Cookie Cutters Are for Kitchen Use Only
Like 99.9% of people, I like cookies. But nothing leaves a worse taste than cookie cutter designs made from cheap templates. All those boring templates for websites and clip art for logos offered for pennies on the Internet. But they’re so cheap, you say! I know, I know, but isn’t the point to set your brand apart? With those over-used template-based designs, it’s really not possible to have a custom logo or a custom small business website or custom, unique-to-your-brand anything.
Those templates and clip art-font combos are easy to purchase, by you and then anyone after you, as many people as they can sell ‘em to. A hundred companies could pretty much have your same logo. That’s hardly what we call a custom logo. Here’s the thing: ideas for a business may not be as unique as you think, but your brand can be.
We designers are aware that the digital tools we use to create unique designs are available to all, and historically, pretty darn affordable. And as we become more computer literate as a society, more people are going to try their hand at setting up a blog and designing their own business card. I applaud that DIY spirit. And I wonder, if more people understand what it takes to build a website, will they appreciate a custom-designed website more? Or will they assume that because they did it with a template, what’s the big deal?
Right, back to templates. One can download a template for anything – brochure, newsletter, website, etc. Okay, but what happens when you need to change part of it? These templates are customizable, you say. Well, to an extent… but as we know from working with a few ourselves (in order to educate ourselves), minor changes might be possible, but the more unique you want it, the bigger your headache. May as well start from scratch.
And what about those cheap logo design offers? $19 I saw! (With that offer, there’s no changes, what you get is what you get.) One site I found had a step-by-step do it yourself option where you chose a clip art symbol – and they encourage you to copy from the examples – and then pick a font, then colors. Custom logos made easy, right?
Sure, but you aren’t able to make any changes to the drawing, or the lettering. And those are the things that make a logo truly unique and special. Also, there’s millions of colors, and often a surprising combination makes great impact. This is the sort of custom branding that designers are very good at: creating one-of-a-kind symbols and illustrations unique to your company, expressive color combinations, tweaking type for better expression of your brand. And that’s exactly what you won’t get for $19.
Ditto goes for websites. Except, “ditto” is what you won’t get when you work with a designer to create a custom website for your business. Whether branding a new business or rebranding an existing company, it’s well worth it to work with a designer who can listen to your needs, learn about your company, and deliver unique, original, eye-catching designs for custom logos, new business websites, company collateral, whatever. Your brand needs to stand out from the competition to succeed. That’s just the way the cookie crumbles.
It’s not the cutter that gives the cookie its taste, its what goes in to the batter.
There are a great many designers and lots of great examples of creative, attractive and interesting web sites but not all the great examples come from great designers.
Then again, there are lots of terrible examples of web design and lots of self proclaimed designers and these are also not mutually exclusive.
Start ups and small businesses typically do not have the capitalization to hire professional design talent to come up with an “original” design and then continue spending money on updates, expansions and redesigns which are all necessary if a web site is to stay interesting to its audience. Their limited resources are needed for a great many things like developing great products.
Does that mean that budding entrepreneurs who want to use the internet should stay away until they can afford to hire a “pro”?
Great designs and slick branding are wonderful things but they are NOT the exclusive domain of the professional designer. Terrific products and ecstatic clients are however, exclusively the result of talented and creative entrepreneurship.
I say 3 cheers for the cookie cutters (on-line templates, simple WYSIWYG design tools and the like). They provide the means for lots of bakers to get their tasty treats into the hands of hungry fans.
By the way, your blog is built on a Wordpress template……If you live in a glass house, you shouldn’t throw stones.
Our overall concern is that businesses should take the visual aspect of their branding seriously, and not hastily accept generic designs.
The affordability aspect is an especially good point. Although small businesses should not assume they must use the biggest, most expensive branding firm; with some research an affordable designer can often be found.
It’s true that our blog is currently based on an existing theme, but we made changes to customize it to fit with the design of our company website. At the time we were new to WordPress and wanted to see what the process was all about. In fact, the frustrations of dealing with someone else’s template reinforced our preference for original designs. As we become more adept at working within the WP functionality framework, we are better able to customize designs to a client’s specs.
Great article and response!
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