You had me at “hello”…
By Auni Milne
A strong and creative company brand can distinguish you from your competitors, communicate your value, and ring true to your potential and existing customers. So how do you find a graphic designer who can help you stand out with an identity that looks smart, engages your audience, and drives them to act?
Sometimes it’s immediately obvious during a discovery call that your businesses were meant for each other — a true meeting of minds! — but often it’s not as clear. I’ve put together some ideas below which will help you sift through the options and choose the one you were meant to be with ❤️ 🥳
1. Experience
Is the designer able to offer a variety of creative for different kinds of clients? Experienced designers are familiar with a large number of disciplines and budgets, as well as being super efficient with processes and time.
2. Portfolio
Take a bit of a deep dive into the design examples on their website. If there isn’t a lot of work there, this could be an indication of a lack of experience. See if they’ve done work for businesses similar in some ways to your own. For example, if you’re looking for web design but don’t see a ton of that on their site, they might not be the right fit.
Take a deep dive!
3. Expertise
How does the graphic designer present? Do they have a blog? Are they active in social media? What does their LinkedIn profile look like? Do they use these platforms to simply showcase their work, or do they offer helpful advice and tips? If they have a blog and you find yourself learning from them, then they are likely able to offer you more value for your money.
4. Testimonials and reviews
There is probably nothing out there that shows off a company’s success like testimonials and reviews. Does your potential designer have those on their site? Do they have Google reviews? These can really shed light on customer experience.
5. Responsiveness
Make sure to determine in advance that your designer will be available when you need them. Don’t be afraid to ask about timelines and availability in your initial discovery call.
6. Value vs. rates
It’s important to appreciate the value of services you’re looking to buy. It helps to think about how you may not hesitate to pay an expert electrician or auto mechanic $90.00/hour. The public face of your business is critical and proper graphic design can really make it stand out.
7. Big picture thinking
It’s a good idea to have a sense of how a designer looks at your needs. Ideally they are looking at your project from a big picture perspective rather than a one-off job. A seasoned professional will provide holistic advice with a view towards your goals and aspirations.
8. Respectful counsel
An experienced graphic designer may offer advice that could cause you to reconsider how you’re approaching your project. This is a good thing! Listen to their experienced advice. A great collaboration means trusting each other’s core strengths and expertise.
9. Passion, responsibilities, results
A really great designer will check their design concept many times, ensuring that the alignment, visual balance, and colour are all on brand with the creative brief you will have helped them put together. The end product will be suitable and versatile so that you have exactly what you need.
10. Nuts and bolts
Last but not least, when it comes to great design, the devil is in the details. Your ideal match will be meticulous and thorough, be seriously organized, and have excellent communication and problem solving skills. They will have access to a network of experts in order to offer turn-key services from copy writing to logo design to web development.
I hope all this information helps you put together a list of candidates for consideration. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me if you have questions. Or if you’d simply like to jump straight into a project, we’ve got your back. Get in touch!
Branding. Elevated.
Sumack Loft 