Imagine If You Spoke to Your Doctor the Way You Speak to Your Graphic Designer
Imagine walking into your doctor’s office and saying:
“I don’t really know what’s wrong, just start trying stuff and I’ll tell you when you’re close.”
Or telling your dentist:
“This will only take a few minutes, right? Just make it pop.”
You’d never say that to them. Yet somehow, these are the exact things designers hear all the time.
The Weird Double Standard
For some reason, design is often treated like guesswork, as if we’re throwing colours at a wall to see what sticks. In reality, every choice we make has strategy behind it: the fonts, the colour palette, the logo variations, the packaging finishes, all of it.
But because it’s visual, some people assume it’s just a matter of taste. And that’s when we hear things like:
“Can you just try a few other fonts?”
“Show me what you’re thinking and then I’ll decide.”
“I just need a quick job, it won’t take more than five minutes.”
“Make it POP!”
What You Don’t See Behind the Curtain
When I present a concept, it’s not my first attempt. It’s the result of hours (usually days) of sketching, exploring, refining, and testing variations you’ll never see. By the time I show it to you, I’ve already run through the “what if we tried…” questions a dozen different ways.
It’s the same reason your doctor doesn’t hand you every possible treatment plan to pick from: they use their expertise to narrow it down to the one that’s right for you.
Why This Matters for Your Brand
Branding isn’t about picking a pretty font or your favorite shade of blue. It’s about strategy: understanding your audience, your competitors, your price point, and how your brand shows up everywhere; on a label, a website, a retail shelf.
When clients jump in mid-stream and start tweaking based on personal preference (“Can we make the logo bigger?”), it usually derails the strategy that makes a brand work. If you’re wondering whether your own brand just needs a clean-up or a complete overhaul, read my post: Do You Need a Refresh or a Rebrand?
Trusting the Expert Isn’t Optional
You hire a professional because they bring experience, knowledge, and judgment you don’t have to figure out on your own. The best outcomes happen when you trust that process, not when you treat it like a game of trial and error.
The same way you wouldn’t tell your electrician how to wire your house or ask your lawyer to “make it pop,” designers do their best work when you let them lead in their area of expertise.
Final Thoughts
Great design isn’t luck. It’s a mix of research, strategy, experience, and craft, and it deserves to be treated with the same respect you’d give any other professional service.
If you’re curious about how strong your branding really is, start with my free Mini Brand Audit — or check out Logo Design Questionnaires: A Roadmap to Your Brand’s Voice and Vision to see how I build that strategy from the start.
