The problem with the field of graphic design is that it is underestimated as a profession. I am not sure where this general attitude came from, but if I ever pinpoint the reason and time, I will do my best to build myself a time machine to alter history forever.
Being told daily that your work is not worth the same as everyone else’s has had a major impact on the egos of designers everywhere. A divide among designers has cropped up, some have an ego that has grown too large in order to keep the harsh criticisms from causing damage, and the others have almost non-existent egos that allow the customer to walk all over them because they believe that their work is not worth the same as everyone else’s.
I am here to give designers hope. Here are a few solid reasons why hiring a
graphic designer is worth every penny.
Customers end up
paying the same amount for a pre-press designer to fix files they created,
as they would have on a designer to create the files from scratch.
As good as you may be with Publisher, Word, MAC Pages or any
other program that you think you can design in, all of these programs do not
produce print ready documents.
What do I mean by print ready? I mean that the black ink is set to 100%
black ink only, that the colors are converted to CMYK, and that if a bleed is
needed it will be built into the final file.
If you really are good with Publisher, Word, MAC Pages or any other
program, then you will know that all of these items are possible to achieve in
those programs, but not easily. If you
have no idea what it is I am talking about, then you shouldn’t be attempting to
design things yourself anyways, hire a designer!
As a pre-press designer for a printing company, I have seen
first hand what those types of files can produce and it is not pretty.
Most of the time, I have to spend hours adding bleeds and
converting colors just to get those files through our file processing system,
and even then they almost always don’t print the way the customer intended.
Every print shop will charge you an hourly rate if they have
to spend a lot of time fixing a file before printing. Most of the time the hourly rate they charge
for fixing a file, is the same rate as they charge for graphic design.
If you are going to pay a design fee, you may as well send
it to a designer from the start!
Professional designers have either spent years figuring out
what works and what doesn’t when it comes to layout, or they spend a lot of
money on an education to learn those same lessons. Personally, I learned things
the hard way.
The price you pay for
a designer incorporates either the education they have received, or the amount
of working experience they have.
Early in my career, I spent a lot of time sending files that were rejected by printing companies time and again, but after 13 years, I can now explain
that the price we charge for my services is worth every penny.
If you are skeptical about what price you are paying for a
designer, ask. Ask them where they
learned their trade and ask them for samples of their work. Their work should reflect the price you are
being charged.
Even if the price seems high, a professionally designed ad
or marketing piece is well worth the money.
Professionally
designed items have more impact on target audiences.
I don’t think anyone would argue against the concept that a
good design is more effective than a bad design. Take a look at the sample below.
Which design would you prefer? Design A was a file sent to me by one of my
customers (I have left off the company logo and information in order for my
client to remain anonymous). The file
was designed in Microsoft Publisher.
Luckily my customer was smart enough to realize that what they could do
in Publisher didn’t make the impression they wanted, so I created Design B for
them.
Design B isn’t much different from their original design,
but you can see that even a slightly more professional design makes a
difference in the overall impression of the piece. Instead of looking sloppy, the company looks
organized. Instead of looking like a
business that cuts corners whenever they can, the company looks like they are
willing to spend a little money to make their customers happy.
If a design turns even one customer away from using your
services, then your design has failed.
Hiring a professional designer will ensure that the advertising or
marketing piece will have the impact that you are looking for. Not only will the final product look better, but your target audience
will respond in kind as well.
Your post is well written and engaging. You make a good argument that hiring a professional from the start would be a better move and it carries well through the whole piece. Well done!
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