How to Choose a Brand Designer (and Not End Up Paying Twice)
Hiring a brand designer should be exciting.
Instead, for most business owners, it feels like standing in the cereal aisle at the supermarket after a long day—overstimulated, under-informed, and one bad decision away from choosing something you immediately regret.
Everyone looks legit.
Everyone says they’re strategic.
Everyone’s portfolio looks… Okay?
So you do what most smart, capable business owners do when faced with too many options and not enough information: you guess.
And that’s how businesses end up paying for branding twice.
Why Hiring a Brand Designer Feels So Confusing
Here’s the part no one tells you upfront: there is no standard definition of “brand designer.”
Some designers mean “I design logos.”
Some mean “I make things look cohesive.”
Some genuinely mean “I help businesses clarify who they are, who they’re for, and how to communicate that clearly.”
They all use the same title.
Which is why pricing feels unhinged, advice feels contradictory, and the decision feels way riskier than it should.
The problem isn’t that you don’t know enough about branding. It’s that you’re being asked to evaluate strategy using visuals alone.
And branding doesn’t work that way.
What Most Business Owners Think They’re Hiring (and What They Actually Need)
Most business owners go into this process thinking they’re hiring someone to “make things look professional.”
That’s not wrong. It’s just incomplete.
Because looking professional isn’t the end goal.
Being chosen by your target audience is.
Your brand is doing a job long before you ever get on a call, write a proposal, or explain what you do for the hundredth time at a dinner party. It’s signalling whether you’re credible, whether you’re relevant, and whether you’re worth paying attention to.
❌ A designer who only focuses on aesthetics can make something look nice.
✅ A designer who understands strategy can make something work.
That distinction matters more than most people realize.
Logo Designer vs Strategic Brand Designer: What’s the Real Difference?
Think of it this way…
Hiring a logo-only designer is like choosing an outfit without knowing where you’re going. It might look great on the hanger, but once you step into the room, you realize it’s wrong for the context, the audience, and the outcome you actually wanted.
Strategic branding works the other way around.
It starts with understanding the room you’re walking into:
your market
your customers
your competitors
your goals
Only then does it decide what you should wear.
One approach focuses on output. The other focuses on impact.
And this is where many businesses get stuck—not because they chose badly, but because they didn’t know there was a difference to choose between.
Before You Spend Thousands on Design…
Most businesses don’t need a new logo — they need a better foundation.
The Brand Strategy Blueprint helps you define your position, messaging, and direction before you hire a designer — so you don’t pay twice or outgrow your brand six months later.
The Questions That Actually Tell You If a Brand Designer Is Right for You
You don’t need to understand branding jargon to hire well. You just need to listen carefully to how a designer thinks.
1. Start with how they get to know your business.
If the process jumps straight into visuals, styles, or trends without deeply understanding your audience, positioning, and goals, that’s a red flag. Design without context is guesswork, no matter how experienced the designer is.
2. Next, ask how they make decisions.
A strategic designer can explain why something works—not just that it looks good. They can articulate how colour, typography, and layout support your message and influence perception. If everything is framed as preference rather than intention, the brand will eventually feel flimsy.
Before you hire a brand designer, build your brand foundation.
This done-with-you service defines your positioning, messaging, audience, and point of difference — so design isn’t guesswork it’s growth.
3. Then ask how the brand will help you attract the right clients.
This question often reveals whether someone is thinking beyond aesthetics. Strong branding isn’t about appealing to everyone; it’s about being clear enough that the right people feel seen and the wrong people self-select out.
4. Finally, ask what happens after the logo is done.
Brands don’t live in folders. They live on websites, social platforms, proposals, packaging, and emails. A designer who considers how a brand is used in the real world will set you up far better than one who hands over files and disappears.
The Red Flags That Usually Show Up Later
Most branding mistakes don’t feel like mistakes at the time.
They show up months later as hesitation when selling, confusion in messaging, or the creeping feeling that your business has outgrown how it looks and sounds.
Common warning signs include
a lack of strategy
an inability to explain decisions
a focus on deliverables rather than outcomes.
None of these mean someone is a bad designer—but they do mean the work may not support long-term growth.
And growth is usually the whole point.
What Good Branding Feels Like When It’s Done Properly
When branding is done well, business owners rarely talk about the logo itself.
They talk about how much easier everything feels.
They stop over-explaining.
They feel more confident in their pricing.
They attract clients who “just get it.”
That ease isn’t accidental. It’s what happens when clarity, strategy, and design are working together instead of fighting for attention.
Why Paying Less Upfront Often Costs More in the Long Run
Many businesses don’t realize they’ve outgrown their brand until it starts getting in the way.
At that point, they’re not just redesigning a logo. They’re undoing rushed decisions, re-educating their audience, and rebuilding trust that never fully formed the first time.
That’s why the most expensive branding choice is often the one that had to be redone.
Not because the original designer was bad—but because the brand never had strategy and was never built to grow.
The Bottom Line
Hiring a brand designer isn’t about finding the cheapest option or the prettiest portfolio.
It’s about choosing someone who understands that branding isn’t decoration—it’s a business tool designed to support growth, clarity, and confidence.
If your brand isn’t helping customers choose you with ease, it’s probably costing you more than you think.
And if you’re ready to stop guessing and start building a brand that actually supports where your business is going next:
If you’re done guessing and want branding that actually supports growth and confidence — you can explore strategic branding services or book a free strategy call to talk it through.
About the Author
I’m Liz Kroft, a Santa Cruz California-based marketing strategist and founder of Aviso Studios.
With a Digital Marketing certification from Harvard Business School, I help small businesses and entrepreneurs across the U.S. grow through branding, website design, SEO and digital marketing that actually gets results.
Ready to get seen? — Want help boosting your visibility, optimizing your website, or growing your brand with strategy that actually works? Explore marketing services or schedule a free strategy call today.
