subject: How To Hire A Design Professional [print this page] How To Hire A Design Professional How To Hire A Design Professional
You need a logo designed or maybe you need a website developed. You meet someone at a networking event or someone is recommended to you who says they can do it all. After some conversation, you find out that this person is within your budget and you hire them.
You get your work back and you completely hate it. This is a good designer so how did this happen?
Like all things in the creative world, work is subjective. Someone who likes Monet may not like Warhol. Both are artists. Some people like Janis Joplin and some people like Barbra Streisand. Both are singers. Tastes vary. When you're selecting a designer you need to find someone matching your taste.
How to do it? This may sound obvious, but ask to see their past work. What have they done for other clients? Do you like how it looks? What parts of it do you like? Ask them what they did on each of the projects. Did they do the design work or just follow instructions from the client?
For example, if you are a bank, you might want a designer who has done work for banks or financial institutions in the past. They may have done stellar work for the florist and the jazz club but do they really understand how to design something based around money and trust? Or a designer may have a lot of very formal logos and you want something for a pre-school or nursing home. Really determine if they have that type of style.
Be very clear about what you are looking for. Provide the designer with some examples of what you like. Give them color ideas and really explain why you like these things. A designer can use all of this as a guide can get you the results you want.
Also notice if you feel comfortable talking with the designer and if he or she seems to "get" you and take your direction well. You'll be relying on this person to bring to life a vision of your business. It will make the process much easier if you feel as if the two of you are on the same page professionally and interpersonally.
Design work can get very expensive. If you do some proactive steps first, you will get great work at a great price, and enjoy the experience.
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