The Top 5 Things to Look for in a Graphic Designer
We realize that looking for a graphic designer can be difficult because there are so many graphic designers all over the world. The neat thing is that with the internet all of the most talented designers are at your fingertips.
So with all these options we’d like to help make the “looking” a little simpler when searching for the right graphic designer for the job. We’re going to answer the question, “What are the top 5 things to look for in a graphic designer?” by asking questions that can help you answer this one.
1. Have you looked at their portfolio? Most savvy graphic designers have a website that features their best work. Visit their website to see the work they’ve done. If their work is excellent on a scale of: BAD, GOOD, BETTER, BEST, EXCELLENT, then they might be the perfect candidate for your project.
2. Do they have satisfied customers? Their designs might be fabulous but their customer service might stink. Of course, you might not be in a rush for your design work, but if you are you might want to check references to see how quickly they deliver and if they deliver exactly what their customers want. Ask them for a list of references that you can call and check up on.
3. Have they asked you a lot of sensible questions about your particular project? Have they brought things to your mind that help you, but that you didn’t think about before? Do they seem interested in what it is you’re trying to accomplish or do they seem in a rush to get started? If they don’t ask enough questions they probably aren’t going to give you the design you want and deserve.
4. Is there a language barrier between you and the designer? If the designer doesn’t understand you and you aren’t able to adequately communicate and express your ideas easily to the designer it might not be a good idea to continue. It might just be money down the tubes…
5. Lastly, and of course, what do they charge?? We believe that the right graphic design is important, but we also believe that it can be accomplished at a fair/reasonable price. Make sure it’s the right price.
We hope this top 5 list will help you in your search. Be sure to visit the site and get pre-registered for the launch of ThePerfectDesign.com. We will keep you informed with exciting updates coming soon!
All the best!
yes everything is all true……………….always.
A good graphic designers sould be able to generate visual presentation and design of goods, including websites, detergent boxes, album covers, and dog food cans also their work is usually done on a project basis. Designers must be able to work under extreme time constraints and very defined financial and design limits to produce quality material. A good graphic designer must be able to synthesize feedback from a number of different sources into a distinctive image; use research prepared by a marketing department and cost specifications determined by a budgeting department; and produce a variety of sketches and models that demonstrate different approaches to the product.
Your five criteria focus on the nuts and bolts, upon which projects routinely succeed or fail. They do not consider a “creative insight” factor (which in this case may be taken as the genius factor), by which merely capable projects are distinguished from brilliant ones. It is difficult to assess the importance of genius in any particular situation, but suggesting it is easy to model or that it is unimportant do not contribute to the resolution of the problem.
For me, a good graphic designer must be rooted deep enough with the basic word,’design’. It is neither a hobby nor a profession merely borne out of one’s intrinsic talent to draw and illustrate, or expertise and exposure with graphics software or digital magic; first and foremost you must have the heart and eye for design – the passion, the inspiration to translate an idea into something visually effective.
@J. Michael Queen
J. Michael Queen – you’re absolutely right!
Why are you not choosing a graphic designer to design your logo? You have a list of advice for choosing one but you are not following your own advice. What is the article, “5 things to look for in a graphic designer” for if you don’t choose one to design your own logo?
Perhaps you do not know that ethical, standards for professional graphic designers prevent them from entering contests where no one is paid but the winner. Design contests like the one you have don’t promote graphic design as a legitimate career choice. How many designers will do the work, submit the designs in the hope of getting paid but wont win? How long can designers feed them selves, put a roof over their heads, when every job is a design contest? A few will rise to the top but most will not succeed. Even those with massive talent need practice (example Tigger Woods). To have a healthy industry we all need to understand that these type of contests hurt the designers and the clients.
Just what type of a logo do you think you are going to get with this contest? Creating a logo is a process. The client and designer must work together so the resulting mark is suitable, appropriate fitting it’s requirements in the blink of an eye. When the process is one sided (designer alone, no client input) the client is only doing themselves a disservice. How can a designer come up with a logo when they know practically nothing about the client? Even a good designer with years of experience can only guess what might be needed. Often the process of designing a logo or any other communication starts in one place and ends up in another through questions, research, and business education of both the client and the designer. That is what you pay for when you pay a designer to create a logo, not just what ever pops into their head, when ever they get some time to work on a non paying job. It will likely be far from the perfect design.
If you want to find out more about professional standards in graphic design look up “Graphic Designers Association”. They are in most countries of the world.