How to choose a graphic designer

1. How to choose a graphic designer While marketing has always been a significant part of running any business or selling any product, branding has taken on a massively significant role in marketing even the smallest of business. Today’s consumers don’t just buy products, they are fans of brands. Because your brand is such a crucial component of marketing, it’s extremely important for businesses to hire the right designers to develop a comprehensive branding package, from logos to signage to leaflets, pamphlets, brochures and business cards. Finding a graphic designer in Chicago is not hard, finding the right one can be a bit more difficult. Here are 6 keys to finding the right designer for you. 1. Know what you’re looking for What’s true in business is true in life: Before you can find what you are looking for, you have to know what you are looking for. Before you can choose the right graphic designer for you, you have to have some sense of the specific type of design aesthetic you are looking for. If you want to know what your design aesthetic is, look around you. Are you neat, tidy, messy or utterly chaotic? Do you surround yourself with cool earth tones or bright, loud colors and busy patterns? Whether you are choosing a designer for your own company or one you work for, what you have already built is going to give you a good indication of your design aesthetic, which is going to tell you a lot about the kind of designer you’re going to want to hire.

2. 2. Ask for recommendations There is no licensing process for graphic designers, so pretty much anyone with a computer and an internet connection can call themselves a graphic designer (be it in Chicago or anywhere in the world). Among the thousands of so-called and wannabe graphic designers, there are hundreds of genuine professionals. Finding them, however, can be the challenge. One of the best ways to start is to ask for recommendations from colleagues, friends and acquaintances. Make sure they have actually worked with the individual personally, however and that they are not just recommending a friend of a friend of a friend that they heard does good work or someone’s buddy that does graphic design. 3. Ask for samples of a designer’s work to see if their aesthetic fits with yours Graphic designers are artists, and like all artists they generally have a style all their own. If you run an edgy tattoo parlor or a comic book shop, you probably don’t want to hire a graphic designer that has a portfolio full of designs for some of the biggest white collar firms in Chicago. If you run a gaming store, you probably don’t want a designer that has no experience in marketing to teens and young adults.

3. 4. Give them a small project to start with but don’t ask them to work for free Professionals get paid for their work. Period. If you want to hire a professional, don’t expect them to work for free. It is a good idea to start with a small project at first to see what kind of ideas they can come up with, but don’t ask them to create samples for you for free. You’re asking them to invest their time in creating something unique for you, so pay them for that time. If you don’t like what they have to offer, you can move on and find someone else, no harm, no foul, but do pay them for whatever time they invested in the initial process! 4. Hire a designer whose business matches yours If you are a small, independent business, you probably want a freelance graphic designer. If you are a mid-sized business, you may want a graphic designer that works out of their own graphic design studio, and if you are a larger company, you may want to hire a design firm that has a number of graphic designers on staff.

4. 6. Find someone that matches your work style You may want to be very hands-on in the design process, choosing specific colors or having a basic outline of what you want already in mind. Some graphic designers love helping you bring your vision to life and some graphic designers resent being given a basic structure they then have to fit in. Neither of these styles is right or wrong, it just might be right or wrong for you. Some graphic designers will give you regular updates, send you samples and keep in regular communication - others you won’t hear from until they have a finished product to show you. Again, neither of these styles is right or wrong, but more than just finding someone that can create something you like, you want to find someone you can work well with over the long haul. Finding a graphic designer in Chicago (or anywhere you might be located!) that fits well with your style and vision can be a challenge, but you can significantly shorten the process by knowing what you are looking for first. Even if you have no idea what your design aesthetic is, that can help you find a designer that can help you figure it out. Knowing what you are looking for will go a long way towards helping you find it! Thank you for reading! You can find more articles about graphic design here: https://www.vergegraphics. com/blog. Verge Studios is the award-winning graphic and web design studio of David Barthwell, based in Chicago. We help supercharge your business by developing thoughtful design solutions based on a foundation of classical fine arts, advanced marketing techniques, and cutting-edge technology. We specialize in brand creation, re-design projects, and custom web design and development for small and medium-sized businesses. Written: April 29, 2017 by David Barthwell