Why You Shouldn’t Give Your Designer Ideas

Why You Shouldn’t Give Your Designer Ideas

Sunday Pep Talks have been on hiatus but based upon your feedback on Instagram this week – we’re bringing the series back. And we’re kicking it back up with a somewhat controversial topic – we’re gonna walk you through “Why You Shouldn’t Give Your Web Designer Ideas” and exactly why that is.

Full disclosure: not every designer is going to agree with us on this one. And probably not all clients, either.

When you’re shopping around for a web designer, definitely consider what their process is like. Decide if you’re looking to hire a professional to be creative and design your entire digital presence around your brand’s goals, or if you’d prefer to be super hands on and know exactly what you’re looking for. Here at IDCO, we work best with clients who trust in our expertise and let us get creative on our first draft, scaling back and refining during the process. Here is why:

You’re Selling Yourself Short

By the time your project starts, you’ve probably already paid your designer anywhere from 30-50% of your branding and web design bill. As the creative process begins, it’s important to remember what you hired them for: Designing a website that attracts and converts your dream clients. If you immediately provide your designer with “inspiration” websites you’d like recreated or mockups you’ve drawn yourself, you are instantly selling yourself short. You are limiting your designer’s imagination, creativity and expertise.

The vision your designer could have achieved had they started from scratch is instantly, and subconsciously, null after they’ve seen your inspiration sites. In an effort to quickly and efficiently deliver what you (thought) you wanted, your designer will recreate what you asked of them. That 30-50% you’ve already invested in this project is quickly washed away.

By allowing your designer creative freedom, they can shoot for the stars, create something truly unique and engaging. It is so much easier to edit a design down after the first draft than to build up a first draft. That’s the primary reason why you shouldn’t give your designer ideas.

You Won’t Stand Out Amongst the Competition

It’s completely natural to do your due diligence as you prepare to design your new website and look to competitors in your industry for inspiration. However, we’re firm believers finding inspiration elsewhere, to ensure your brand is elevated in the industry. By comparing yourself to your direct competitors, you’re entering a cycle of constant chase. But when you trust your designer, and pulling inspiration from sources outside of your industry, you’re setting yourself up for a truly irresistible brand.

You Could Infringe on Copyright

Sometimes, it can be easy to fixate on a web design you admire, pulling design element after design element and putting it in to your own design. However, this can quickly cross a fine line into copyright infringement. Just like other forms of design, websites are protected by copyright. That extends beyond the written content, but the visual design as well.

Trusting your designer to create an original website that showcases your brand, your products or services, your mission is the best way to stand out in your industry and attract your target market. Before you start the process, consider what your website goals are and find a designer that fits the design process you’re looking for.

Make the most of your investment and let your designer create their initial concepts before providing too much feedback or guidance. Let the experts create something customized for you, and make your suggestions during your first round of feedback. Curious about how it works? You can find our design process here. Any questions about our process? Leave them in the comments below and we’ll do our best to help guide you! Ready to work together? So are we!

The Identité Collective is a full service creative studio for boutique lifestyle brands. Offering bespoke branding, web design and social media content creation, we help small businesses elevate their digital presence to become industry experts. Want to work together? Shoot us an inquiry here.