How to choose a graphic designer

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How to choose a graphic designer
While marketing has always been a significant
part of running any business or selling any
product, branding has taken on a massively
significant role in marketing even the smallest
of business. Todays consumers dont just buy
products, they are fans of brands. Because your
brand is such a crucial component of marketing,
its extremely important for businesses to hire
the right designers to develop a comprehensive
branding package, from logos to signage to
leaflets, pamphlets, brochures and business
cards. Finding a graphic designer in Chicago is
not hard, finding the right one can be a bit
more difficult. Here are 6 keys to finding the
right designer for you. 1. Know what youre
looking for Whats true in business is true in
life Before you can find what you are looking
for, you have to know what you are looking
for. Before you can choose the right graphic
designer for you, you have to have some sense of
the specific type of design aesthetic you are
looking for. If you want to know what your
design aesthetic is, look around you. Are you
neat, tidy, messy or utterly chaotic? Do you
surround yourself with cool earth tones or
bright, loud colors and busy patterns? Whether
you are choosing a designer for your own company
or one you work for, what you have already built
is going to give you a good indication of your
design aesthetic, which is going to tell you a
lot about the kind of designer youre going to
want to hire.
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2. Ask for recommendations There is no licensing
process for graphic designers, so pretty much
anyone with a computer and an internet
connection can call themselves a graphic designer
(be it in Chicago or anywhere in the world).
Among the thousands of so-called and wannabe
graphic designers, there are hundreds of genuine
professionals. Finding them, however, can be the
challenge. One of the best ways to start is to
ask for recommendations from colleagues, friends
and acquaintances. Make sure they have actually
worked with the individual personally, however
and that they are not just recommending a friend
of a friend of a friend that they heard does good
work or someones buddy that does graphic design.
3. Ask for samples of a designers work to see if
their aesthetic fits with yours Graphic
designers are artists, and like all artists they
generally have a style all their own. If you run
an edgy tattoo parlor or a comic book shop, you
probably dont want to hire a graphic designer
that has a portfolio full of designs for some of
the biggest white collar firms in Chicago. If
you run a gaming store, you probably dont want
a designer that has no experience in marketing to
teens and young adults.
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4. Give them a small project to start with but
dont ask them to work for free Professionals
get paid for their work. Period. If you want to
hire a professional, dont expect them to work
for free. It is a good idea to start with a small
project at first to see what kind of ideas they
can come up with, but dont ask them to create
samples for you for free. Youre asking them to
invest their time in creating something unique
for you, so pay them for that time. If you dont
like what they have to offer, you can move on
and find someone else, no harm, no foul, but do
pay them for whatever time they invested in the
initial process!
4. Hire a designer whose business matches
yours If you are a small, independent business,
you probably want a freelance graphic designer.
If you are a mid-sized business, you may want a
graphic designer that works out of their own
graphic design studio, and if you are a larger
company, you may want to hire a design firm that
has a number of graphic designers on staff.
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6. Find someone that matches your work style You
may want to be very hands-on in the design
process, choosing specific colors or having a
basic outline of what you want already in mind.
Some graphic designers love helping you bring
your vision to life and some graphic designers
resent being given a basic structure they then
have to fit in. Neither of these styles is right
or wrong, it just might be right or wrong for
you. Some graphic designers will give you
regular updates, send you samples and keep in
regular communication - others you wont hear
from until they have a finished product to show
you. Again, neither of these styles is right or
wrong, but more than just finding someone that
can create something you like, you want to find
someone you can work well with over the long
haul. Finding a graphic designer in Chicago (or
anywhere you might be located!) that fits well
with your style and vision can be a challenge,
but you can significantly shorten the process by
knowing what you are looking for first. Even if
you have no idea what your design aesthetic is,
that can help you find a designer that can help
you figure it out. Knowing what you are looking
for will go a long way towards helping you find
it! Thank you for reading! You can find more
articles about graphic design here
https//www.vergegraphics. com/blog. Verge
Studios is the award-winning graphic and web
design studio of David Barthwell, based in
Chicago. We help supercharge your business by
developing thoughtful design solutions based on
a foundation of classical fine arts, advanced
marketing techniques, and cutting-edge
technology. We specialize in brand creation,
re-design projects, and custom web design and
development for small and medium-sized
businesses. Written April 29, 2017 by David
Barthwell