Choosing a good designer for your business can be a daunting task. Especially, if you are not much aware of the concepts of graphic designing and how it works. The primary things you need to know are whether you can trust the provider and also whether they can understand your needs and deliver the best designs.
There are various types of designers as professional designing firms and freelancers etc. As you need to invest a significant amount into the designing projects, one should consider the in and out of choosing a good designer to ensure best results. Further, we will discuss a few questions which you may probably ask graphic providers in order to check their worthiness.
- Can you tell me a bit about yourself?
A professional designer will not mumble on this. A provider who has enough experience and knowledge of graphic designing will be well prepared for this question and can give you solid proof of their expertise.
- Do you have an office or work at home?
As discussed above, many designers work from home as the basic infrastructure needed for it is just a PC and designing software. If you want to sign a B2B contract, choose one with a physical infrastructure, address, and phone support. It is not a bad idea to choose a freelancer working from home if you are on a tight budget.
- How long have you been doing designing?
The experience of the provider is very important as they will be having more exposure and knowledge in different domains and to the latest technologies.
- What is your specialty?
Various designers will be having their own niche areas as some will be specializing in logo design when some others will be good in text-rich brochure and flyer designing.
- Have you done any projects similar to my need?
Check whether they are honestly answering this question, ask to show some sample designs.
- How do you charge?
Check whether they can give a detailed quote by understanding your purpose and volume.
- What are your usual payment terms?
Check whether they demand payment after completion of work? is there any up-front payment? will they charge task-wise or a monthly payment cycle?. The best option is to choose a volume-based payment release.
- What is the TAT (turnaround time)?
Whether they split tasks and set TAT for each or give a ballpark projection completion time. Once if you get the quotes from multiple providers, you can compare it alongside the costs involved and decide who fits you the best.
- Who does my work?
If you deal with an independent individual (like freelancer), this question may not exist. But, if you deal with a design services firm with many employees, try to know who will be assigned to your project, their designation and qualifications etc.
- What should I provide?
Professional providers will be having a custom questionnaire or form to fill as a systematic approach to know your exact requirement. They may also arrange for an interactive session where both the parties can ask questions.
You can also check for references and testimonials, have a look at their portfolio, and see some sample works to better decide the efficacy and reliability of a provider.
