Before You Hire Another Designer, Ask Yourself This

How many times have you hired a designer—or thought about it—because you felt like a new logo, website, or brand refresh would solve all your problems?

“If I just look better, I’ll feel better. My clients will take me seriously. My business will finally click.” So you start hunting for the perfect designer. You scroll portfolios, compare prices, and look for that “wow” factor.

And maybe you get it—a shiny new logo, a sleek website. For a while, it feels good. Like a new haircut. But then… nothing changes. You’re still stuck. Your business still feels off. The clients still aren’t coming. And you’re left wondering what went wrong.

Here’s the truth: design can’t fix confusion. A designer can’t create clarity for you. They can’t align your business with your purpose. They can’t simplify your message or make decisions you’re not ready to make. All they can do is decorate the confusion you already have. And the result? Pretty visuals that don’t mean anything.

It’s like what happened with Nike in the late 1980s. They had great products—high-performance athletic gear—but their branding was all over the place. It lacked focus. Then, Wieden+Kennedy, the ad agency they partnered with, asked a game-changing question: “What does Nike really stand for?” The answer wasn’t about shoes or sports—it was about inspiration. It was about grit and human potential. That clarity gave birth to the now-iconic “Just Do It” campaign. Three words, born from understanding what mattered most to Nike and their audience. If they’d skipped that step and gone straight to a flashy logo or new ads without clarity, it wouldn’t have mattered how polished it looked. The message would have been lost.

The problem isn’t your logo. It’s not your website. It’s that you’re not clear on what they’re supposed to communicate. What do you stand for? What do you want to say? Who are you really trying to help? If you can’t answer those questions, no designer in the world can help you—because they’re designing in the dark.

Clarity comes first. Always. When you know who you are, what you stand for, and what your business is really about, design becomes easy. Natural. It feels like an extension of you—because it is. You don’t need a new logo to “feel ready.” You need to slow down, clear the fog, and find your footing. When you do that—when you’re grounded, aligned, and clear—every piece of design will flow from that truth.

And you won’t have to wonder if it’s “working.” It will just feel right. Your clients will feel it too. So before you hire another designer, ask yourself this: “Am I clear on what matters? Do I know what I’m trying to communicate?” If the answer is no, don’t waste your money decorating the fog. Find clarity first.