essential role to convey messages in a clear and concise manner.

Graphic design as a practice can be traced back to the origin of the written word. Once you arrange an image and/or text to communicate a message, you are entering the world of graphic design. It can appear in any media – print, digital, motion pictures, animation, product decoration, packaging and signage.

To understand how much graphic design touches your life, just look at the world around you. All around you will see the creations of graphic designers:

• Your cellphone screen – graphical user interface design
• Your newspaper – newspaper and advertising design
• This website – web design
• The logo on your car’s steering wheel – branding and ID development
• Your movie ticket – technical layout design
• Movie posters – promotional advertising
• The box in which you popcorn, KFC or McDonalds is presented to you – package design
• The icons identifying genders on bathroom doors – symbol design
• The exit signs pointing the way out of a building – signage design
• The Outsurance banner that pops up when you read the news online – digital advertising design

You may visit http://www.thisisgraphicdesign.com/ to see various examples of graphic designers and their works.

Why Do You Need a Graphic Designer?

Simply put: Because your business should have its own professional look and style, just as you do. After all you wouldn’t cut your hair yourself or let your kids select your clothing, would you?

As you look at the world around you and notice how pervasive branding and design are, you will see the need to develop your own graphic presence. This does not mean that that you need to start competing with big national brands such as Outsurance, ABSA and the like. It only means that your business should have its own brand identity, look professional and be easily recognizable across various platforms.

Many young and upcoming entrepreneurs have recognized the need for a professional Corporate Identity at the early stages of their startups, and hired a professional graphic design company such as Inspirational Design Studio. They recognized the advantage of having a professionally designed corporate image when presenting their company profile or business plan to potential investors or to financial institutions for obtaining funding.

If you are an existing business and have neglected your business image in the past, it is never too late to start.

You need to hire a graphic designer if:

• You do not have a business logo
• You have a logo, but only use it occasionally
• You have a logo, but you’ve outgrown it
• Your existing company materials are all over the map, meaning they don’t look like they all come from the same company
• You are considering a marketing campaign
• You are launching a new product or service
• You are creating a website

These are all different applications of a designer’s talents. A good designer can make a tremendous difference to your company’s image. But how do you find one of these experts? Where do you start?

How Do You Hire A Graphic Designer?

You may ask your colleagues and friends for recommendations. However, in design, more than in most other areas, much of what we like or dislike is subjective. Trying to rationalize that something is “good” even if we don’t like it is missing the point. Choosing a graphic designer is ultimately a matter of taste – yours and theirs.

To find a graphic designer in your area, you may visit a local ShowMe® website such as ShowMe Pretoria where most local businesses are listed.

Once you have found some designers whose style you love, you can move on to the next step: assessing the professionalism and reliability of the candidates. You will need to evaluate their portfolios, experience, references and price to find the right person for your job. This is a topic for another discussion.

About the Sponsors:

Inspirational Design is a design studio in Pretoria, South Africa helping companies transforming their business messages into memorable, enduring design.

Website www.inspirationaldesign.co.za

To find out more about sponsoring an article contact us on 012 549 4347 or email to editor@showmepretoria.co.za.