Choosing the Right Designer for Your Business

Choosing the Right Designer for Your Business

Branding is the way other people see your business, not how you see your business, so it makes sense that you’d want to be thoughtful when choosing someone to communicate your business’s visual identity.

If you’re finding it difficult to find the perfect designer you want to work with to execute your ideas, or to help you determine the best direction for your new branding, product line, marketing campaign, etc., here are some things to consider when choosing a designer that’s right for you.

Do they offer the service that you need?

The first thing to consider is whether or not they offer the service that you need. Not all designers offer all design services – usually designer’s specialize in one or a few different things. If you don’t see what you’re looking for offered as a service on their website, there could be a number of reasons, so you may not to write them off quite yet.

If you don’t see the service listed, it could be because they may not enjoy or specialize in that kind of work. If this is the case, they may make exceptions for the right price, or subject-matter if it’s something they relate too or are passionate about. Another reason you might not see the service is because they don’t have enough knowledge or experience in this kind of project, in which case they may do it for a slightly lower-budget in order to gain experience, or, they just don’t have the resources to execute that kind of project.

Here are a few ways you can inquire about their prospective interest in your project:

• Clearly state what the type of project it is (branding, web design, large-scale illustration, letter-pressed invitations, etc.).

• Describe the project subject-matter, such as “web design for a small, locally-sourced perfumery,” or “ad campaign selling our new product: zero-waste shampoo bars.” This ensures that the designer knows exactly what type of company or product they’re being asked to design for. This is important to make sure that the project aligns with their values and the kind of work they want to do, and will also give them insight into how to quote the project.

• If you already have an established brand identity and style, include the style of work you’re looking for. This will inform the designer on whether or not they’re the right fit to execute your project.

Does their work reflect the kind of work you want done?

When you look through their portfolio, do you see the kind of work you want to have done? Maybe you need creative assets for an upcoming marketing campaign; does the designer have similar work in their portfolio?

If the work on their portfolio is completely different than yours in subject-matter, style, and project-type, it probably isn’t worth reaching out to them. But, just because they may not have marketing campaign work in their portfolio, for example, doesn’t completely mean they wouldn’t be interested or a good fit for your project. Maybe they’ve always dreamed of doing more marketing collateral work and just haven’t had the opportunity. Do they have the style that you’re looking for? It might still be worth reaching out.

Does their style reflect the personality of your business?

This is probably the number one thing to consider when looking for a designer for your business. Many designers specialize in a specific style that you see repeated throughout their work, and therefore, they execute this style best (and often times better than others).

Working in styles that aren’t familiar can introduce problems that need to be troubleshooted, potentially causing the project to take longer, costing you more for work that you may not be as satisfied with if you had gone with a different designer who’s work reflects what you wanted in the first place. While this isn’t always the case, and most designers will be honest with you about their capabilities, it’s definitely worth considering. Go with someone who’s work you love.

Do they believe in your business values or project message?

This is something that’s often – but not always – important to the designer. If a designer is passionate about what you do or who you are, they will be so much more enjoyable to work with, and probably have a deeper understanding of what you’re trying to achieve and why, and have a better understanding of your audience than someone that doesn’t care about what your business is all about.

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