If you’ve been looking for someone to help with your brand, you’ve probably come across a few different titles: brand designer, brand identity designer, graphic designer, branding agency. So what does a brand designer actually do?

The short answer is that they help shape how your business looks and feels. But there’s more to it than making a logo and picking out some colors. A good brand designer wants to understand the business first. What are you trying to accomplish? Who are you trying to reach? What makes you different? Where are you trying to go? Those answers should have an impact on the design.

What Does a Brand Designer Do?

A brand designer builds the visual identity of a business. That can include a logo, color palette, typography, graphic elements, photography direction, packaging, and guidelines for using everything consistently.

But I don’t think the individual pieces are the most important part. The thinking that happens before the design is. Before I start designing, I want to understand what the business is actually trying to say. I’ll look at the audience, competitors, positioning, personality, and goals. From there, I can start making decisions about what the brand should look and feel like. Without that step, you’re mostly choosing aesthetics.

And there’s nothing wrong with making something aesthetically pleasing. But good branding should have a reason behind it.

Brand Designer vs. Graphic Designer

There’s a lot of overlap between the two, and many designers do both.

Generally speaking, a graphic designer is often brought in to create specific pieces of communication. That could be a brochure, social graphic, advertisement, presentation, or other marketing material.

A brand designer is working more on the foundation those pieces are built on. If you already have a strong brand identity and need someone to design a few social posts, you probably don’t need a brand designer. But if your business is changing, your current identity isn’t working, or you don’t have a clear visual direction to begin with, that’s a different problem. That’s where a brand designer can help.

A Logo Is Only One Part of Your Brand

One of the first things I usually clarify with a new client is that a logo isn’t the entire brand. It’s an important part, but it’s one piece of a much larger system. Think about the brands you recognize immediately. You probably don’t recognize them because of their logo alone. You recognize their colors, typography, photography, packaging, layouts, tone, and the way all of those things work together. That’s what makes an identity feel cohesive. And  it’s also why simply changing a logo doesn’t always fix a brand.

Maybe the business has grown. Maybe it’s trying to attract a different type of customer. Maybe the original identity was created quickly and never really had a strategy behind it. Sometimes the logo needs to change. Sometimes the whole visual identity does. And sometimes the answer is something in between.

When Should You Hire a Brand Designer?

There isn’t one specific point in the life of a business when you suddenly need a brand designer. But there are a few situations where it makes sense.

You might be:

• Starting a business and want to build the right foundation from the beginning
• Growing into a more premium market
• Launching a new product or service
• Realizing your current brand no longer represents the business
• Struggling to make your marketing feel consistent
• Preparing for a major change in the business
• Spending more on marketing without feeling like the brand reflects the quality of what you’re offering

That last one is especially common. I’ve worked with businesses where the actual product or service was much better than the brand made it appear. The business had grown, but the identity was still communicating where the company had been years earlier. That’s a good reason to take another look at the brand.

What Should You Look for in a Brand Designer?

I’d start with the portfolio, but I wouldn’t stop there. Look at the work and ask yourself whether you like the designer’s aesthetic. That’s important. You’re going to spend a lot of time looking at what they create. But also pay attention to how they got there. Do they ask questions about your business before designing? Can they explain why they made certain decisions? Do they show how an identity works beyond a logo on a presentation slide? Do they seem interested in your business, or are they mostly interested in showing you what they can make? And  don’t be afraid to ask about their process.

There’s no single right process for branding, but there should be some thought behind it. If the entire process is essentially “I’ll send you a few logos and you pick one,” you’re probably hiring someone for logo design rather than brand identity. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. It just means you should know what you’re paying for.

Do You Actually Need a Brand Designer?

Maybe. If you need a single piece of design, a graphic designer might be the better choice. If you need a logo and a visual identity that can grow with your business, a brand designer is probably worth considering. And  if you’re not sure what you need, that’s okay too. Part of the designer’s job should be helping you figure that out.

For me, the best branding projects start with a conversation about the business before we ever start talking about colors or logos. Because the goal isn’t to make something that simply looks good. It’s to create something that makes sense for the business, gives it a clear visual direction, and can hold up as the business grows. If you’re considering a new brand identity or aren’t sure what your business needs, I’d be happy to hear what you’re building. We can talk through where you are, where you’re trying to go, and whether I’m the right fit for the project.