Which Type of Designer Does Your Business Actually Need?
Jan 28, 2024
Your business is gaining traction. You're picking up steam, and momentum is building fast. Except your brand and website aren’t keeping up.
You know you need help. But one quick search for “designer” and suddenly you’re buried in titles: Brand designer. Graphic designer. Web designer. Product designer. Marketing designer. UI/UX designer.
What are the differences? More importantly, which one will help you move your business forward without wasting money or time?
We'll break it down for you quickly and in plain English.
Brand Designer
What they do:
Build the foundation of your business’s visual identity. Think logos, colors, fonts, tone of voice, and overall personality.
Why it matters to your business:
A good brand designer gives you consistency and credibility. If your business is growing, you can’t afford to look like you asked your teenage nephew to design your logo.
Typical output: Logo, brand guidelines, visual system, brand assets (like templates).
Graphic Designer
What they do:
Design everyday materials like social media posts, flyers, presentations, business cards, packaging etc.
Why it matters to your business:
Being visually consistent boosts engagement and brand recall. It helps you show up professionally across every touchpoint from Instagram posts to investor decks.
Typical output: Ads, Instagram graphics, investor decks, brochures, event signage.
Web Designer
What they do:
Design the layout, style, and structure of your website. They focus on how your site looks and feels, ensuring it’s visually compelling, easy to navigate and converts your viewers to customers.
Why it matters to your business:
Your website isn't just a brochure, it's meant as a conversion tool. A good web designer understands how to guide visitors toward action, improve engagement, and support your sales goals.
Typical output: Site map, Figma designs, site styles
Product Designer or UI/UX Designer
What they do:
A hybrid of UI/UX design with a deeper focus on digital products. Often embedded within tech teams, they collaborate on feature design, user flows, and product strategy.
Why it matters to your business:
Product designers help you ship better features, faster. They connect the dots between user needs, business goals and technical feasibility.
Typical output: Task flows, user flows, UI design, style kits
So…Who Should You Hire?
It depends on your immediate priorities and business goals:
Need a fresh brand or polished visual identity? → Brand designer
Need high-volume creative content for campaigns? → Graphic or marketing designer
Launching a new site or product? → Web designer or UI/UX designer
Building a SaaS tool or scaling a product team? → Product designer
A More Flexible Approach to Design Support
When your business is growing, your design needs are constantly changing; maybe it’s a landing page this week, a pitch deck the next or a printable brochure the following week. Hiring one type of designer doesn’t always cover everything.
That’s where Design Notepad Studio comes in. It’s a flexible service that gives you reliable, senior-level design help across whatever’s on your plate, without the stress of building a full team.