How to Find and Choose the Right Branding Agency for You

So, you’re FINALLY ready to invest in brand design, and are even feeling excited to create an elevated brand for your business. It feels good, doesn’t it?

All the happy feelings aside, before you can even dive into the fun parts of branding your business (see: choosing colors and reviewing logo concepts), you’ll have to choose the right branding agency for you. And with so many talented designers out there, it can be overwhelming to find the right fit! While you might appreciate and maybe even love a specific designer’s aesthetic, that aesthetic might not be the best fit for your unique brand.

So, we’ll teach you how to figure out your brand’s ideal style, as well as:

Where to look for a brand designer or agency
The truth about pricing quotes, and why some are $5k, and others are over $20k (!)
What questions you should ask when interviewing designers

See? We’ve got you covered.

How to Confidently (and Competently) Choose the Best Brand Designer for your Business.

Where to Look

Online directories - proactively narrow your search by going through a curated directory of talented brand designers. We recommend starting with the Creative Lady Directory and Freelancing Females!

Social media - many agencies are already fairly active on Instagram and Pinterest. Once you’ve built out a list of brand designers from your online directory search, look those designers up on Instagram and Pinterest to get a better understanding of their work. Social media offers a great opportunity for those creators to share snippets of past and current work, so you’ll also get a good feel for their personality. We also recommend checking out branding-specific hashtags like #branddesigner or #brandingagency to source designers, too!

Ask your entrepreneurial friends - if you’re really concerned about finding the *right* fit, try asking fellow business owners for their recommendations. There’s no better way to search than through people you trust!

4 Things to Keep In Mind

Style – Just like fashion or interiors, brand design can come in many different styles! The design style you choose for your brand can completely transform how people perceive your business. So, when looking for a brand designer or agency, it’s important to consider the style they typically work with, and whether that style aligns with the direction you want to take your business in. Some brand design agencies are capable of working in a variety of styles, but you’ll notice after reviewing their work that there are still common themes in their projects. Try to narrow your list down to designers who either specialize in the style you’re looking for, or who showcase a common theme throughout their work that appeals to your business’ needs.
Experience – Do you want to work with a designer who has experience working with other brands in your same industry? Or, would you prefer to work with a designer who works with brands who have goals that are similar to yours? Take some time to weigh the pros and cons of either, before you start your search. This will help to ensure that you search for the right kind of brand designer or agency!
Working Style / Agency Size – Every agency operates a bit differently, depending on their size and process. One thing to consider is what kind of working relationship you’d like to have with your designer or design team. If you want a close, collaborative relationship and lots of 1:1 time with your designer, we recommend opting for a smaller, boutique-style agency.
Budget – How much money are you expecting to spend on branding your business? If you’ve already received quotes from a few designers, you’ve probably noticed that pricing varies pretty drastically from agency to agency. There are a ton of factors that go into the cost of a design project, like time, experience and value. Because every business’ needs are different, most agencies don’t list pricing on their websites. Instead, they’ll provide custom quotes after having an intro call to discuss your unique needs.
So, be prepared to learn about pricing after you’ve spoken to each designer, and always be upfront about what your budget is. And, if you’re curious about what goes into the pricing of design projects, just read this blog post!

Questions to ask

Consider this your must-have list of questions to keep handy as you search for your perfect brand designer!

What kind of clients have you worked with in the past?
What types of projects do you enjoy working on the most?
What is your process like? How many concepts will we get to see?
How many rounds of revisions will be allowed?
Are there any other design deliverables that you would suggest to help our business get to where we want to be?

We recommend asking each and every designer the same set of questions - it’ll make the final decision-making process that much easier.