Logos, banners, business cards, website design – these are the things that most people think of when they hear the words ‘graphic design’ and ‘brand design’. But do you know the difference between them? Branding design and graphic design are not the same thing and it’s important to understand the role of both designers to decide which one can help you to grow your business. Read on to discover how brand designers differ from graphic designers and how to know which one is the right one for the task.
What Is Branding Design?
Branding refers to your brand identity; the way that your business is perceived. Branding not only includes all of the visuals associated with your brand, such as logos, typography and colour palette, but also your company values, customer service, social media presence and much more. A brand designer can help you to put together a cohesive brand identity that represents you and is immediately recognisable. This service is most often used with new businesses or when you want to rebrand an existing business.
What Is Graphic Design?
Graphic designers take your brand identity and provide the visuals to showcase it. This can include everything from website design to logos, business cards, social media banners, brochures, graphics, email signatures and more. They can also help you to maintain a consistent brand identity across all platforms to ensure that you look professional and on-brand at all times. A graphic designer is usually hired after a brand designer or when you already have a good idea of what your brand identity is. However, some graphic designers can also do the job of a brand designer and help you to build a brand identity first before producing stunning visuals to support it.
Brand Style Guide
The best way to decide whether you need a brand designer or a graphic designer is to use a brand brief checklist. If you can provide enough information for each question in the checklist, chances are you know your brand identity and are ready to hire a graphic designer to put it into action. If you are struggling to answer the questions, you may need to engage a brand designer who will create a brand style guide for your business.
We’ve put together a guide with the type of questions you’ll need to be able to answer before working with a graphic designer to design your logo:
- What is your business name?
- Do you have a supporting statement you would like to include?
- What business sector are you in?
- Detailed information about your products or services
- What is your Unique Selling Point?
- What are 5 keywords to describe your business?
- Who is your target market?
- Who are your competitors?
- List any company logos you like
- Is this a new logo or a redesign of a current one?
- List any colours and typography you like or want to avoid
- Additional ideas for graphics, elements and features
Let VB Designs Bring Your Brand To Life
Our talented team of local graphic designers can help with both graphic design and branding design to launch a new business or rebrand your existing one. If you’re unsure which type of design you need, give us a call today for a free consultation and we’ll be happy to guide you through the entire process!
