But it’s not as simple as just hiring any graphic designer for your business or business project – you’ll need to be savvy in selecting someone who can shape the look and feel of your brand. Here are a few things to consider when thinking about hiring a graphic designer for your business.
Don’t Even Think About Hiring A Graphic Designer Before Reading This
Before you start looking for a graphic designer, it’s essential that you have a thorough understanding of what kind of graphic design work you’re looking for. High-quality graphic designers have the ability to balance a client’s brief with their own aesthetic identity, but when given free rein and no concrete directions, it will be difficult for them to create something that completely satisfies your requirements.
Graphic designers will also have varying levels of knowledge, experience and education, so you’ll want to make sure you are hiring someone who is not only uniquely suited to your specific project but to your brand as well.
You should also consider whether your graphic design needs are for a single project or if they’re ongoing. If you do your due diligence researching the best graphic designer, it will save you working with various graphic designers for each project and risking an inconsistent visual or brand identity.
The Importance of a Brief
This is where a thorough creative brief comes in. A creative brief is an outline of your graphic design project, which focuses on the business objectives, results and outcomes, as well as the desired look and feel of the design.
Your brief will help you to determine the best and most experienced graphic designer to work with in order to achieve those outlined objectives and outcomes. You can also collate design inspiration and images from websites like Flickr or Pinterest to fill out your brief and provide prospective graphic designers with a deeper understanding of the aesthetic or feeling you’re looking for.
Hire Local
We live in an increasingly globalised work environment, which means that you can engage a freelance graphic designer from anywhere across the globe. But should you?
Local graphic designers, who have a greater understanding of the country, city and related industries will likely be better equipped to translate your brand or project into a compelling visual story. Working with a freelance graphic designer who is less knowledgeable about the cultural or industry nuances can result in unsatisfactory design work that doesn’t meet your brief.
Compare Portfolios
You’ll only get the best if you wade through the rest. Even if you think you’ve found the best graphic designer for your project or brand straight off the bat, it’s often best to hold off on hiring until you’ve explored several design portfolios. By doing this, you’ll get a better sense of what your prospective graphic designer is known for and what they specialise in.
For example, if you’re looking for a more minimalist or laid-back design for your business, it may not be the best option to work with a graphic designer who is known for bright or unconventional designs. You’ll be able to learn all about a graphic designer through their portfolio and website, including whether they have undertaken similar projects or graphic design work.
By looking at various different portfolios, you’ll also be able to compare a range of quotes, so you can get the best value for your investment.
Respect the Craft
The final tip to make note of before you hire a graphic designer is to think of a graphic design project as a collaboration between you and the designer. Remember, this is your graphic designer’s profession, and they have years of experience working with a range of clients and projects. If you give them the space to do so, they’ll be able to offer ideas and graphic design solutions that will boost your brand identity, web design, print design or whatever graphic design project you’re engaging them for.
Respect their opinion and understand that they want to use their passion and expertise to build you a brand identity, which will perfectly capture your business or project.
