Most business owners in Schaumburg don't concern themselves with kerning and color palettes, they think about payroll, foot traffic, if that new employee is working out. Design is one of those things that sits quietly in the background until it becomes the deciding factor in why a customer scrolls past one site and not the other. That is the reality of good and bad visuals, they do not save an otherwise incompetent business, but they do bury good ones before they have a chance to shine. This is not an article to sell you on the importance of design, it is simply a piece outlining exactly what graphic design Schaumburg IL entails, the value of it, and how to get it without wasting money. If you own a shop, run a service company or manage marketing for someone else's business around here, some of what is below will resonate. 

Why Schaumburg Businesses Should Care About Design

Schaumburg doesn't have the feel of a small town anymore with Woodfield pulling in customers from three counties over, a business district full of competitors and customers conditioned to see the best visuals from big box stores all the time. It is easy for a local shop to get overlooked for a bigger chain and harder to explain to a confused customer why the look of a local business seems different, even if it is subconsciously intuitive. Larger companies understand this and invest in their image because it does create a lasting first impression, one that often decides if a customer will even engage further. A customer forms an opinion about a business in about the same time it takes to blink, and this opinion is formed based on what they see rather than what they are told. If you own or run any type of business near Schaumburg IL and haven't been investing in your design, you may be wasting opportunities to earn trust and loyalty before someone engages with you.

What Graphic Design Covers

When people think of graphic design, most think of a logo and perhaps a business card, but this is only a small part of what a designer can do for a business. A graphic designer covers everything that relates to a visual identity for a business, which includes:

• a logo

• website layout and graphics

• product packaging if needed

• signage

• menus if applicable

• presentation graphics for clients

• icons and more

Essentially, everything that a customer sees that identifies a business as one entity and not several is the domain of a designer to create a seamless and intuitive experience. Many companies in Schaumburg outsource each part of their design to different individuals, creating an unbalanced and unrelated feel to different parts of their marketing, even though they may come from the same source. This is a common pain point for businesses that opt to use different freelancers for different parts of their marketing, without a holistic approach.

The Cost Of Cheap Design

I will say it, cheap design is rarely a good investment. Paying $50 for a logo via a freelance site may look great for a month, then another $100 to update it for a billboard, a black and white print ad and your delivery vans, only to realize it looks terrible on larger scales, doesn't scale well in black and white or is simply unimpressive on a larger surface. This is a common cycle and not because a designer was inept, rather because a designer worth their salt will ask plenty of questions before they start, which will add to the cost of a logo, website or other graphic. A designer worth their salt asks the important questions, who is the customer, what do competitors look like, how will this graphic be used? This process is longer and adds to the cost of graphics, but the results speak for themselves and a logo that lasts for years rather than needing to be replaced every spring.

What Is And Isn't Branding

People make the mistake of thinking of a logo as branding, when actually branding defines exactly what a logo and a business should look like as a whole. Branded elements are the choices made by a designer that evoke a certain feeling from a customer when engaging with a business, such as a preferred color palette, tone of voice in social media posts or a consistent look across invoices and other documents. I have personally seen businesses with great logos fail because the rest of their presentation was made without regard to their branding, creating an inconsistent and unprofessional feel. In many ways, that inconsistency hurts a business more than an inept look would, as it suggests to a customer that a business is unsure of itself. Strong branding means that a customer could see parts of marketing, even without identifying marks and know intuitively it is from a particular company. This requires intention across all of a company's presentation, and should be done by a designer that considers how their work reflects a brand as a whole.

Print Is Dead, Long Live Print

There is a perception that print is dead and that everything should be done digitally, but this is not the case in Schaumburg where a large portion of the economy revolves around brick and mortar establishments, including Woodfield's heavy presence of restaurants and the convention center's need for large graphics. These large graphics are required in part because print media still plays a role in the local economy, from direct mail that customers still respond to, compared to dozens of emails they ignore, to menus that subtly suggest which dishes are popular. Print media does not exist to drive customers to brick and mortar shops, it exists to reinforce their presence in a market saturated with other options. The mistake many businesses make is underestimating the importance of print, creating simple designs in applications they don't fully understand. This is an easy out for businesses to cut costs, but customers will notice a poorly designed menu or sign and react accordingly. Print design follows the same principles of digital design, but applied to different mediums and an important part of any business' presentation.

Common Mistakes Local Businesses Make With Their Visuals

When it comes to mistakes businesses make with their design, there are a few that stand out consistently.

• The use of multiple fonts, including in a single flyer or on a social media post.

• Using stock images that are widely seen in other businesses in the local vicinity.

• Making a site mobile responsive, when no customers actually use a mobile browser.

• Not having brand guidelines, so new hires or freelancers can create things without reference to existing branding.

• And finally, not having consistency between pieces, especially changing drastically for new logos for no particular reason, which hurts returning customers that should intuitively recognize a brand but don't.

These mistakes individually do not hurt a business, but they slowly erode at a business' professionalism and ability to intuitively suggest a business to a customer. Fixing these problems are rarely expensive, but they do require someone to look critically at what is wrong and be honest about it.

Choosing A Designer Near You

When it comes to finding a designer in the first place, there are some questions that are worth asking.

• A portfolio, but not of just pretty pictures, asking what a designer has done for clients in the past and how satisfied they were.

• Asking how they handle revisions, since they will always want changes, everyone knows that.

• Asking if they think about branding as a whole or just individual elements.

• And finally, if they understand the industry a business is in at least a little, as a designer for a financial company will have different needs than one for a medical practice or construction company.

A local designer is also important, as they understand the area more than anyone else should and bring a different perspective to the table than someone who may be thousands of miles away. The local aspect informs everything a designer does subtly, but it still informs it enough to be worth considering.

Conclusion

At the end of the day, design is not an enhancement to a business; it is a method of communication. Every graphic a business puts out there, from a flyer in a shop to a social media post, has a message and presents a company in a certain way to customers before they say anything at all. For businesses in and around Schaumburg IL, this cannot be ignored anymore, as a more competitive economy demands more from businesses seeking to engage local customers with a lasting first impression. Along with strong visual branding, working with experienced SEO companies Schaumburg IL can help businesses improve their online visibility and connect with customers actively searching for their services. It does not need to be complicated or expensive, just thought out and honest about what a business stands for. If you have been hesitant to invest in an overhaul to your local business' presentation, that hesitation may be wasting potential by not presenting a business in the best light possible. 309 Marketing works with businesses all over Schaumburg looking to hone in on what defines them, turning a collection of unrelated graphics and marketing efforts into something that actually represents a business well. Worth speaking to for any business that wants to put its best foot forward.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is graphic design in Schaumburg IL like in terms of cost?

There is a wide range that depends on what is needed, a simple logo might cost a few hundred dollars, while a whole branding project can stretch into the thousands. What matters most is how much work and revision goes into a project, rather than just the final graphics.

How long does a branding project take?

It depends on how much work is involved, but as a rule of thumb most branding projects take between three and eight weeks with proper feedback.

Should small businesses care about design in Schaumburg?

Yes, they should. Even small shops compete with larger chains and need to present themselves well to earn trust and loyalty from customers.

Can I use templates instead of a designer in Schaumburg?

It is possible, but it is not advisable to invest in something unique that represents a business well. Templates tend to be used by many companies in the local vicinity and can dilute a business' presentation.

What is the difference between a logo designer and a branding agency?

A logo designer focuses on a single element, while a branding agency looks at a whole business and what it needs to put together a compelling and intuitive presentation.