Should You Hire a Designer or DIY?
Starting to build a new brand (or rebrand a current business) can be overwhelming. There's a ton of stuff you need to think about doing, not to mention the money needed to get things done. So when it comes to the design of your business brand or blog, when is totally acceptable to DIY, and when should you consider finding a designer to hire?
Wondering when you should hire a designer vs. DIY?
1. Time is of the essence
If you're on any kind of timeline, it's going to be incredibly important for you to focus on what you're good at. If that's NOT design, then the investment you'll make hiring someone to do it on time and do it right is so much more important. Trying to learn design principles, design programs, image sizing, file types...etc. is essentially costing you money in the form of your time. And it's costing a whole lot of it, especially if you wind up making any errors along the way and need to redo some of the work later.
When it's getting down to crunch time, leave the design to the experts so you can free up the necessary time to focus on running your business/blog.
2. You're building things slowly...
...and your cousin's friend's Brother knows how to use Wordpress
If you find yourself in this scenario, then hey! Maybe you have the time and energy to put towards learning some design techniques, getting familiar with the programs needed and starting to build up your design assets.
If you have the time needed, money for the tools, and some people in your network willing to show you around some of the technical sides of things, you may be able to get by with some good old DIY!
3. You have no idea what you're doing
I'm not trying to be insulting here, I swear. But if you have zero technical abilities and not much of an eye for good and functional design, it might be best to leave things up to the pros.
The time and money you'd invest in trying to learn a whole industry, get the right technical programs, and figure out techniques with trial and error will well surpass the investment of hiring someone who is educated in this field and who does this for a living.
4. You only need a business card designed
If you have your brand identity clearly setup and consistent and you need to create business cards with your logo and contact information (nothing fancy), there are a ton of online platforms to help you design and print your cards. Check out Moo Printing to see what I mean.
What it Boils Down to:
There are definitely ways for people to DIY their design needs these days. There are tons of platforms online and guides to help you along the way.
In some situations, it may be more cost effective to take on the project yourself! But on the same note, there are things that you can try and tackle yourself to save money, and there are things you should seek professional help with. I could try and DIY my manicure, but will it be of the same quality, and will it last as long as if I went to the spa down the street? Sure - if I'm just hanging out at home, I can DIY my nails. But if I'm heading out to a special event and want to be feel polished and spectacular, I would rather get the real deal that guarantees quality.
When it comes to your business, consider the value of the work you need done rather than the initial costs. Can you create the projects yourself, up to a standard you want to hold that also functions towards meeting your goals? Or will you spend more money, time and energy trying to wing it, then having to redo things, or hire someone else much later in the game?
