Can you really create a professional brand using AI and DIY tools? Drew and Michael talk with a real-life graphic designer to find out how they stack up against Midjourney, Canva, and other small business design options.
In a world where graphic design tools are at our fingertips, the value of a graphic designer has become even more vital. Workable.com states that graphic designers “produce visual concepts to communicate ideas that inspire, inform, and captivate consumers. They are responsible for developing various types of creative content.” A designer has the ability to translate a client’s vision into visual media. Whether it be a logo, brochure, or more, they can help the client reach the marketing goal.
In this episode of Marketing Rocketfuel, Drew and Michael sit down with Jennifer Hart, a graphic designer who has been in the industry for 7 years. Jennifer provides an honest perspective on DIY graphic tools and their impact on the industry. Jennifer, Drew, and Michael explain how with any tool, it’s the person behind the tool that can make or break the branding for your business.
Artificial Intelligence and Graphic Design
Previously, Drew and Michael discussed the usefulness of Artificial Intelligence (AI) for marketing. With the introduction of AI, marketing will look very different in the future. AI has the capability to generate graphics. Many graphic services like MidJourney, Shutterstock, and Canva have AI tools.
The Drawbacks of AI
Artificial Intelligence can generate an image that is generic. If you need a logo, however, that is consistent, specific, and used on a variety of platforms, AI will not meet your expectations. A drawback to AI is that it does not create logo variations in a “vector” format, meaning that an image will not magnify without getting blurry. Another downside to Artificial Intelligence is that it cannot generate texts and typefaces. As a result, you will be disappointed if you use an image with an AI tool to will grow your brand.
As a side note, you can not trademark AI-generated graphics. Therefore, the generated images are not solely yours. Your brand could essentially look like someone else’s brand. This could be very confusing for your current and would-be customers.
A Graphic Designers Perspective
Truthfully, many graphic designers feel threatened by the use of AI. Graphic designers take great pride in the images they create. In addition, Jennifer notes that there is a human factor between an artist and a client that AI does not have at this point. AI will still need the expertise of a graphic designer to craft a quality product.
With that, Jennifer understands AI can be a useful tool moving forward. One key point that Jennifer makes is that people will need to thoroughly consider the ramifications of graphic design automation. We need to consider how to ethically and morally use AI as a tool.
Graphic Design Quickie Services
Due to having a limited marketing budget, many mom-and-pop businesses use a quickie service to meet their graphic design needs. What exactly is a “quickie service?” A graphic design quickie service is a fast and affordable option for obtaining simple graphic design work, such as a quick logo design, business card design, or social media post.
This type of service usually offers pre-designed templates or a limited set of design options with a quick turnaround time. Typically they have a lower price than hiring a professional graphic designer for a custom project. For example, a free tool like Canva will provide you with a clip art image, but it will only be in one format. You may be able to use it against a dark background. However, if you need to place it over a light background, it won’t work. Quickie services limit your ability to put visuals in different places.
You Get What You Pay For
For services like Fiverr that connect you to freelance graphic designers, you send information about your company and then wait for a design to be created based on the information you provide. While a graphic design quickie service may not offer the same customization or creativity as a professional graphic designer, it can be a convenient option for small businesses or individuals with limited budgets who need a simple design solution quickly.
However, it’s important to note that the quality of work and level of customer support can vary between different quickie design services.
Whether you use Canva, Fiverr, or some other quickie service, if you don’t know how to utilize it’s useless.
How a Graphic Designer Can Help You
As Michael states, your company will reap the benefits of what you put into it. Therefore, hiring a graphic designer can have a huge impact on how far-reaching your brand can go. Graphic designers can play an important role in establishing brand value by creating designs that effectively communicate a brand’s values, personality, and unique selling points. Here are some ways that graphic designers can help to establish brand value:
- Creating a strong visual identity: A graphic designer can create a visual identity system for a brand that includes a logo, color palette, typography, and other design elements that are consistent across all brand communications. This helps to establish a strong and recognizable brand identity, which can increase brand awareness and value.
- Designing marketing materials: A graphic designer can create marketing materials such as brochures, flyers, and social media graphics that effectively communicate a brand’s value proposition and key messages to target audiences. Well-designed marketing materials can help to differentiate a brand from competitors and increase brand value.
- Developing a brand style guide: A graphic designer can create a brand style guide that outlines how the brand should be represented visually across different media channels. This helps to ensure consistency in brand messaging and design, which can contribute to building brand trust and value.
- Incorporating storytelling: Graphic designers can incorporate storytelling elements into designs that help to convey a brand’s values, mission, and unique story. Storytelling can help to create an emotional connection with customers, which can increase brand loyalty and value.
Jennifer Hart reiterates that branding is not simply your logo. Business branding is so much more. A graphic designer can help you anticipate all of the case scenarios in which you will need to have a visual representation of your company. From brochures to billboards, a graphic designer can create images that are designed for many promotional materials.
Overall, graphic designers can help to establish brand value by creating designs that effectively communicate a brand’s identity, key messages, and unique selling points in a visually appealing and compelling way.
Action Tip: Take an Honest View of Your Branding
Does your brand communicate what you want your business to represent? Think about the Apple company. When you see that logo, you know the brand. Have someone you know provide honest feedback about what they think of when they see your brand.
Does your brand have a brand guideline of how it will be used? Do they have a consistent look and feel? Or do you have no clue where to start?
Need Help With Branding?
Escape Plan Marketing sponsored this discussion about Graphic Designers. Reach out for more information and a free marketing audit with Drew at Escape Plan.
Make sure to like, comment, and subscribe to the Marketing Rocketfuel podcast.
Now Playing On: 
