Looking for a design partner to uplift the face of your business? Well, selecting a like mind could be knotty and the process could be rocky. It takes real tricks to see through the skills and assess the worth of a designer. The more the designer speaks high about himself, the more he builds up the mystery. The following tips will help you select the right designer, if not hit the bull’s eye.
1. Hire professional designers instead of an artist
In most cases, if you have a business goal to accomplish, it’s worth hiring a designer, who would understand the same. Goals are set when you start a business or want to spread your established business to compete in the market. In such cases, you ought to have a designing partner to promote your business through marketing campaigns and fetch manifold results. A good designer will suggest you landscapes that are in sync with your business requirements and will reflect to you.
A good and professional designer will never give up till you understand and are comfortable with his craft. This urge boosts a healthy communication between the designer and the client.
2. Don’t be judgemental while checking the portfolio
While hiring a designer, you would obviously want to look at his portfolio to have an idea about his skill from some of his previous works. You may also be curious about the clientele he has worked with. If you look at the portfolio with the intention that some of his work might reflect your requirement, you might return disappointed. Remember, the designer has worked considering the budget, requirement and constraints of a different client, which is not likely to match yours. Hence, don’t be judgmental. Instead try to assess the quality of his work and whether he is fit to be hired.
3. Make the right selection
While being seated on the other side of the interview table, you’ll most likely come across two genres of candidates. One, who wouldn’t stop talking big about his prior achievements and the other who would patiently listen to your requirements and then accordingly relate himself with the same. It is wise to hire the second candidate. An inquisitive mind that’s keen to know about your business goals, target audience, workflow etc. makes for the apt candidate.
Somebody who has come with the intention of selling himself and not serving your interests may not be the right choice.
4. Discuss your budget and constraints
Discussing financial transactions could be tricky sometimes. Well, a professional designer can get a work done for both $200 and $2000. But, churning out the best value and quality out of the designer within the stipulated budget is your job. The budget could be one of those genuine constraints in your business but how you play with it, is the real show!
5. Make sure your designer is there to stay
While it is good to look for a talented professional, it is equally important to be able to become very familiar with him as an individual. The size of your project and its complexity may demand you to spend hours together with your designer. In such situations, it becomes obvious that there’s an easy flow of communication and comfort zone between the two. No wonder there’ll be moments of frustration and pain, clarity and joy, but that should not mar the work relations and ethics. Make sure your designer isn’t among them who would just run away at the slightest point of disagreement. Nothing could be more frustrating than a designer abandoning the project smack in the middle.
6. Your designer shouldn’t be afraid of placing his opinion
Most candidates look very promising and opinionated at the interview table. They speak so high and big about themselves that you end up growing lofty expectations about them. But all these seem to subside down the line when they hit the projects. Most of them turn out to be namby-pamby and nod their head in agreement to your whims and wishes, just because they are afraid to argue. Remember, a designer has been hired to provide new convincing solutions and ideas and not work on the path previously set by you. No matter even if you get crossed, the designer shouldn’t hold himself from coming up with his opinions at the interest of your goals.
7. Designing isn’t a forced investment
Don’t drag yourself to hire a designer, if at the back of your mind you believe that designing is nothing less than a luxury and not crucial for your business at all. It is very important to understand that designing is a conceptual part of the business process itself. It can lead to profit making and that is when the investment that you’re making behind a designer would be worth every penny. Hence, while hiring a design partner, just try to foresee the manifold return, you’re going to get tomorrow, out of the money that you’re spending on him today!