Why You’re Not Getting Paid Enough as an Identity Designer (Part 2)
By Levina Kusumadjaja
In “Am I a brand strategist or an identity designer? (Part 1)”, we looked at the difference in mindset between a brand strategist and an identity designer. After spending some time thinking about the questions on the previous article, do you know which one you are? The discussion about being a brand strategist versus an identity designer is such an important conversation for creatives because your focus determines your value in the market. It determines how much you can charge for your service. If you want to charge high and get paid to think, you need to shift your mindset and your process so that you can offer more value to your customers.
Identity designers come to a client ready to offer deliverables.
Brand strategists come to clients not knowing what the deliverables will be.
Unlike identity designers, brand strategists come with a blank page. Brand strategists offer more value to customers because a brand strategist is solely focused on solving the client's problem. When brand strategists meet new clients, they haven't decided what kind of deliverables the client will need. The main goal is to figure out where the client is at, where the client wants to go, and how the client can go there.
When you do brand strategy, you don't know the deliverables yet. The deliverables depend on the result of the strategy workshops that you do with the client. You cannot conclude the deliverables yet because you want to understand the business and the goals of the business first. And sometimes, this doesn't always result in brand identity or a website update. It doesn't always mean a brand overhaul. A brand strategist is there to figure out how a company can connect with its ideal customer, and as a result helping the company get to its goal—from point A to point B, or at least closer to point B.
Deliverable focus vs. Strategy focus
When you are operating with a deliverable focus, you're not entirely sure whether what you make for your clients will help the clients get to where they want to go. Even though you have considered this aspect in your design process, the goal remains to provide deliverables. The challenge is that, what if the deliverables aren't what the client actually needs? If you operate with a strategy focus, there is a bigger chance for you to help your clients solve their problem.
Brand strategists come to clients not as an order taker, but as a problem solver.
It’s not about which profession is more superior. It's about giving more value to the customers and in return getting paid more because of it. I love working with identity designers too because I think they are so gifted in what they do. But if you know how to do brand strategy, imagine how much more you can make by simply making the mindset and process shift—from identity designer to brand strategist.
So creatives, which one are you now? Are you an identity designer or a brand strategist? What I know for sure is from Melinda’s experience, being a brand strategist has helped her grow her business and grow as a creative. If you have pivoted from identity design to brand strategy, congratulations. I would love to hear your story! If you’re reading this and you're finding yourself being an identity designer thus far, I wonder if it’s time for you to take the leap and try to see what brand strategy is all about.
Cheers!
Levina
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About the author:
Levina is a writer based in Indonesia. Because of Melinda Livsey, she recognized the power of brand strategy for every creative. She is sharing about her learnings as she goes to help creatives have fun in their growth and journey of building brands. Connect with her on LinkedIn and say hi!