Premade designs are popping up more and more lately. There are even claims that they are the future of design, replacing the "old" and "outdated" process of getting custom designs created—but what are premade designs, how do they compare to custom designs, and is this at all true? In general, these are two different styles of design that barely overlap and sit on completely different sides of the spectrum. If you want something inexpensive and instantaneous, that is where premade designs come in. However, if you’re looking to invest a little more money into your brand to craft a vision specifically made just for you, custom-made design might be your best move. To help you learn some more about the pros and cons of getting a premade or custom-made design and decide what is right for you, we will break down the details below.

Here at Spection, we’re about to launch some free premade design templates so you can get started streaming without any excuses or worries. Stay tuned for those!

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Premade Designs

What are premade designs?

Premade designs are designs that are available online already, much like buying any other product from a store. You can go to a website, search for what you want, and buy them. Sometimes, these designs are sold over and over, and many people can buy the same thing, while other times they’re limited to just one buyer per design. Usually, if you buy a premade you’ll have the opportunity for some basic customizations like color or text, but you’ll have to read the fine print on whatever site you choose to use.

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Pros:

1. Cheap and Easy

There is no doubt the cost and efficiency is the place where premade designs shine the most. Often starting as low as $25, you can browse premade designs, and buy the one that best fits you instantly. If you need a logo or overlay for your launch that’s a few hours away, premade designs will have your back.

2. You Know Exactly What You Get

This is quite obvious, but sometimes can be a good thing — you know exactly what you’re getting before you buy it, because the design already exists. There’s no waiting, wondering, or back-and-forth, so there is no room for errors or problems in getting your design.

3. Often (Partially) Customizable

Especially if you’re buying something like a stream overlay, these design files are often set up so you can easily edit them as needed, including the colour and text. If you decide you want to change up your style, or even brand name, it may be quite easy to do with a premade design, because you’ll have control!

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Cons:

1. Your Design Will Never Be Truly Personal

Unless you magically find the logo of your dreams (or are quite open), you’ll probably never find that perfect logo you envisioned for your business. By nature, premade designs are made to be quite generic and fit with a lot of brands — if they had one sitting around that perfectly fit your brand, nobody else would be interested!

If you buy something like a logo, the seller will probably only have it available for a one-time purchase, but with something like a design asset or stream overlay, you’ll likely stumble across numerous people rocking the exact same design as you. If you want to stand out and capture your unique brand identity, premade designs are not the best solution.

2. No (Actual) Revisions

Even though you may be able to customize the color or text, this won't always be enough. Unfortunately, if you notice anything that you don’t quite like in the premade design you’re buying, you may not be able to do anything about it. Some sellers may change a little for you, but oftentimes you can only buy exactly what you see, which allows the price to be so cheap. In a custom design process, you’ll be able to see a few versions of the same logo and have input in fine-tuning it, but not here.

3. May Need to Mix and Match

If you’re looking to do every part of your design needs with premades, you probably won't be able to find one package that will cover everything. Because of that, you’ll need to look at different sellers for different elements, which means that everything will be... different. You can probably find similar things that work well together, but you may never be able to get a completely consistent look across different designs.

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Custom Design

What is custom design?

“Custom design” is a general term that encompasses the traditional style of design — you’ll start from the ground up with a designer, and craft the designs you’re looking for, based on your brief. Depending on your budget or the designer you choose, this process may vary quite a bit. Generally, you’ll start by going over the scope of the project and your ideas with a designer, who will then come back to you with a brief, your design, and some revisions throughout the process. By the end, you’ll have all of the designs you were looking for packaged and ready to go.

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Pros:

1. Exactly The Things You Need

Assuming you find the right designer and everything goes well, you’ll come out of the process with exactly what you need. You’ll never have to pay for elements that you won’t use, and you can have things made just for you that you’d never be able to find already made. You’ll never need to mix-and-match designs, or worry that the shop won’t have what you need, because you had it custom-made and you now have a connection with a designer who can do any future work that you need. If you want a design that is truly unique and fitting to the needs of your brand, having it custom-designed for you will always be the best way to go.

2. You Have Input

Just as you can get exactly the deliverables you need, you’re the one that initiated the design process, so you have input in it throughout. Not only does this mean the designs will be made with your brand in mind, but you can also have input after some design options are presented. Many times, a design will present you with multiple options to choose from and revise, so you can see how different directions would work before committing to one. To truly capture your brand with design, you must build the system from the ground up, and custom design is the way to do that.

3. Higher Quality Design

While this is the most generalized and controversial point on the list, it is almost always true (and that makes sense). By paying more for design and having yourself and a designer invested in crafting a solution just for you, the design will usually be higher calibre. Custom design costs a lot more, and this is the reason why — there’s just no way the same care and attention can be put into a design that is selling for a fraction of the price which was made with no unique connection to you. Custom designs charge a premium because they are premium.

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Cons:

1. Costly and Takes Time

While there are lots of options for designers to work with, they’ll never be as cheap or as fast as buying a logo that’s already been made. Having a custom pizza made for you will always cost more than what's on the menu, and design is no different. Likewise, this design process starts with nothing but a brief, and the design process takes time. Depending on the project, this timeline can be anywhere from a few days (which may cost even more), to a few weeks or even months. If you need something fast, you might be better off looking at a pre-made design solution.

2. Potential for Unwanted Variables

Finding the right designer for you and your project is essential to a smooth design process, and even then you may not always be safe. Usually, you’ll find a designer who you trust and is recommended to you, and they’ll do exactly what you need. But since designers are human and you can’t see what you get from the start, this may not always be true. Sometimes, you may just not mesh with a designer and have trouble getting aligned on the same vision. Other times, a designer may take longer than expected, have rough communications, or cause other issues that hurt the design process. Similarly, if things come up in your life you may also push the design process back. By finding the right designer you can generally eliminate these factors, but these risks will always exist with any work agreement you make.

3. Hard to Modify Later

Even though you’ll have input in the design process and (hopefully) come out with exactly what you need, things may change in your brand later. If you decide that you need designs to be changed, you’ll be met with a charge, as the designer will need to do more work for you. With small revisions, this may be easy, but if a month down the line you decide you want something completely different, you’ll be out the time and money from the prior design process. Because these custom made designs are held to high standards and your needs at the time, you might not have access to the design files, so you’ll have to go back to the designer no matter what you want to be changed.

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Summary

Overall, there is no right or wrong choice for design, and it comes down completely to your needs. If you want something quick and easy on a smaller budget, premade designs may be the best solution for you. However, if you’re looking to have something that stands out and represents your brand, it may be worth shelling out the extra money to have a design that is custom-crafted for you.

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