Why should I hire a graphic designer for my board game?
You already need lots of partners to produce your game. You need an illustrator for your artwork, a printer for production, a logistics company for shipping, and a crowdfunding platform to get your money together. Why should you reserve space in your tight budget for graphic design?
Simply put, professional graphic design makes your game work better.
Graphic designers lay out text and graphics. Your components need to be readable; designers know what’s clear and what isn’t, and will make sure your game follows those standards.
Graphic designers prepare your game’s files for print. This ensures that your game prints on-time, at the quality you expect.
Graphic designers understand the way humans process information. This one’s especially important; a good designer knows how to communicate what you’re trying to say to your players as intuitively as possible.
Graphic designers who work specifically with board games understand the way players think. An experienced designer will be familiar with trends and popular products n the industry, and will use players’ existing experiences to enhance their comprehension of your game.
It’s likely that you’ve already done some graphic design when making your prototype. You’ve made some space for text and art; you may have even drawn some icons or created a reminder card for the stages of a turn. Perhaps you’ve even gone so far as to make a template for your cards on the computer to make some really nice-looking prototypes. That’s great! It shows that you’ve been making decisions about the layout and usability of your game.
How confident are you that all those decisions are correct, though? Are you sure everything is readable? Are players forgetting things that should be obvious or making mistakes when interpreting your cards? These may seem like small problems, but they’re strong indicators that your information isn’t accessible enough to your players. Once your game gets out into the hands of real paying customers, those misunderstandings can lead players to experiences you never intended, and create negative reviews targeting mechanics that aren’t actually what you designed.
Consulting professional graphic designers to build your visual systems will head off these problems. Our firm’s focus on the hobby games industry gives us the insight to know how players will respond to your visual systems, and because we play every game we work for, we get an insider’s perspective on the problems players might have when understanding your mechanics.
Still have questions? Here are a few of the most common concerns we’ve heard from our clients.