Choosing the best graphic designer can make or break literally any project. It is so important that you choose someone that is appropriate and that has the necessary skills to produce the best possible results. At the end of the day, the great graphic designer is the one that manages to bring the vision of the client to life, not necessarily the most skilled one. With this in mind, here are some tips from experienced designers about choosing the best person for the job.
Always Be Clear With Expectations And Goals
All successful projects will start with offering enough background information for the talent that you try to attract. A creative brief is needed, one that goes as deep into details about companies, project objectives and necessary qualifications as possible. You should also always share all potential obstacles and deadlines upfront in the design job description in order to be sure candidates are going to fully understand what is required of them. A failure to do this can potentially make designers think they can meet expectations although this would be impossible.
Know Skill Types Needed
You should always understand at least the basics of the design industry, including skill types necessary before proposals are reviewed. As an example, is the campaign going to utilize stock imagery or will candidates have to take photographs in order to have them incorporated in the end result? Will artwork be created with the use of Visual Studio or Adobe Illustrator? Do be sure that you always highlight what skills are needed for better communication.
Ask Unexpected Questions During Interviews
This helps you to narrow down the candidates so you can find the very best ones. Try to ask an unexpected thing as the interview happens. As an example, ask the considered graphic designer to critique the design of a competitor while explaining what would have been done better. Answers are going to offer numerous insights into abilities while also showing you the creative process of the candidate. You want to be sure that designers handle unknown aspects in an appropriate way. Ask something that is not necessarily related to the industry. For instance, ask about what would work and what would not for designing for Payday Loans UK direct lenders. The more out-of-the-box the question, the more you learn!
Never Rely Solely On Portfolios
The common approach when hiring a designer is to take a look at the portfolio and then make a decision. This is an incorrect approach because of the fact that the same caliber of work might not be delivered for you. It is much more important to analyze the portfolio together with the candidate. Ask about inspiration so you can learn more about the work of the designer. Also, this is an approach that will help you to see if you are going to be able to work properly with your candidate if you hire him/her.
Start With Trial Projects
If you never worked with a graphic designer till now you have no idea if things are going to work out great or not. This is why it is worthwhile doing a trial project first. The small paid sample project should only take a limited time to complete and is going to tell you a lot about how you are going to work with the designer, together with whether or not the work will be good.