Many people underestimate how important having great graphic design can be. For instance, take a look at this poster.

Not only is it unappealing to look at, there’s too much going on for you to process, and no clear information. If you’re in need of design help and are looking to hire a graphic designer, keep these tips in mind to make sure you get the best out of your experience:

Find your purpose

First and foremost, you will have to know why you are hiring a designer in the first place. Are you looking to design flyers? A new logo? Company stationery? A car wrap? Keeping your purpose in mind is key to knowing which skills you need to look for in a designer.

Sure, having the designer know their way around Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator is a must, but beyond that, what other skills can they offer for your specific request? For example, if you want to design a logo, the designer should have good typography or illustration skills. Need a website upgrade? Look for a designer proficient in HTML coding with a good understanding of UI/UX.

Whatever you are looking for, make sure to opt for a designer that has the right technical skills for your task.

 

What do you like? Dislike?

Besides that, you’ll also need to figure out your own style and what you want the designer to embody. If you are just starting out and unfamiliar with design, simply knowing what you like and dislike is a good starting point to share with your designer.

To make it easier for them to translate your vision to reality, providing a mood / inspiration board is a great way to jumpstart the design process. A simple way to do this is by using websites like Pinterest to group together images and designs with a style you like and want your designer to express.

Besides that, you should also let them know your brand identity, such as your signature color palette, fonts, and aesthetics. This is to make sure that the designs they come up can be seamlessly integrated with your existing collaterals.

 

Look in the right places

Knowing where to look for designers is also key to accomplishing your design goals. Plenty of websites offer freelance graphic design services, such as ThunderQuote. ThunderQuote can get you up to 5 quotes from seasoned graphic designers, all for free. From there, you can choose which designer can best fulfil your needs and be up-and-running to having your own great designs in no time.

 

Write a creative brief

Another thing that is handy to provide potential designers is a creative brief. A brief is essentially an outline of your project, encapsulating your goals, ideas, deliverables needed, budget, timeline, etc. With a well thought-out creative brief, you and your designer will be on the same page about what exactly you are looking for and what you are giving in return.

Your brief should include details such as your project summary, objectives, details on the style and ideas you’re looking at, what exactly will need to be delivered and by when, along with how much you are willing to compensate them for their services.

 

Check out their portfolio

Something important to consider when looking for a designer is taking a look at their portfolios. This is a showcase of their previous works and is handy to single out the designers who are suitable for you.

Look for relevant designs in their portfolio to ensure that they’ve had previous experience in designing what you want. If you need new name cards, make sure the designer has actually designed name cards before. If they haven’t, it’s best to look elsewhere.

Even if they have great designs, always keep in mind that just because they’re good at designing one thing, it doesn’t mean they will be in designing everything.

You should also seek out relevant industry experience in their portfolio, as it’s much easier for a designer familiar with your field to come up with appropriate designs for you.

 

Make sure you can get along

However, their portfolios aren’t the only thing you should consider. You would also have to look at a bunch of other factors, including how they communicate, their openness to adapting your ideas, their turnaround times, etc.

Having a designer who is also a good communicator and collaborator is vital in creating results that would satisfy both parties. They should be open to suggesting their own ideas and story, but also take your ideas into account.

To find these out, ask your potential hires questions about previous challenges they have faced and how they overcame them, their roles in previous tasks, how well they take constructive criticism, and how they handle designs from start to finish.

 

Feeling lost on where to find a graphic designer? ThunderQuote can help! Submit a request and get up to 5 designers’ quotes for free!

ThunderQuote is the most comprehensive business services portal in Singapore, Australia and ASEAN , where hundreds of thousands of dollars of procurement contracts are sourced every month by major companies like Singapore Press Holdings, National Trade Union Congress and more.