How do I choose a brand designer in Austin?
Ask five questions, and notice whether they ask you anything back. The right designer for you is curious about your business before they show you their portfolio.
What should I ask?
1. What do you need to know about my business before you start? A designer who asks only for logos you like is going to decorate. One who asks who you lose business to, and why your best clients stay, is going to think.
2. Can I see a brand you made that is still in use? Anyone can show you something new. Work that has lasted tells you it was built on something true.
3. Who will actually do the work? At some firms you meet the senior person and work with the junior one. Ask.
4. What do I own when we are done? The answer should be everything: the files, the website, the domain, the content.
5. What happens if I don’t like the first concepts? Listen for a process, not a promise.
Does it matter that they are in Austin?
Less than it used to, and still some. Good brand work can happen from anywhere. A local designer knows the city you are doing business in, can meet you for coffee, and has probably worked with people you know.
How would I answer those five questions?
I’m Cindy Friedman, a brand strategist and creative director in Austin, so it is only fair.
- What I need to know. Every project starts with brand therapy: ninety minutes of questions and a written diagnosis, before I design anything.
- Work that has lasted. Percona’s logo has outlived two of their websites.
- Who does the work. I do. You work with me from the first call to the last file.
- What you own. All of it. If you ever leave, everything goes with you. No hostages.
- If you don’t like the concepts. The process is built to prevent that, because the brief comes from your own words. Revisions are included in every package.
Who have I worked with here?
In Austin and Texas: the University of Texas, Trinity Episcopal School, Women Communicators of Austin, Art from the Streets, and Greenleaf NCC. In technology: Percona, Quali, BiteSight, and Heura Lab. I spent the first half of my career on big brands, including Dell, Levi’s, and Pottery Barn. Today I work mostly with founders of service based businesses.
Where do I start?
With a free twenty-minute hello. No pressure and no pitch. Or take the Brand Smart Check first and see what it says.
Sound like you?
Everything starts with a free twenty-minute hello, where we both decide whether this is a fit. Or take the Brand Smart Check first: ten questions, about three minutes, and a straight answer.