Working with a Designer
How to choose one that’s right for you

by: Faith Seekings

Working with a creative person is different from working with many business consultants or suppliers. They are more casual and express themselves more colourfully. Designers contribute a lot to giving you the tools you need to grow your business and are paramount in helping you build your brand visually. But with so many out there, what should you look for when choosing a designer?

Talent

The most obvious is talent. Although personal referrals are the best way to go, you should check out their work as well. Make sure his or her portfolio shows a range of items, including very recent pieces. Look not only at design concepts, but follow through and final results as well. Look for cohesiveness in a series of pieces, as well as obvious errors. See if they have a style that can be seen again and again throughout the portfolio. Many designers do, which is fine, if you like it and it suits your business. For example, don’t choose a funky rock and roll style designer because it’s cool and then expect something clean and corporate.

Rapport

Rapport is important in any business relationship. You want to feel comfortable with and trust the people you work with. You should feel they are listening and understand your requests. They should be open to and welcome your input. Conversely, they should also be willing to tell you when an idea won’t work, explain why and offer recommendations. You should be able to exchange ideas freely and be confident in their expertise.

Business structure

Having a suitable business structure – the right size company to serve you is also important. The smallest and usually least expensive would be an independent freelancer. They may have a lot of talent and be an excellent solution for small or low demand businesses. However, if you have a large-scale project, don’t choose based on price. A freelancer may have the best intentions, but simply may not have the means to deliver on a large scale project. On the other hand there are large agencies with account execs, creative directors and marketing experts, all of whom are needed to service a large account. Don’t hire a large ad agency just to impress investors. Some larger ad agencies may not take the smaller gigs as seriously and often put their most junior creatives on the project. In the middle there are varying degrees of smaller studios, or groups of independents in different disciplines working together as a team who have the time and expertise to deliver on larger scope projects; but are small enough to give personal attention to the smaller projects as well.

Establishing a brand is difficult. But, if you have the right designer who takes the time to get to know you; you will have someone on your team that will create marketing materials to help you build/support your brand visually.

Faith Seekings is the owner of Faith Seekings Design. FSD works with business owners to help align their business goals with their business image. She can be reached at 416.368.8956 or email faith@faithseekingsdesign.ca