5 Tips to Brand Yourself as a Graphic Designer

When you work as a graphic designer, clients expect you to be talented at creating a brand. The first interaction that they have with your work will be through your personal brand. Learning how to develop your brand through a logo, website or business card will help you to show clients immediately that you have what it takes to do their project. If you neglect your brand, you show prospective clients that you lack the professionalism or talent necessary to be hired. Brand yourself through creating an engaging website, interesting content and reaching out to potential clients.

Treat Yourself Like a Client

Normally, you block out several hours for a client’s project and create a schedule. When it comes to making your brand, treat yourself like a client. Set aside a set number of hours each week to work on developing your brand. During this time, gather information about your niche and potential competitors.

Make an Elevator Pitch

Who you are and your personal story matter to the client. You should prepare an elevator pitch that takes up one or two sentences that shows exactly who you are as a graphic designer. When you meet clients, this elevator pitch will be the way you describe your brand and convey what you can offer to the client. If you are unsure if your elevator pitch is just right, take some time to practice it on a friend, co-worker or family member.

Converting Your Qualities Into Content and Images

Before you start drawing out your personal logo, begin by deciding what you represent. With a pen and paper, list your specific talents, experiences and qualities. While creating this list, consider the types of clients and work that you want to obtain. Later, you can use these ideas to create a design for your brand. You want your look to match the story that you tell, so make sure to consider your story first.

Maximize Your Branding Budget Through Social Media

As a graphic designer, you may not have a large marketing budget. You can make the most of the money you do have for marketing by optimizing your social media presence. Posting your design work to Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram can help you reach out to potential clients. In addition, you will be able to enhance the traffic to your website. This will help your website to rank higher in the search engines so that you bring in even more traffic to your site.

Make a Design Blog

For someone to find your site, there has to be something there for them to discover. Creating interesting content, a design blog and commentary helps engage readers. You can write about developments in the industry, recent projects or your own thoughts about industry changes. For your content to be effective, you will want to include images of your work. Online galleries can help you show your work, and you can also submit your projects to magazines.

Concluding Thoughts

Your website, logo, and brand reflect on who you are as a graphic designer. If you want to show clients that you are the right designer for them, your brand must portray this image. There are thousands of graphic designers showcasing their work online, so you have to go beyond the expected to stand out from the crowd.

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