We could assume Your business or brand is essentially your child; you care about it dearly and want the best for its success, correct? Then why would you ever supply it with sub-par resources? The fact that you have a company of any size means you have already sunk a great deal of time and resources into it yourself, mostly likely investing the absolute best to your ability that you can attain. Finding a graphic designer should be treated no differently, especially since visual graphics shape the face of your business and, in many cases, will be the first point of contact between you and the consumer. So what are your options?
In this article, I hope to outline your best and worst options. Starting from the bottom,
You may have heard of a few of them—design pickle or 99 designs, to name a few. These companies promise graphic design work on a next-to-nothing budget. They provide few services revolving around logos and other items within a quick turnaround period. How? By staging design "competitions" for freelance designers and rewarding the winning design with a small cut of the revenue. This is a terrible solution for every party involved in the transaction. For one, your company is staged to gain quick graphics with very little thought or work put into them. Those freelance designers participating in these competitions are not promised any payment whatsoever for their work. Why would anyone spend time crafting the best way to design your brand for free? Hundreds of amateur designers may enter their work in hopes of a quick buck, and with the advent of artificial intelligence, its given people the ability to pump out unlimited garbage, and every piece of unoriginal trash entered, is a means to win a quick $40. They don't care about your business. But by using these services, the value of graphic design as a service is treated as worthless, and in turn, you show the industry that you agree. Don't treat your company like trash, find a REAL graphic artist.
For some, this is not a terrible solution. Most designers have started their careers freelancing for local companies and friends and family. Myself included! The quality of work and responsiveness, however, will greatly depend on who you find. Many small businesses have turned to the freelancing community to find passionate and skilled individuals to shape their future. Every freelancer carries their own amount of experience and pricing structure, and it's great if you've found a partner! Looking for the perfect fit, though, can be very hit or miss. Either the price does not work for either party's level, or the designer may be inexperienced or unprofessional, in that the quality of work delivered may not be what you hoped, or your requests are not treated with priority, and you are stuck with someone unresponsive. If you have someone talented in mind, by all means, it's time to start designing! But if you're still looking and need design work right now, this might not be the best option.
I personally love and follow many of the leading design companies today. They elevate the design industry each in their own way and are always creating new standards for what is great graphic design. The only downside to major studios is that they often come at major prices. These teams, as great as they are, may not always be attainable for smaller businesses. As well, they work on a separate development schedule that's more accustomed to large projects. There is a discovery period, proposals that need to be approved, weeks of development time, and multiple contracts to sign. They are a standard for the level of industries they serve, and if your company is in a position to hire a huge team, then by all means! Your company deserves any way you can support it if it continues to support you.
We are not the only design service out there. Graphic design is at an all-time high as a service provided, and the amount of work that is needed is consistently growing. Every industry, no matter what it is, where it is, who they serve, or what they sell, is in some need of visual graphics at some point. New businesses in need of direction, old businesses in need of a refresh, or current businesses/ brands in need of constant design work, we can service them all.
H0ll0M is not a huge team; we are a family-owned business and are passionate about art and design. What separates us from a lot of companies and other design services is how intimately we are involved in our work. As a small business ourselves, we understand the importance of providing the absolute best resources to our company. We are not an anonymous online company; we are Sky and Mel, artists and designers, and we are on a constant mission to stay on top of the art and design industry. We love what we do, and we would love to use our unique style, our original concepts, our decade of experience, and our passions to help you reach your art and design goals. Our subscription service is aimed at making the transition of attaining excellent design work attainable to any industry quickly, professionally, and headache-free. Let's grow your business together!
Check out our design services page for more information on how we can help you.
