Your “Good Enough” Branding is Costing You
What You're Really Paying a Brand Identity Designer For
You didn’t start your business to play it small. You’ve done the hard part—you’ve built something real, piecing it together as you went, and played every role: accountant, social media manager, designer, sales rep, and a million more. For a while, DIY-ing your brand made sense. The template Canva logo was free, it looked fine, and you had bigger fires to put out.
But something has shifted. Your competitors now look more polished and professional. Or you’re starting to hesitate before sending someone to your website. Maybe you know your brand no longer reflects the business you’ve actually built.
The question isn’t really Should I hire a brand identity designer? anymore. Rather, you’re wondering, What am I actually paying for that I can’t do myself, or have AI do for me?
Brand design is one of the pieces most business owners typically know they should outsource but hold off on until it’s absolutely necessary. Resources like Canva, Fiverr, and AI make it relatively accessible to either DIY or hire out cheap, and most brands feel good enough…until they’re not, and your competitors are surpassing you in polish, are obtaining cult-like fans, and excelling in communicating their value.
Your business is your baby, and wanting to maintain control over the decision making, the outcome, and the funds spent outsourcing is understandable. But when does the cost of the time spent fixing mistakes you unknowingly made when DIY-ing branding yourself surpass the cost of hiring a professional? What are you paying a brand identity designer for that you can’t do yourself?
In short, you’re gaining:
Consistency in your brand
A visual system that stops the guesswork
Pride in how you show up
A foundation for your marketing decisions
Assurance you won’t get sued over your branding
Brand Consistency: Why It Matters for Small Business Growth
In a study produced by Lucidpress, surveyed businesses reported that maintaining a consistent brand across all materials and platforms contributed to a revenue increase up to 20%.
And according to StudyFinds, 50% of surveyed consumers “say they are much more likely to use a company whose logo they easily recognize.” In the same study, findings determined that 1 in 4 people use a logo’s colors to help them remember the company it represents.
Consistency directly correlates to brand recognition from your audience, and higher brand recognition results in higher sales.
If your brand is constantly changing, or your logo looks exactly like your competitors’, it’ll be harder for clients to distinguish you from the next business. On the flip side, if you’re consistent and distinct, you’re easier to remember, to find, and more likely to compound trust.
Brand designers provide you a system and guidelines on how to use it: exact color codes so the color doesn’t change from program to program, your fonts and how to upload them to programs, and logos that work well in different spaces but still feel like they’re apart of the same brand.
You may be thinking, “I’m able to keep all the elements of my brand straight, and remember exact colors and fonts, so it’s not a big deal.” But does your team know these guidelines? Does your social media manager, website designer, or print partners? Is there a system in place they can easily reference?
Every time a brand without clear guidelines is touched, the possibility for misalignment increases, along with the chance of messing with your brand’s consistency and recognition.
A visual system that stops the guesswork
On a related note, when your brand is “just a logo and a few colors,” it’s easy for your website to look completely different from your social media, and your social media completely different from your welcome guide or packaging.
Why? Because you’re guessing. You’re using whatever colors you feel match the vibe of your post. Or your personal favorite colors, that change month to month. Or you have no idea what color you used last month and you think this is it (though it might not be).
Brand designers specialize in building systems, not just making things look pretty. When we design your brand identity, we’re considering all the places that your brand will show up, and building logos that fit those spaces, colors that remain recognizable, and fonts that remain legible at all sizes—and providing you the instructions on how to use it all.
We also build these systems based on strategy, not trends or personal preferences. Considering your target audience, the feelings you want them to feel when they interact with your brand, and bringing it all together with intentionally selected colors, fonts, and imagery.
Pride in how you show up
According to StudyFinds, 60% of consumers avoid brands with unattractive or poorly designed logos, even if the business has positive reviews.
You can have a stellar service offering or product, but if you aren’t able to show up confidently or convey the level of professionalism and quality you offer to your audience, you are likely missing out on revenue.
Your audience and potential clients are looking for signals that you know what you’re doing and that you’re worth investing in—if you yourself aren’t willing to invest in your business, why should they?
On a personal level, you are also more likely to want to create content, to want to send your website, and to hand out your business card when you feel proud of your business’ visuals.
In a world where work and referrals goes to the outspoken and well-connected, confidence is a key component to building your network and brand awareness.
Brand Strategy as a Foundation for Your Marketing
Experienced brand designers will build your visual identity system based upon a brand strategy, not vibes and trends.
In order to have a brand identity that specifically targets the audience you want to reach, you’ll need to understand who you’re speaking to, what makes you different from competitors who are also trying to reach them, and how you want your brand to feel in contrast. You’ll need to have a crystal-clear understanding of your mission, your values, your tone of voice, and your brand personality.
Will your brand feel like a friend they can have a glass of wine with, building a personal level of trust and relatability? We might design a brand identity with that features logos with warm colors and soft edges to your fonts, evoking familiarity and comfort. To compound that feeling, your tone of voice in your copy can complement the easy-going nature of your brand persona, as will the lighting in your photography and videography.
Brand strategy is an important piece of building a recognizable brand across all touch-points, even the pieces beyond design. Once that foundation is laid, you’ll have a frame-work to build upon in all other aspects of the digital and physical representations of your business.
When all of the pieces of your brand start working together, instead of competing with one another, they begin to create a more memorable and distinguishable experience for your audience.
It's a feeling clients come back to again and again after the process. As our client Adriana put it: "We had such peace of mind knowing a professional was doing the legwork. Having that background and expertise made the process so much more efficient and skilled than if we had tried to navigate it on our own."
Brand Design and ADA / Web Accessibility Compliance
Let’s take a look at your website. Did you know that not passing WCAG accessibility standards, or making your site ADA compliant, can result in a lawsuit? Do you know without a doubt that your website would pass an accessibility test? Have you heard of WCAG or ADA before this article?
Lately, several small businesses have gone viral for being sued for websites not being ADA-compliant. They’ve been hit with expensive lawsuits without ever being aware they were breaking the law.
Most business owners haven’t had to consider this, but your brand designer has: those factors are considered when building out your systems. We provide color combinations that meet web accessibility standards for people with visual impairments and other protected users. We also consider the legibility of text when suggesting font styles and size recommendations, so you aren’t unknowingly put at risk when using your brand.
Disclaimer: The information in this section is for educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Every business’s situation is different—consult a qualified legal professional to ensure your site meets current ADA and WCAG compliance requirements.
Confidence is the Deliverable
When you hire a brand identity designer, you’re not paying for a pretty logo. You’re investing in a strategist who understands your audience, builds systems that scale, and makes sure every touchpoint—from your website to your business card—works together to communicate what you’re worth.
The women who invest in their brand aren’t doing it because they have money to burn. They’re doing it because they’re done second-guessing every graphic they post, done feeling embarrassed in how they show up, and done watching less-qualified competitors look more polished than them.
You’ve built something worth investing in. Let’s make sure your brand says so.
