Why hire someone like me, an Independent Designer rather than an Agency or a standard Graphic Designer?
The big picture
A standard graphic designer
There are heaps of graphic designers out there—but who should you hire? One approach is to decide what kind of thinking your project requires. Let’s say you need a logo. Many independent graphic designers (and companies offering cheap logo designs) are happy to dive right in and come up with some logo options for you. But sometimes solo designers get caught up in the details of executing a design, so focused on the details of a situation, that they are not seeing the bigger picture at all. They fail to think of the basics “How you fit among the competitors in the market place? Who is your target audience? How is your logo is applied to different channels? What is your brand story and how will it look in 2, 3 or 5 years. How is this logo the start of a complete identity system that can take your organization forward?” If questions like these are important to you (and they should be), not just any freelance graphic designer is a good fit for your project.
You might need bigger-picture thinking
What’s your budget?
A branding agency
Maybe a full-service agency is what you need. Agencies have more resources at their disposal than an independent graphic designer does. For branding projects that are large, complex, and require many different skills and specialties, consider enlisting an agency. A larger budget will be required to cover an agency’s greater overhead, and in general, turn-around time will be longer than with an independent graphic designer. Be clear on the desired outcomes for your engagement. Weeks of meetings about brand rationale can be helpful for some companies, but they can slow the process for those who need deliverables quickly. Not every logo update requires a detailed concise brand guide. In general, if your a big brand or business you don’t want to get the branding wrong and with more stakeholders, the more likely you would need to allocate a larger budget and hire a big agency. But this might not be the right route for you. There’s one more option.
Someone who see’s the Big Picture
Alex Wales (ME) … a creative of both worlds
I serve small to medium-sized businesses and helped startups who need big-picture thinking to shape their organisation. I have the experience of working in web, creative and marketing agencies and as an independent designer in art direction, leading teams and putting in design processes. I have resources at hand for more complex projects e.g. full branding process to web development. I always like being aware of the small details and the bigger picture of your business and believe in doing only what’s practical for you to market your business and achieve what you need to make your business grow. I value working efficiently, taking into consideration your brands needs and the scope of work. I want your investment in good design to start having immediate impact, and I believe I can help make your organization more recognizable and admired.