What Makes a Good Graphic Designer and How to Choose One for Your Project
It’s never easy to know what to expect from a professional you are about to hire when you are not an expert in that particular field yourself. Unless you have the time to complete a full-blown course and learn the ins and outs of graphic design, here’s a lowdown on certain critical aspects of a good graphic designer and how to recognize them.
1. Familiarize Yourself With What Good Graphic Design Is
One may argue that there is no better way to know what defines high-quality graphic design than to take a look at a bunch of designs yourself first. Go through these absolutely breathtaking graphic designs on The Guerrilla, and you will get the idea soon enough. Anything that doesn’t even come close is probably something that you won’t be able to settle with. Graphic design at its core is art in digital format, so it works in the same way as art outside the digital world does; if you like it, it’s good!
2. Specify The Niche And Ask For A Sample
This is another way to make the shortlist even shorter because once you ask for a sample and specify the requirements, as well as the niche of that sample, it’s nearly impossible for any graphic designer to duplicate or steal someone else’s work. We mention it because this can at times be a problem when you simply ask for samples from a designer’s previous work.
3. What Do You Need: Define It to Yourself First
Although you may not be a graphic designer yourself, it’s still your project and, therefore, you have control or at least knowledge of all the necessary parameters. Jot down some of the specifics as mentioned below, but feel free to add more to them, which you should.
- Photo-manipulation, Vector, and Typography are common techniques used in digital design: Which one do you need?
- What are the topic and the theme of the project?
- Is experience important for you?
- Can the scope and the estimated costs suit the budget you have?
4. Check Their Reputation
It’s a classic and almost generic piece of advice, sure, but it is as relevant for choosing graphic designers as it is for hiring a construction crew! You can have the best digital artists in the world, but if he/she cannot deliver the project in time, does it really matter?
Due to changes in the parameters of a project, it is common for deadlines to be shifted from time to time, but a quick check on their reputation will reveal whether they have completely let down previous clients before you.
By now, it shouldn’t really be too hard for you to tell which ones are the right candidates for the job you have for them, and which ones are not. Once you have a super-shortlist of talented graphic design teams, the rest depends on your own judgment as you will be the one working with them after all.
