8 tips to find your dream, best-fit brand design studio

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Let's be real: If nothing else, we have options in 2022. Whether we're picking up a tin of beans at the grocery store, or choosing a service provider for a sizeable business investment, there are more options for what we're buying than ever before.

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So what's a busy businesss owner to do when the hours in the day are limited, as too are the options for brand strategists and designers?

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Here is a list of my 9 best tips to make sure you’re hiring your dream, best-fit designer, from a designer who knows she’s not for everyone. Enjoy!

1. Look at their portfolio and Instagram to make sure you feel drawn to their style.

Ideally, you want to find someone you can fully trust to execute your vision, and past work is a great way to feel assured and predict results. Just as you wouldn't go to a tattoo artist specializing in fine-line work for a portrait tattoo, you want to ensure that your designer's style aligns with the style you envision for your brand, already.

2. Read their website copy: do they sound like someone who you share common values with?

Studios often invest a lot of time and money into making sure that their website and marketing material answers common questions, and let's the reader garner an idea of their working style, process, and values. Ensure that what's important to you is also important to them – and don't be afraid to ask if something isn't clear.

3. Ask yourself if this is someone you’d like to spend the next few months with. Do you get along?

It's worth spending time reading testimonials, social posts, and Instagram stories to feel out whether the designer and/ or the studio feels like a fit on a personal/ personality level. We spend a lot of 1:1 time with our clients throughout the process, and it's important to us that it feels like a mutual fit on both a professional and personal level!

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4. Pay attention to the questions they ask you!

If a designer or sales person immediately prescribes their offer as the perfect solution without asking you any questions about your business, ask yourself what goals you’re looking to accomplish through the partnership (if any) before moving forward. Brand strategy and design are typically large-scale business investments. The best thing you can do for yourself as a business owner is to first determine the results you'd like to get out of this investment, and make sure that those results are attainable with the studio that you're engaing.

5. Consider long-term value when you’re looking at price.

If time is your most valuable asset, do you want to pay to have your brand re-done in a few years, again? There are a lot of places to cut corners when it comes to starting or building your business. While you can choose to brand on a low budget now, consider the reprecussions of having to redo all branded material down the line, and the potential effects this could have on your brand recoignition over time.

6. Invest in brand strategy before putting money into design.

If you’re in your business for the long haul, my heartfelt advice is to hire someone who creates a brand strategy with you. Especially if you’re struggling to attract your audience, or don’t have clear brand messaging. This insight will be infinitely more valuable to you long term than the upfront cost.

7. Get clarity on scope, timelines, and deliverables before your project begins to avoid any disappointment down the road.

8. Ask yourself how involved you’d like to be in the process.

There is a massive variety in the way different studios handle timelines, revisions, and 1:1 calls. If you're someone who craves face-time and the ability to ask questions and provide feedback, you might prefer working with a more hands-on studio that prioritizes Zoom and in-person calls instead of email, like us. If collaboration is important to you, make sure you take the time to ask about studio policies if they are unclear!

Not ready to brand just yet? Click here to grab our free guide to building a sticky brand that your customers can't get enough of.

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Until next time,

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Chelsea

Principal, Honey & Co.