Cheap vs. Affordable Design
What’s the difference between cheap design and affordable design and why does it matter?
“Cheap” and “affordable”.
These terms are often use interchangeably in everyday speech. But, there’s a big difference, especially when it comes to investing in design. Let’s break it down.
Let’s Talk About Value
The main difference between “cheap” and “affordable” hinges on the idea of “value” and what that means in a given situation.
Though we often associate value with money, it doesn’t always refer to the monetary worth of something. Value is relative, and can be associated with any characteristic that’s important in the given situation.
For example, I value my vintage Nine Inch Nails merch. Is it monetarily valuable? Maybe to some degree (looking at you, vintage resellers), but not really. The value comes from my perception of what it gives back to me. It reminds me of my teenage years, saving up to buy tickets to see my favorite band, me and my best friend decking ourselves out in fishnets and makeup to head to a show. The designs are badass and each item holds emotional significance for me, therefore, the merch is valuable to me.
In short, value ≠ price.
What I Mean By “Cheap”
Unlike “value”, “cheap” is usually based on price.
Something that’s “cheap” is usually an item or a service whose absolute cost is low. The financial resources needed to purchase it is low relative, perhaps, to other similar products/services.
In many cases, a cheap product isn’t necessarily a bad one. For example, a hole-in-the-wall carryout joint that’s cheaper than a nice sit-down restaurant might have better food because their overhead is lower. Because they have a small staff, their turnaround time per customer is low, and they don’t need to pay for a huge space, they can keep their price lower. That’s the draw. In this kind of situation, cheapness doesn’t necessarily correlate to a bad investment.
Cheap has short-term value.
Cheapness is a desirable trait when short-term value is the priority. If I’m buying dumplings, I’m not considering long-term implications. I’m considering my hunger and the tastiness of the dumplings. These are short-term needs that are met by a cheaper product. Problem solved.
Brand Design is Not Short-Term
Brand design is a long-term investment.
That is to say, it’s strategic, not tactical. The whole point of having a brand is to create awareness and a positive impression that is true to the business. Crafting this positive perception is a long-term strategy. A business that makes short-term decisions about branding is setting themselves up for problems in the future.
Think of it this way: your business has invested in a whole host of other long-term stuff, like a domain, various subscriptions, maybe an accountant, equipment, software. All of these things are there to help you maintain your business over time, not just to get you through the next few months.
Brand design is an investment in your future.
If your accountant was only charging you $10 to help you file your taxes, then they’re cheap. In the short term, you’ve saved money. But, if for that $10 what you get is sloppy work and miscalculations, you might end up losing money when you get that bill at the end of the year.
Similarly, if your brand design was cheap, you saved money in the short term. But, a year down the road, a cheap design may not serve you well.
You Get What You Pay For in Design
Design that’s both cheap and effective is rare.
Unlike dumplings, you’re not likely to find good brand design at a low price. A cheap price tag isn’t a good sign at all. If anything, it’s a red flag.
If the cheapness of a design is its main selling point, it’s always, ALWAYS going to be at the expense of other important considerations.
Cheap design requires sacrifices you don’t want to make.
A designer that works for cheap has to sacrifice some level of quality in order to keep the price low. With a cheap price, making ends meet requires them to take on more work and turn projects around as fast as possible. That means less time and attention on you and your project. In order to do a lot of work really quickly, they can’t get hung up on details. Unfortunately, details in design are—well, everything. Details and care are what make designs work and stand out. Lack of attention to detail is where major fuck ups happen. Did they take the time to check that your colors are contrasted properly for accessibility? Did they export your logo files in all the right formats? Did they deliver your logo in different orientations so you have one for every use case? Did they create a style guide for you that shows you how to use your assets properly?
On a broader level, getting good at something has costs: not just financial, but time and effort. Have they spent years and years developing their skills and a personal style? Are they approaching projects strategically? Do they invest in continuing education to make sure they’re up to date on technology and changes in the industry?
What about pre-made logos?
While it may seem like a sick shortcut, cheap premade assets come with the same issues, and then some. They’re not customized for your particular needs, they’re usually generic (so they can be resold to many different businesses). and, maybe the biggest problem, they don’t come with any design support. At least with a cheap designer there’s a human being with some level of knowledge you can seek help from (if that’s even something they offer, which many don’t). Most of the time, these assets don’t come with the tools you need to actually use them.
What is Affordable Design?
If “cheap” means low in cost, what does “affordable” mean?
Let’s return to the idea of “value”. Whether we value something is determined by what we get out of it. So what value does effective brand design have? What do you really get out of it?
makes your brand memorable and recognizable
gives it a distinct personality that differentiates it from others
helps your business target the right people who will actually buy from you
empowers you to create new things (products, packaging, merch, marketing campaigns) that will help you grow
JOY! (yes, that’s an important one)
As we’ve established, most of these things don’t come cheap. But then how do you make a decision about who to hire, what to spend, and what direction to go in? Shoot for affordability!
Affordable design means an appropriate balance between the cost and the value of the work.
Affordable doesn’t mean cheap, as in, it comes at an objectively low price. Affordability is based on the value it delivers relative to the price. The way you determine whether something is affordable is to first evaluate your own budget. In some situations, your budget may be absolutely fixed and very low, and that’s where cheap design may be your only option. No judgement. But, in many cases, folks set their design budget based on a rough guess or based on what they’d like to spend.
This is where the “balancing” piece comes in. It’s often the case that by adjusting your expectations about what you spend on design, you open yourself up to an immense jump in the value you receive. If your initial plan was to spend $100 on a logo design, you’re extremely limited in terms of value. But if you stretch that to, say, $1000 (yes, it’s a big jump, I know, I’m being realistic about what it actually costs, here), you’ve not dramatically increased the potential value per dollar you get out of your design budget. Now you’ve got the ability to work with a more skilled designer who can execute better quality work.
Good Design Steadily Increases in Value Over Time
This is ultimately why brand design is a long-term investment that justifies the cost.
If the design you pay for aligns with your business goals and is high-quality, it’s likely to increase the value of your brand itself as time goes on. This means your business will have greater longevity and value within the market, yielding better profits and consistent business.
What I’m saying is, good design builds brand equity.
Brand equity is not the monetary value of what you own, but the value of the brand based on people’s perception. You can think of this as things like how likely someone is to return to your business (customer loyalty), how aware people in your target audience are of your brand (brand awareness), and how likely folks are to recommend others and thus grow loyalty and awareness without you having to really do anything. This is, fundamentally, the ROI of branding. If you want more detail on this, check out this short article that delves a little deeper. They got stats, too, which we love to see.
Is Expensive Design Better?
High prices don’t automatically mean better design.
Medium sized companies spend tens of thousands of dollars on branding.
For big companies, we’re talking hundreds of thousands, sometimes millions. Woof.
But, I don’t blog about those companies. I work with small businesses. Mostly micro-businesses, actually. Generally, I don’t think small and micro-businesses need expensive design. Even if you have that kind of scratch, it’s largely a waste because you’re getting more than you actually need. It all depends on what VALUE you get from what you’re spending. If what you need is some basics, the cost to value ratio is out of balance if you were to hire an expensive agency.
Conclusion
Affordability is relative to your goals.
Whether a designer is affordable to you will be based on the right balance of cost to value for your individual business needs and goals. Remember that brand design isn’t a piece of equipment or software. It’s an intangible asset, which means its value is largely perception-based. While you might not be able to hold the value of brand design in your hand, you’ll find that over time, it’s a major part of what makes a business thrive.