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Did you know that there is no regulation in this industry? Anybody can wake up one day and decide to take a couple courses and be a website developer. It's up to the consumer to know who to hire. Website development is complex and often people don't know where to start.

Our hope is you will find these articles #flufffree, practical and full of good knowledge you can use to make the best decisions for you.

12 Ways to Save Money on Graphic and Website Design

by Kris Trudeau | Graphic Design, Logos & Branding, Marketing

If you’ve ever hired or shopped for a quality graphic or web designer, you know that any kind of design is a significant investment. Like any investment, it’s important to make informed, sound decisions to ensure a proper return. Quality branding and design can last for years and it’s something you need to get right the first time to see that return and avoid significant costs down the road.

Your customers are being bombarded by hundreds of advertisements daily and when they are finally paying attention to your business, you’d better make yourself memorable or risk being dismissed as unwanted noise. Now more than ever, it’s important that your business looks good and is visually competitive.

For many businesses and especially for new start-ups, most design required is at the start when the least amount of capital available to spend on it. Here are twelve easy things you can do to save money on design:

TIP 1: Strategize.

Where do you want to take your business now? Where do you want it to be in the next 5 years? What are your goals? To gain a wider client base? To increase repeat business? Tap new markets? By knowing this in advance and sharing this information with your designer, they can keep this in mind when working on the creative.

Think about this: If your business is in Saskatchewan but you’re looking to expand out east in the next year, developing brochures using Saskatchewan imagery may not be appropriate in both markets. If you designer knows your plan to expand, they could choose more appropriate imagery.

TIP 2: Decide what your needs are.

Now that you’ve got a strategy, what do you need to do right now? In six months? A year? Business cards? Letterhead and envelopes? By determining what you need now and what can wait until later, you can budget properly for the work and avoid last minute rush jobs and paying rushed pricing.

Special Cost Saving Note: Need letterhead and envelopes now, but it’s not in the budget? Have a designer set up a letterhead and envelope template so you can create your documents on your letterhead and print them as one. This way your business still looks professional until you can afford a more elegant solution.