Your graphic designer emails you a proof and asks if you have any questions or changes. This is not the time to be distracted by pretty pictures and a nice layout, you must thoroughly inspect the file! If you’re new to working with designers, and you’re not sure what to look for, here is a general proofing checklist.

Before you spend thousands of dollars on new branding that you’ll use over the next 5-10 years, it’s important to understand what you actually need to avoid massive future setbacks. Part of that is ensuring you get the right logos – the right file types, color application, and design options. (Yes, you NEED more than one logo!)

Many new entrepreneurs fear that specializing their business will limit the pool of potential clients they could work with. They enter the market trying to be everything to everyone — appealing to every demographic and meeting every cost expectation. Sometimes they use a more established business as an example, thinking they must launch at the same scale and compete. This is generalizing. The reality is that generalizing positions your small business to compete against businesses that have already filled a market need and have already earned a loyal following.

The market is saturated with graphic designers with varying levels of experience, specialties, and rates. Many are capable and experienced, but a dynamite portfolio doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll develop a compatible working partnership. So, how do you find a qualified designer, whom you can trust to take care of your business as they would their own?

As a business owner approaching your next major project, you’ll likely need some creative help. You could hire a freelancer, a design studio, an agency, or you could recruit a new employee. But when they all seem to offer the same products such as logo design and websites, how do you choose your creative superhero? Besides cost, what is the difference?

In marketing, there is a single document that unites all of your vendors in planning new communication strategies and becomes the directive for what your advertising needs to do. It combines information about consumer behavior, your target market, your product, its position in the marketplace, and your product’s future goals. This document is known as a Project Brief.

Many people think that design is just about making things “pretty.” It’s this misconception that puts designers first on the chopping block when budgets get tight. Unbeknownst to many, experienced designers are valuable problem solvers. Design is not just a veneer. Good design is how something works and how something helps — functional solutions that are a product of the due diligence we designers call ‘Design Thinking.’

How many times have you walked into a wine shop and thought, how different could these 25 different $10 red blends really be? Then, how often do you default to choosing a bottle based on the label you liked? When it comes to discerning similar products and services, people turn to design to guide their decisions.

Sometimes new business owners get so excited to have a logo, they commission a designer before they’ve defined their business. But before your designer can create a custom, visual representation of your brand ideals, you have to know what they are. You may not have a full business plan written, but to avoid making a vanity purchase, we recommend beginning with a solid Positioning Statement.