GROWING YOUR BUSINESS RELATIONSHIP WITH A PROFESSIONAL DESIGNER

It is always an amazing feeling to be part of something beautiful, growing and great! After an intimate creative consultation with Lisa, the owner and creative behind Starr Designs, where we assessed her branding and business needs, we did a branding overhaul – we created a new logo and brand, shot new marketing images to showcase her gorgeous collections and introduced one of the first lovely new faces we will be using to front her products. We created a cohesive, upmarket, accessible and beautiful new business image for her and she couldn’t be happier; that of course is the ultimate success, a happy, excited client, proud and excited about her products and ready to work together to grow a solid working relationship! Awesomeness!

What followed has been nothing short of amazing. Starr Designs literally grew wings and soared, in less than 2 short months, which is practically overnight in business terms. She’s now receiving requests from across the country, coast to coast in fact, from shop owners excited to buy and stock her products in their shops. Pause for applause. Well done Lisa!

Regardless of if one has sort of a hazy idea to begin with OR even a strong mental picture of what your logo, brand and business image should be like, it takes a lot to step back and trust anyone, even a design professional, to execute your vision. What many people don’t understand is that most experienced designers, especially in todays business forum, have not only design training and professional experience, but many design with additional social media knowledge as well as business experience which adds a new level of perspective too. These designers have likely worked in the corporate and small business arenas on both larger and smaller brands. Each of us has our own passion and niche. Many of us have specialised after having worked in one mainstream design industry or another.

What I am saying is this: ultimately a highly experienced, trained, professional designer, given the chance, will likely produce something that exceeds the clients expectations and will ultimately lead the client down paths they didn’t even know existed. It is our business to be in the know about what is out there, what is trending, what is the latest in fonts, colours and styles PLUS work with a basic knowledge and awareness of the local and global economy.

‘Beware of artists. They mix with all classes of society and are therefore most dangerous.’ – Queen Victoria 

We know when to reign in the funky design for a more corporate feel, we know, based on in depth discussions with clients, what would work for their business and create an appeal for their market. This is not pie in the sky, airy fairy, ‘feel it out’, shoot in the dark and hope to hit our mark situation, but over an above their training degree(s), rather this is a practised daily learning, watching, reading, researching, keeping up with our industry, ongoing growth plan that looks like intuition, but really isn’t! All this adds up to being good at what we do. Placing your trust in a DESIGN PARTNER for your business is like investing in an open minded, lateral thinking, problem solving new member of staff … less the hassles of paying a set salary and dealing with HR issues!

Choose a designer whose work shows signs of growing, changing, evolving and moving with the times – most designers worth their salt have a good online portfolio, check it out, do they have a wide range or clients and work examples? Chances are that if they have a variable mix of clients that they would make the effort to work within the style you need instead of mass producing work within their own style. Make sure you share the same work ethic and are on the same page in terms of concrete contracts, deadlines and payment.

What many clients forget is that while they are seeking out qualities in their designer to suit their own needs, a professional designer is making the same assessment as to whether you stand up to qualities that they are looking for in their clients – they seek out great assignments AND great people to work with, it is NOT all about the money.

Starr Designs is but one example of the awesome relationships I look for in my clients and it’s even better when a bond is formed and trust is shared. Having great and open communication channels keeps ideas alive, keeps enthusiasm high and makes a creative person want to always go that extra mile … and when we do … KABOOM! All the good things happen.

* Click here to see Lisa’s client review

* Thanks to my amazing clients for trusting me with your branding and business image, I appreciate you letting me ‘do my thing’ within your business visions and I look forward to us reaping the fruitful rewards of your growing businesses together!