Looking for ways to save money? Cutting costs on design and branding might be one of the first places to start. If you’re a startup or established small business, DIYing your branding and design is tempting because it removes the added expense of hiring outside resources or additional team members.

But what you save by doing it on your own could cost you much more in the future. Let’s get into why DIY branding is attractive, which hazards to avoid, and when it makes sense to hand off your brand design to a pro.

Why DIY branding is so appealing

There are several reasons why business owners would want to take on the branding themselves or utilize on-demand software and generative AI. First, it saves money on upfront design costs. Second, it gives you complete control over the creative result.

All in all, it’s a pretty good deal when you’ve just started your business. And if your DIY brand is on point, it will work toward propelling your company in the future.

However, this often won’t be the case for most new businesses unless you’re already familiar with the fundamentals of design and branding, leaving you open to a few issues that could negatively affect your business.

The risks of DIY branding

Your brand extends well beyond what the logo looks like or which colors are used on a social media post. Its identity touches every aspect of how your company communicates with current and potential customers.

While DIYing your brand might be a cost-effective option during the early stages, it can have serious repercussions if you haven’t thought through your visual identity.

Lack of brand strategy
More often than not, when designing the brand yourself, the focus is more on the fun parts. You know, the visuals. However, placing more weight on your brand’s design without considering your broader strategy makes it difficult to create a connected brand story that resonates with customers.

Inconsistent visual identity
It’s not uncommon for businesses to piecemeal their brand identity, especially when starting out. Without a style guide tying everything together or someone managing the brand, it quickly becomes erratic and inconsistent. Colors are off-brand. The logo is misused. All of it affects brand credibility and customer perception.

Potential copyright infringement
AI logo creators provide an immediate result. However, there have been numerous instances where an AI generator’s design violated the trademark of an existing brand or intellectual property. The same thing can happen if you create a design that looks similar to another company’s identity. In these instances, it makes your business vulnerable to lawsuits and fines.

A lot goes into creating a brand that 1) connects with your buyers, 2) can stand on its own with unique visuals, and 3) coincides with your overarching strategy. And while DIYing your brand allows for a quick solution to put something out into the world, it can have far-reaching consequences for the brand’s future.

Taking the next step with brand & graphic designers

Bootstrapping your brand shouldn’t be forever, and there comes a time when it will benefit your business to bring in professionals to take it to the next level. Graphic and brand designers bring creative skills to the table to help visually position your company as professional and trustworthy.

Building a cohesive visual identity
With a unified message and brand identity, your business can deliver a consistent experience to your ideal customers. Professional designers take the elements of your existing identity and expand it so it is uniform across various channels. They can also create a new identity from the bottom up to coincide with your company’s mission, goals, and brand strategy.

Avoiding legal pitfalls
Designers aren’t attorneys, but they know how to do the research necessary to ensure their creations don’t infringe on another company’s brand. By doing this discovery work upfront, they can create an original logo or complete brand identity that doesn’t replicate another organization’s design.

Conveying your company’s value
Brand designers take complex concepts and visually translate them for audiences so they can understand them. They think about visual identities holistically to simplify the message your business wants to send. Creative professionals also consider how the brand translates across channels and aligns with your overall strategy.

Ultimately, they build on and elevate the foundation you initially developed to pair with your future branding and marketing strategies.

DIY branding to a point

There’s a time and place for DIYing your brand when you want to find ways to stretch your budget. However, try to think of it as a short-term solution. Doing it long-term could cause potential future problems revolving around brand inconsistency, disjointed strategies, or legal threats that could harm your reputation.

Knowing when to let go and partner with a professional can save a lot of headaches by creating a cohesive brand identity showing the value you offer to customers. They also remove the pressure of doing everything yourself, so you get the professionalism of a creative partner with the expertise to design a memorable brand.