5 Questions To Ask Yourself When Hiring a Designer

Recently, a potential client called to enquire about working together. I always like to probe and ask fundamental questions to find out more.These include questions about competitors, target audience, the brand vision and what success looks like. Although we got on well, in the end, I was out of his budget sadly.

Before we ended the call though, he asked for designers I knew, and what questions to ask them to ensure they were a good fit.

I wrote this for him but thought it would make a useful blog post.

1) Do we get on? 

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Ask yourself if you would actually want to spend time with this person. If this designer cares about your project and wants to give you a great service, you will have regular contact with this person over of a month. If you don’t like this person, it’s going to make the branding process harder because you may not like working with them. Do you want to trust your brand identity with someone that you don’t feel 100% comfortable with?

2) Does this designer have a clear process?

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Ask what the designer’s process is. If the designer sounds unsure about their own process, this means that the designer may not have a smooth and efficient process. Do they present a full brand identity with logo, colour palette, typography, brand elements, social media post templates and mock-ups? Do they only make a logo? How long does their process take? Do they do brand strategy as part of the service or is it straight in to designs?

Ensure that their process is solid and you feel confident with them working on your brand.

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3) Does this designer do anything more than make things pretty?

Obviously, you want to choose a designer that does work that you like. What might not be as obvious is what other skills/expertise do they offer when working with you. Do they understand marketing as well as branding which could support you as your brand takes off?Do they offer you helpful advice and support after working with them? Do they ensure that you both understand the market landscape, competitors, and target audience before designing or just hope for the best?

4) Has this designer got experience in my niche?

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Does this designer have experience in your niche? Have they worked with clients similar to you and what is the outcome of the project for this client? I would recommend reaching out to the designers previous clients (they should have links to their clients work or testimonials) and ask what it was like working with them. They can provide that extra insight if they have already done a project with a client in your particular niche.

5) Is this designer excited to work on this project with me?

If you get on a call with a designer and don’t feel pumped to work with them after the call, I wouldn’t hire them. They should be excited by your project. They should want your brand to succeed not just by saying ‘I want your brand to succeed,’ but by exploring your vision of where this brand will be in 5 years time. They should make you not only feel comfortable and confident but inspired.

Finally, if you have any reservations, ask them on the call.You must be open with your designer and if you don’t feel like you can do that on the first call, it doesn’t bode well for the future.

Hope this helps!