Graphic designer. Are you thinking of hiring one?

If you happen to be a small business with a limited budget – and there are a lot of them about; you may be wary about hiring a professional graphic designer thinking it’s a lot of expense with no guarantee of recouping that expense.

The majority of small businesses don’t have an in-house graphic designer so it’s a wise choice to outsource your graphic design if you don’t have hours to spend learning a new trade.

If your design work isn’t of a high standard you could jeopardise your business reputation giving the wrong or even an amateur impression to potential clients which, in turn, could lead to missed business opportunities.

Hiring a graphic designer could be a risky decision if you use the wrong person for the job as you could spend a lot of money for not a lot in return.

Here are our dos and don’ts to guide you with your next graphic designer commission.

Do try to find one that you gel with and have an introductory meeting. Most will offer this as a complimentary service.

Do note down your business purpose and direction. Gather information on competitors such as their website, location, etc.

Do brainstorm words to describe your business, say who your audience are, their demographic, business size, entity and so on.

Do show your designer any material you already have and find examples of logos, images or colours that you like.

Do make sure you agree a budget and timeframe so that you both know where you stand and what you should expect before any work begins.

Do ask to see examples of their work and check out any references they have. Reading through a LinkedIn profile is a good way to see what their connections have to say about them and the quality of their work.

Do listen to your graphic designers’s advice. They will do research on your behalf and know what works and what doesn’t with regards to your design enabling you to get the best result possible for your budget.

Do have a look at their website and check out the style they have. Is it appropriate to your business and do you think it will work for you?

Don’t be tempted to go for the cheapest quote as ultimately you get what you pay for. What seemed like a good deal at the outset won’t be money well spent if you don’t end up with the result you were expecting or even one that exceeded your expectations.

Don’t interfere with the design process. You’ve researched and chosen your graphic designer with care so now it’s time to let them get on with what they do best – creating great design.

Don’t expect to have a design within a few hours. The creative process doesn’t lend itself to being rushed, sure you could get a logo designed in an hour but would that really give you value for money. It will be worth the wait to get the result you want.

Once you have decided to use a graphic designer it’s important that you let the designer to their job without interruptions. Ultimately you should be able to develop a long lasting business relationship.