DIY design

Countless times I have seen otherwise great business people who have taken it upon themselves to create their own design and advertising work. No doubt after years of being in business they have spent a fair amount of time working with marketing and design agencies and probably have a general understanding of what they need for their design. They probably have their own computer and some skills in a desktop publishing program too, so they think why not give it a go? Unfortunately what they fail to remember is their knowledge is only generalised and as a result their design looks that way too. Like most professionals, designers know the intricacies of their craft and have the experience and expertise, not to mention the correct tools to do their job in a professional manner.

Let me compare this to building. Like most of us I have a pretty good idea about what goes into building a house and having spent a fair amount of time on building sites I am positive I could give building a house a pretty good go. Let’s take the bricklaying for example. I know for a fact that I am going to need bricks and mortar, some guidelines, a level and a trowel. I may even be savvy enough to draw up a rough plan of the layout. I don’t own a cement mixer, but I know that cement could be mixed by hand so I would do it like that and be on my way. I would stack the bricks with the mortar in between, like I have seen on houses before, and with a bit of hard work I would have myself a house. But would anyone want to live in my house?

Chances are probably not! Firstly you would have to question the structural integrity of the house. Although I have laid the bricks the same way as I have seen on other houses, any bricklayer knows it’s the stuff on the inside that helps hold the house together – the straps that are laid within the mortar and the steel reinforcements. My floor plans would give me a good idea about what walls to put where but if they were never looked over by an engineer there is no guarantee they will hold the weight of the roof. Also, in the absence of a cement mixer and having no experience mixing cement I could never be sure that the mortar was up to standard and was going to continue holding everything in place for years to come. That’s not to mention the time it would have taken me to build it – and as the metaphor goes, time I could have spent growing my own business.

To sum it up, my general knowledge about bricklaying would be enough for me to build a house but the standard of the structure would be questionable
at best.

The same goes with design. Something that is created using the wrong tools by a DIY designer is unlikely to stand the test of time or be of much value. Unless you have a deep understanding of colour and colour modes, file formats, image resolution, publication requirements etc. and you own, and know how to use, the industry standard software and hardware required to do the job it would be best if you chose to leave your design in the hands of an expert. If you would like to discuss your design and marketing needs with a professionalgive us a call thereby giving you time to get on with doing what you do best.