If you’re a small business owner, chances are, you’re an expert in your field. You’ve served clients through a tried-and-true process, you’ve shared your expertise, and you’ve used your knowledge and experience to equip your clients for success.

Part of being an expert often means being able to explain different aspects of your business or process clients are naturally unfamiliar with. The same is true for brand and web design. That’s why, today, we’re sharing 5 common misconceptions about brand and web design. Perhaps believing one of these misconceptions prevented you from pursuing brand and web design in the past, so we’re excited to shine a light on each! 

5 Common Misconceptions About Brand and Web Design

Over the years, we’ve hired fellow creative small businesses to help With Grace and Gold in certain key areas — a copywriter to help with website copywriting, a videographer to create brand videos, and a social media manager to help with content creation. Naturally, we held certain existing beliefs about what was required of us before we began our experience, or what the experience would be like; we had questions along the way — and once our experience was complete, we realized, had we believed certain misconceptions, we may not have pursued or journeyed through those experiences altogether. 

So, whether you’ve been on the fence about brand and web design, or you’d simply like to be sure you’re understanding your brand and web design experience correctly — we are hopeful today’s episode serves as a helpful resource regarding those common misconceptions.

1. I need to have a clear vision for my brand and web design before hiring a designer. Actually, hiring a brand and web designer means you do not need to have a clear or complete vision for your brand and web design. Your brand and web designer will be able to ask certain questions and gather certain pieces of information or content in order to understand your vision and goals — and develop a purpose-driven brand and web design for your business. Put simply, a clear vision isn’t needed prior to hiring a brand and web designer, because your brand and web designer will provide proposed designs which will strategically-align with your vision and goals. 
2. I need to have all of my content and copywriting curated before hiring a designer. While every design business is unique, we allot time before our design process begins for you to gather your content and copywriting. At With Grace and Gold, we share a checklist with our clients so they can gather the content and copywriting we recommend. Therefore, hiring your chosen brand and web designer before curating your content and copywriting is likely a better path forward!
3. A primary logo design is all I need for my brand design. We believe a complete and cohesive brand design consists of a primary logo design, an array of secondary logo designs — also known as submarks — pattern or texture designs, a color palette, and font styles. These foundational visual elements help to create a complete and cohesive brand.
4. I should be prepared to share what I like from other brands and web designs I’ve seen. While every design business is unique, we prefer for our clients not to share with us what they like or have seen from other brands and web designs. That way, we can learn about and understand their vision and goals — and create a one-of-a-kind brand and web design aligned with their unique business. We often say, it’s possible for what we present to you to be even better, creative, or more effective than what has been done or seen before. So, having openness and a willingness to see what your brand and web designer will present to you can be really valuable. 
5. If my designer doesn’t receive my approval right away, maybe they aren’t the right designer for me. Actually, most design processes include a revision and refinement process, because communication and collaboration are valued parts of the design process. For With Grace and Gold, designs we present and propose are a blend of what you will love and feel connected to, what your Ideal Client will love and feel connected to, and what is forward-thinking in your field. So, naturally, it’s highly likely for the first designs we propose to be different from what our clients may have expected. However, with kind and open communication and a willingness to collaborate, we help our clients move forward a design they love and feel proud of. Rarely do we recommend cancelling following a first proposal; instead, we usually recommend sharing feedback with your brand and web designer, and trusting in their expertise and approach. A good rule of thumb is: If you hired your brand and web designer because of the quality of their completed work, and because of the promising results they’ve created for their past clients — trusting the process is likely a helpful decision. 

We are so hopeful today’s episode helps to shine a light on key areas of the brand and web design experience — and equips you to confidently pursue or journey through your unique brand and web design process, too!

About Brand It, Build It Podcast, Hosted by Kelly Zugay

Hosted by Kelly Zugay, co-founder of With Grace and Gold, The Brand It, Build It Podcast is a leading small business marketing podcast for small business owners, creatives, and founders. Weekly, brief, actionable episodes will equip you to build a successful, sustainable small business.