A graphic designer is someone who puts together a visual and textual message in order to convey an idea or emotion. Some graphic designers work for companies or organizations, and others are freelancers, but either way, they're serving a similar purpose to copywriters: in the world of advertising, marketing, public relations, and other commercial fields, copywriters are responsible for writing printed materials that sell. Copywriters do this by structuring their writing to appeal to the reader's emotions. Graphic designers do this by creating visual images that appeal to the reader's emotions.
Hiring a professional graphic designer for your business can be a big step. Maybe you've already done some design work on your own and are ready to take it to the next level. Or maybe you're looking for someone to come in and create your logo, redesign your website, or create some brochures for a big event your company is planning. Whatever the case, hiring a graphic designer is an investment—you're making an investment not just in the design but also in their expertise.
When designing for print, there are many factors to consider, like color and size of text, alignment, and style of image, all of these things have to be taken into account when thinking about how your project will look in its final form. And that's before you even get into the process of actually creating the design!
What kind of expertise do graphic designers have?
Graphic designers have a variety of different skills and can do many different things, so it's hard to say exactly what you'll get when you hire one. Some graphic designers are especially good at designing logos, while others specialize in page layouts. A good graphic designer can be a great help to a small business, pushing them forward and helping them look professional.
A great graphic designer can also help with more abstract tasks, such as finding the right color scheme for a website or how best to utilize the space on a billboard. It all depends on the work you give your designer and what kind of experience he or she has.
There's no one best way to use a graphic designer—it can be helpful to get several different perspectives on different ideas, or it may be that you already know what you want and just need someone to put it on paper (or monitor). It's up to you, but regardless of how you go about it, don't underestimate the value of hiring a professional who has expertise in the field of graphic design.
7 steps to Hire a Graphic Designer
Graphic designers have a certain mystique about them, especially for those of us who aren't professionals in the design field. But here's the thing: you're designing a website, brochure, or any other promotional material, and it needs to look professional. Hiring a graphic designer is worth the money. Here are the steps to take when hiring one:
1) Identify graphic design needs
The first issue is that graphic designers need a lot of information in order to do their jobs well—information that the owner may not even realize is important or even exists. For example, a dentist needs to know which specific styles patients are responding best to and how long patients typically wait in the office during certain procedures.
A graphic designer also needs access to all of the company's marketing collateral and social media presence so that they can maintain consistency across all of these platforms. You can't just give them a Word document with your logo on it and call it good—they need access to your brand guidelines and other documents that help them adhere to your brand identity and make sure everything looks consistent across all channels. Without this key information, the final products will likely look unprofessional and won't achieve their full potential.
2) Think about the Budget
Think about the budget. A lot of people think that to get a logo, they just have to send out a contest on a freelancer site like oDesk or Freelancer, and they'll get back a bunch of logos for as low as $5. But then, when they look at the designs, they're unimpressed because it's obvious that the designer didn't put much time or effort into the project for such a small fee.
Would you hire someone to build your house for $5? Probably not. Why hire someone to design your logo for $5? It doesn't make sense. Try to plan out how much you're willing to spend on a graphic designer before looking around for one.
The other thing is that there are different kinds of designers. Some are extremely talented and can produce great work in almost no time, but others might not be able to do that at all and might need more time than you anticipated. You need to know which kind of designer you're looking at before committing yourself to them, so ask them what their process is (and if they don't understand what you mean by this question –run away! Run away!).
3) Determine Timeline
The first step in hiring a graphic designer is to determine your timeline. The most important thing to remember is that the earlier you start, the earlier you'll have something to put on your website and use in other materials. If you are thinking about launching a campaign in the near future and want to have a logo ready, I would recommend starting around 4-5 months before your launch date.
This will give your designer enough time to create multiple concepts and revisions, as well as enough time for you to decide on one that you like. If you have more time, it will give your designer more flexibility when creating concepts. The sooner you can get started with this process, the better!
4) Research Potential Graphic Designers
If you're looking for a graphic designer, start by doing research. You can check out their portfolio to get an idea of their style and how much the services will cost. Once you've found someone you like, don't be afraid to reach out to them—you want to make sure they're available for your project. If you like them, ask for their rates, and if they're within your budget, hire them!
Leading up to the holidays is a great time to get your design work done. Graphic designers are usually more available during the holidays since they have less work at this time of year. They might even have some discounts or special promotions going on, so you can save money if you book your design work now!
5) Create a job description and Ad
The best way to hire a graphic designer for your business is to create a job description and advertisement for the position. Conducting an interview with the potential employee can be helpful, but the most important part of the hiring process is creating a job description. The job description will provide you with information about position requirements and responsibilities.
The job description should include things like what specific skills the designer needs to possess, what type of personality and attitude makes for a great graphic designer on your team, and other details about the position that are important to you and your business.
A good rule of thumb for creating a job description is that it should be no longer than one page. Make sure that it outlines everything that's included in the position and anything else that you might need to know about the candidate.
If you don't have experience in graphic design, write down some details about what you think makes a good graphic designer, then compare those to the candidate's resume or portfolio.
6) Interview Candidates
When you're interviewing candidates for a job, there are a few specific things you should be looking for. But to make sure you find those things, you need to know what questions to ask. Do your homework first. What credentials does the candidate have? Get a sense of their experience; it's fine if they don't have every single one of the qualifications you're looking for, but it doesn't bode well if they're lacking in any experience or training that would be required for the job. Do they have references? If not, ask why and how they've been able to accomplish similar projects in the past. Would they be willing to provide references upon request? How do they react when asked about their previous work experience and what it taught them? Is this someone who stays calm under pressure or someone who panics when things aren't going well?
7) Make a decision and an offer
When you hire an independent contractor, a professional designer, or anyone who's not an employee, you're making an offer to them. You're asking this person to provide a service for a certain amount of money. This is not the time to be wishy-washy.
Make a decision about what you want and make your offer clear and firm. Waiting for a deal will only waste time; if the first designer doesn't accept your offer, chances are that the next one won't either. If you're not sure about how much work is involved in the job and/or what a fair price would be, get some quotes from other designers first so that your offer will be fair (more on that below) and realistic.
Benefits of hiring a graphic designer
The benefits of hiring a graphic designer include:
-Graphic designers are used to working with a wide variety of clients and projects, so you can be sure your work is in good hands.
-You get lots of variety for your money. Designers can give you logo options, print materials, web design, and social media design.
-Designers often have access to the best technology, like 3D rendering software and graphic video editing programs.
-A designer can develop a complete brand identity for your business, including business cards, letterhead, email signatures, and other print materials.
-A good graphic designer will help you develop a cohesive marketing campaign instead of just designing individual pieces.
-You don't have to learn how to use all the expensive software required for professional quality design work; a graphic designer can do it for you!
Drawbacks of hiring a graphic designer
Hiring a graphic designer is expensive, and it can make you look unprofessional.
If you want your business to be taken seriously, it's more important than ever to have a professional website and logo that represents your brand well.
Plenty of people just starting out in their careers get talked into hiring one of those "quick" online graphic design services, but they end up with an amateurish logo or website that doesn't reflect well on the business.
For the cost of one logo, you could get several inexpensive prints or other items designed for your business that give off a more professional vibe (e.g., if you own a bakery, elaborate sugar cookies, or cupcake wrappers).
If you're already working with the same graphic designer who helped create your logo, then no harm done—but if you're going to go this route, be sure to get something specific designed for your business before turning to an online marketplace.
It's not worth it to wind up with generic artwork that won't help your brand stand out—and will probably cost less if you design it yourself using templates and stock images.
Conclusion
Having a graphic designer is the best way to have an attractive, well-designed logo. I have been in this situation before, and it was such a hassle to get something that looked even close to decent. There are plenty of places you can find someone who can design a logo for your business, but if you don't know where to look, then just do a quick Google search of "graphic designer" or "logo designer". It will be hard to find one that gives you a professional-looking logo at a cheap price—but if you are willing to pay for this service, then I'm sure you'll find someone who is worth it.
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