To help, we’re exploring the benefits of each, starting with agencies that specialise in design.
Read on to learn whether a design agency could be right for you and how you can make the best decision when approaching one to help you grow your business.
Full Service
One of the key benefits of engaging a design agency is the potential for a full-service partnership. Many design agencies, ours included, offer design as one of a full spectrum of services, from digital and web to brand and marketing. Often clients engage us for a ‘one-off’ design job and through our complimentary brand strategy sessions, discover insights that influence the business direction in a profound way. This is something you don’t obtain from a service provider who simply responds to the brief and charges accordingly. Engaging a creative partner who can provide key services across the whole business increases the potential for mutual growth.
Graphic Design
Graphic design is one of the design disciplines a design agency will be able to help with. For a small business, this can encompass everything from print and electronic media to logo and asset creation, the use of typography, illustration and photography.
A design agency should specialise in this and be able to help you to bring your brand to life visually, develop assets and campaign material that encourages your customers to engage with your brand.
Web Design and Development
Design is not exclusive to graphic design brand identity. Many design agencies will also offer digital web design and development, helping to build websites that will bring your brand to life in the online space and set you up for future growth. In any sense, engaging a partner with greater capabilities who isn’t limited to a narrow scope of design will ensure you have access to wider solutions if needed and have a better resource on-hand.
Brand Campaigns and Digital
A full-service design agency will also offer brand and digital agency work. This includes everything from brand strategy (naming, essence, personality, tone of voice etc.) to brand identity development. For any new business this should be your first priority and it pays to engage a design agency early in the process who can help you to create your brand in its entirety as opposed to engaging service providers for each component. Something we often find is business owners who have done the latter and have to revise their brand strategy or identity far down the line, making the process more difficult. While it isn’t always apparent to a new business owner that a more holistic process is better in the long run with all the costs and demands of establishing a new business, engaging a partner to help with this aspect is a smart move.
Many design-based agencies will also specialise in digital and as at Brave, we find having skill across both is exactly what our clients need to compete in the digital age. Through this we’ve helped clients like Mountain Jade develop compelling brands and strategies to excel in ecommerce. This means that beyond just designing digital assets, or the full-service website design we provide, we advise clients on how to use digital channels to their advantage - including web, social media, search engine and seo services. Again, for many small businesses, this level of continuous support is just what they need to succeed, as opposed to receiving design assets then being left to their own devices.
Content Marketing
Content marketing also comes hand-in-hand with design work. Well designed assets are the basis of great content, whether they’re for social posts, blogs, video content or innovative, rich media. This is where engaging a design agency as a long term partner to suit your businesses goals can be beneficial. Much of the content can stem from initial brand identity work and with these agencies helping you to create your logos, typefaces and photography style, you can save time and money by engaging them to produce content in this style for future use.
At the end of the day, ‘design agency’ can be an ambiguous term. Some may specialise in one type of design, some may offer more comprehensive design services while some will simply specialise in design while offering full-service brand/marketing work too.
If you’re considering design work, or are looking for a more hands-on partner to understand your business goals and offer support across the board, we’d love to help. We partner with ambitious brands, helping them to produce compelling brand, design and digital work that grows businesses from our Digital Marketing Agency based in Auckland NZ.
Contact our design agency auckland here and let’s chat about growing your business.
