How to hire a graphic designer

photo from www.istockphoto.com

Hiring a graphic designer can be a daunting task. Often, business owners struggle with this, wondering if they hired the right person, or sometimes how to find the right person.

I am going to share with you five simple steps you can follow to hire the right designer for your project everytime.

1. Review the designer's portfolio.
Look to see if they have worked on similar projects before. Check and see if they have a specific style, or if their work adapts to different styles as needed. Ask questions about the work you are reviewing. What was their role? What portions of the work did they do? Was any of the work outsourced? Ask them about their creative process and how they work.

2. Check the designer's references.
Does the designer have testimonials from satisfied customers? Are they willing to provide you with references you can contact? If so, do your homework. Were they responsive to change requests and client feedback? Were they strategic in the project development, keeping the clients goals in mind? Did they teach the client anything? How did they handle the deadline and budget?

Also make sure you check them out online. Google them. Does their online persona match up with what they are communicating to you? How do they represent themselves on social media sites such as LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter?

3. Provide a creative brief.
Usually a designer will provide an intake or information acquisition form to gather the information they need to provide you with an accurate and detailed estimate. If they do not provide this, you should put together your own basic creative brief, outlining the scope of work for the project. Before providing the creative brief to a graphic designer, make sure all decision-makers related to the project approve it.

You will need answer the following questions in your creative brief:

• Who is the point of contact?
• What is their contact information.
• What is the project? Be specific.
• What is the timeline for the project?
• Who is the target market. Provide details.
• What is the call to action or reason for the project?
• How do you want to entice them to take action?
• What elements must be included (disclaimers, logo, photo, tagline)?
• What is the budget?

4. Review estimates.
Once you have received estimates back from the graphic designers you contacted, carefully review and compare them. Are the costs drastically different or are they fairly close in range? Make sure you are comparing apples to apples. Do not hesitate to contact any of the designers with questions or clarifications.

5. Select the designer.
Approve the estimate in writing and provide the designer the deposit amount, if required. Make sure both you and the designer adhere to the scope of work outlined in creative brief. If the scope of work changes, make sure the revised project specifications are outlined in writing and agreed to in writing by all associated decision-makers. Notify the designers you did not select and thank them for their time and effort.