What are the best ways to hire a Graphic Designer?

It does not matter what kind of business you are running, there comes a time in your life when you have to hire a graphic designer.  When you are not able to handle all your business alone, then you persuade yourself to give a chance to a graphic designer. Now the question arises, where to find one? How do you hire him/her? You do not need to face any kind of problem because here is everything you need to know before hiring a graphic designer.

Which kind of Graphic designer are you hiring?

There are different types of graphic designers, i.e. freelance designers, in-house designers, etc. now you have to choose what kind of graphic designer you want to hire. There are pros and cons for each, so you will have to look at which is suitable for you. Here are some things that you need to consider:

Hire a Freelance Graphic Designer:

Advantages:

• They are paid on the basis of projects.
• They are hired according to their specialization for each and every project.
• They can be hired flexibly whenever you have design needs.

Disadvantages:

• They are never available for doing your last-minute tasks.
• They will not be available to join meetings.
• You have to spend a lot of time to find the right freelancer.
• They might not be familiar with your business so you have to brief them properly.

Hire an In-house Graphic Designer:

Advantages:

• They will work for your brand only.
• You will find them whenever you want to.
• They know your brand very well.

Disadvantages:

• They have a particular area of specialization.
• If the workload is high, they will set a limit of capacity, up to which they will work only.
• They need to be paid even when you do not have any design needs.

It is quite clear from the above discussion what are the pros and cons of different types of graphic designers.  Now, let us talk about how to hire them.

To read on hiring between an agency or freelancer, please read this article.

Set Your Expectations:

The first thing that you have to do during the whole hiring process is to get your head in the right place. In other words, simply set your expectations. While setting the expectations, you have to look for these things:

What your graphic designer does or does not do?

A graphic designer is a person who is completely responsible for developing graphic support for your business.  Most people mistakenly consider graphic designers as web developers. Remember this, they are not web developers but they design the look, feel, and layout of your website.  Another thing is that the graphic designer is not necessarily a creative director. If you are looking for a creative one, then you have to hire an in-house graphic designer.

Do not forget that graphic designers have an area of expertise. You should not assume that the one who designs the amazing logos for you will also be a good stellar illustrator too.

Keep it clear what you are looking for before hiring someone:

Before you start looking for a graphic designer, you have to be clear about a few things:

• What you want to be designed e.g. logos, flyers, posters, etc.
• The look and feel you are going for.
• What are the basic elements of your brand identity like font style, colors, etc.?

If you already have something in your mind, then you have to clear those things to your designer to bring it to life.

Hire a Graphic Designer:

You should collect the details about graphic designers from different freelancing sites or you have to view different designer’s portfolios on portfolio sites. Another way of finding a graphic designer is to look for local freelancers.  So when you review different designers’ portfolios and made up your mind, it is time to finally hire a graphic designer. Now, have a look at the minor details so that the process of hiring goes smoothly for you and your designer as well.

Communicating with your designer:

When you have decided that with which designer you are going to work, the next thing is to make contact with them. Reach out and let them know that you want to work with them. Discuss the details of your project with them and give them a basic framework. Tell them about the demands that you want to fulfill. Lastly, ask them if they are available or interested in your project or not.

Negotiating pricing:

After communicating with them, the next step is to negotiate to price. You should have proper knowledge about the current market rates of various design projects before you ask them about their rate or budget. You can check on different websites about the prices of designing the projects.

When it comes to pricing, there is no one-size-fits-all solution. The rates of designs depend upon the experience of the designer or scope of the project or on some other factors. Ask your designer about his rates, compare it with your own budget, and then come up with the price that is reasonable for both of you.  Do not sacrifice quality to save a minimum amount of money.

While negotiating to price, you also have to decide about the method of payment i.e. either the designer wants to charge per hour or per project. When will you pay him? Before the project completes or after its completion? Will you send them a check by mail or any other source will be used? You have to make all these things quite clear.

Things to look for:

When you find a best graphic designer, you are most probably quite eager to work with him, but do not let your eagerness make you turn blind. If your designer is not doing the following things, then he must not be the one with whom you want to work.

• If the designer takes so many days to respond to your mails,
• If he/she asks you the entire fee before starting the work on your project,
• If he/she makes you uncomfortable,
• If he/she refuses to give references or samples.

If the designer does any of these things, then move on and hire a graphic designer. Because

“A good designer will both be able to defend his designs as well as to adapt to ideas that are not expressly his own”

Are you ready to find and hire a graphic designer?

It is understood that finding a graphic designer and then hiring him can be challenging. But as you have learned all the basic guidelines, so now just go out there and find the best graphic designer for yourself and or your business.