I think you’ll agree with me when I say:
Starting a business is a mixed bag of emotions.
At the beginning of our entrepreneurial journey, we try to do everything.
As the months go by, you become stressed and overwhelmed. Over time, you realize you need help, but you don’t know who can help.
Soon, or later, you start cutting back in areas that you’re not passionate about.
One major area entrepreneurs pay less attention to is graphic design.
Finding a graphic designer can be very stressful. Especially, if you’ve never done it before.
However, adding a designer can add tremendous value to your business.
99designs conducted a survey of 1,500 small business and startups. Out of 1,500, 49% believed the graphic design was essential.
Think about it.
Design-driven companies realize the impact of design in their business practices.
How do you find a graphic designer for your business?
I’m glad you asked. Keep reading.
What is graphic design?
In this post, I will provide you tips on what to look for in a high-quality graphic designer.
Before you start looking, you need to understand what graphic design is.
There are tons of definitions on what graphic design actually is.
If I were to give graphic design a definition it would be:
The organization and presentation of information developed through a creative process to accomplish a specific purpose.
Without information, graphic design is meaningless.
Information is often given during a brief, a meeting or discussion with a designer. During the meeting, the client will present their thoughts and ideas for the project.
Once the information is received, the designer will then research, plan and develop a final product based on the information they received.
To visually communicate the mission and vision of your brand, you will need the assistance of a graphic designer.
Before you start looking
Starting out, people will ask friends, family or colleagues, if they know a graphic designer.
People will even ask their friends on social media for advice and have their friends tag their recommendations on their posts (this happens to me!).
Before you start looking for a graphic designer, you need to do the following.
1. Know your niche.
What is a niche?
A niche is a focused, sometimes small, segment of a market you desire to provide products or services for.
Let me now explain.
Imagine you own a catering business. Anytime you think of catering, you think of food, right?
However, there are tons of catering companies that specialize in different things.
For example, a catering company could focus on weddings, corporate events, bachelorette parties, baby showers, barbeque, etc.
Knowing the niche, you’re will save you time and money in the long run.
You might be wondering:
So, how do you find your niche?
To discover your niche, ask yourself the following questions:
- What am I passionate about?
- What type of problems do I solve?
- What do people come to me for the most?
- What type of skills do I have?
- What demand do I fill in the market?
- What do I want to be known for?
An excellent place to start is to ask your family, friends, or colleagues for their opinion.
2. Know your target audience
All customers are not created equal.
After finding your niche, you will need to discover your ideal customer.
You may be thinking:
“Isn’t my niche the target audience?”
No, it’s not.
As we said before, your niche is a service, or product, that your business specializes in. Your target audience would be the person, or group, your business targets in your marketing.
This type of person is in LOVE with your business. Think of them as raving fans.
When you’re thinking about your target audience, here are a few things to ask yourself.
- Who would love your product or services?
- What kind of things do they enjoy doing?
- Where do they live?
- What is their demographic?
- What problems does your ideal customer have?
- What networks are they apart of online?
When researching your target audience, it’s always a good idea to look back, and analyze, past customers you’ve enjoyed working with.
3. Research. Research. RESEARCH!
Graphic design is continuously evolving.
The type of designs that worked 20 years ago will not have the same impact.
Bottom line: Doing research will give you an idea of the trends that are going on within your industry. This will help your brand stay fresh and relevant.
You may be wondering: “Where should I start my research?”
The best place to start is by searching the internet.
With the internet, you have the world at your fingertips. All the research you do can be done online from the comfort of your own home.
When searching online, look for things that grab your attention. Look for a specific style that you could use in your business.
When doing research for your business, look for the following things:
- Styles of graphic design
- Use of photography
- Use of colors
- Type of fonts used
- How they use the design on social media pages
- What kind of information do they include their marketing materials (ex. Flyers, business cards, letterheads, etc.).
- The type of posts their fans respond to on social media.
Here are a few places online I recommend when doing your research.
Facebook is the third most popular website in the world.
With over one billion active users, Facebook is an excellent place to market your business.
Facebook is also great to see what your competition is doing for their business.
Observing how businesses in your niche use Facebook will show you what is and isn’t working.
To begin your research, enter a keyword in the search bar on Facebook. Try using a broad keyword and then narrow your search from there.
In this case, let’s use the word “catering.” After you enter your keyword, go to the “Pages” page in your search.
Now, go through the fan pages that stand out.
When you find a page you like, you can Save them by clicking on the menu next to the “Recommend” button.
Go back to your News Feed page. Under Explore, click “Saved.”
To view all the fan pages you saved, go to the “Places” page.
This feature is also great to save video, posts, and even links that are shared on your timeline.
In your research, don’t be fooled by how many likes you see on their fan page. Instead, look for how their audience engages on their page.
What type of posts gets the most likes and comments? What kind of things do they incorporate in their branding?
If they have reviews on their page, take note of what people are saying. Testimonials are filled with keywords you could use in your marketing.
The goal is not to reinvent the wheel. The goal is to find what’s working and do precisely that.
Pinterest is more than a place to find ideas for a baby shower or a wedding.
It’s actually a great tool to find inspiration and also generate new leads for your business.
To get started, you need to create a Pinterest account. If you plan to use Pinterest for business, you can create a business account.
If you’re already using Pinterest, you can convert your personal account into a business account.
Now that you’re logged in, it’s time to create a private board to store all your favorite designs.
Go to your profile, click the “Board” and then click the “Create Board.”
After you create your board, enter a keyword or type of design you need inspiration for. For example, in the search box type in “catering flyers.” Now, you should see several examples of catering flyers.
You should now see a page filled with designs.
When you find a design that you like, hover over or click the image, and hit “Save.” Now, find the board you created and click “Save” save again.
The great thing about Pinterest is that you can add images from almost anywhere on the website. All you have to do is add the Pinterest button to your web browser.
Google is the world’s biggest search engine, by 80%. By far, Google is the best search engine to do research.
In your Google search, type in your niche with the type of design you want.
Say you have a catering business that specializes in barbeque. For your search, you type in “barbeque business cards” or “business cards for barbeque business.”
When the results show up, click “images” to see all the designs that come up.
If you’ve added a Pinterest button to your browser, you can save graphics to your Pinterest Board!
To do that select the design you want to save. Once you hover over the image, you see a Pinterest icon on the image.
When you click the image, it will bring up a window showing the graphic you want. Once you select it, add it to your board. That’s it!
4. Know your budget
Hiring a graphic designer is an investment, not an expense.
Ask yourself: How much am I willing to dedicate to this project?
When it comes to your design budget honest and realistic.
Knowing what you’re willing to invest will determine the quality of the designer you hire.
Keep in mind that you get what you pay for.
When developing a budget, there are two things to keep in mind: the complexity of the project and the experience of the designer.
A complex project would be a complete re-branding for your business vs. a simple flyer design for an event. There would be a difference in fees for each project.
Also, some graphic designers work by the hour, whereas some provide a flat rate for a project.
Sometimes, graphic designers are willing to work with your budget (ex. reduce deposit, monthly installments, etc.) especially if they feel that you’re an excellent fit for your business.
If you’re not sure how much you should have for a design budget, do a search online for the type of design work you need and see how much designer’s charge.
Also, ask around within your city. Some designers charge based on where they live.
For example, a graphic designer in New York will charge more than a designer in Columbus, Ohio.
Lastly, if you see some who will charge $5 for a logo, RUN!
5. Create a project list
Knowing the type of design work you need will save you time, for both you and the graphic designer.
Creating a project list will give the designer an idea of what your needs are. This will also help to see if the graphic designer is a good fit for your business. His skill set may, or may not, be what you’re looking for.
Also, for each project on your list, be sure to find examples of designs that inspire you. In the past, I’ve had clients give me sketches they’ve drawn. Some might laugh at this. I was actually grateful they were willing to give me something!
6. Know the type of design work you need.
There are tons of graphic designers in the world.
When looking for designers, it’s important to know what type of graphic designer you need.
Ideally, you want a designer who specializes in the type of work you’re looking for.
For example, if you need a logo, you would search for “logo designer.”
If you need things for print, such as flyers, brochures, and posters, then you would look for a print designer. If you needed a design for a website, you would need a web designer.
Don’t get me wrong, some designers specialize in different areas of design. However, when starting out, it’s best to do a search for a designer that specializes in the type of design you need.
Designers who specialize in the type of design you need will work faster compared to a jack-of-all-trades designer.
You never want to work with a designer who is experimenting with your project. This can cost you money in the long term.
What to look for in a graphic designer
Now that we know what to do before hiring a designer to let’s examine the things to look for in a quality graphic designer.
Portfolio
Presentation is everything.
Having a quality portfolio builds trust and credibility with the designer. If a designer doesn’t have a portfolio, don’t waste your time with them.
One designer that I’ve followed for years is Jacob Cass. He does a great job of highlighting his best work in an extensive portfolio.
In a portfolio, the designer should showcase their skills, creativity and, in some cases, their design process.
A graphic designer’s portfolio can be online or printed. When looking at a designers portfolio, be sure to look for the type of work you need. If you don’t see the kind of design work you need, chances are they don’t do what you’re looking for.
For example, if you need a logo design, but the designer only has flyers, business cards, and brochures, chances are they don’t operate in that area of design.
If you don’t see work from business within your industry, don’t cut them off just yet. They may still be a good fit for you as long as they offer the type of design you need. All you have to do is ask.
Design Process
The best designers show their potential clients their design process. This eliminates questions about what to expect when with the designer.
One way to show their design would be through a case study.
What is a case study?
A case study is a piece of content that documents the process the designer took for a project, from beginning to end.
This is great because it showcases their creativity, as well as the designer’s communication and problem-solving skills.
Another way a designer can show their design process is by showing the steps on their website.
Nesha Woorley does a great job of documenting her design process for her potential clients.
Testimonials
No one likes a person who always talks about themselves.
Studies show that 84% of people trust online testimonials, or reviews, as much as a personal referral.
Testimonials are powerful! However, don’t mistake quantity for quality.
When searching for a design, look for quality testimonials that describe the client’s experience with the designer and the type of results that were generated from their investment.
David Airey, a graphic designer, and a writer does a great job sharing some quality testimonials on his website.
The central place to look for testimonials would be on the designer’s website.
You can also find testimonials on social media pages like Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, and LinkedIn.
Website
If you don’t have a website for your business, you are at least a decade behind.
This goes for businesses of all sizes.
Studies show that between 70-80% of people research a company online BEFORE visiting the small business or making a purchase.
A website is your headquarters for any business online. It’s a place where customers can learn about who you are, what you do and how they can buy from you.
When searching for a designer, make sure they’re not using social media website (i.e., Facebook) as their business website.
Don’t get me wrong. Social media is excellent, but that shouldn’t be the primary place where people learn about your business.
If a graphic designer doesn’t have a website, I would seriously question whether or not they take their business seriously.
- When browsing through their website, look for the following.
- Do they own their website? Ex. www.graphicblueprint.com vs. https://graphicblueprint.wixsite.com/graphicblueprint
- How does their website show on tablets and smartphones?
- Is their website easy to navigate?
- Do they have a blog?
- Is there a portfolio?
- Do they have testimonials or case studies?
- Is there contact information on the website?
Lastly, if the designer claims to design websites, but doesn’t have a site other their own, look for someone else.
Branding
Your brand is not a logo, website or business cards.
Branding is about creating an experience with your customer BEFORE the sale even takes places.
Branding, as defined by Al and Laura Ries, is the process pre-selling a product or service to a customer before they even buy.
“It creates in the mind of the prospect the perception that there is no product on the market quite like your product.”
22 Immutable Laws of Branding.
When looking at a designer’s brand, does their image match their message? A graphic designer’s ability to design should be reflected in their branding.
Studies show that 90% of consumers expect to have the same experience with a brand across all platforms.
What does this mean?
A company’s brand should be consistent no matter where you go?
They should be able to clearly communicate who they are, what they do and who they serve.
- The designer brand should have some of the following elements.
- Is their branding consistent across various platforms? (ex. Same colors, photos, graphics, fonts, etc.)
- Is there an image professional and clean?
- Do they have a tagline stating what they do?
- Does their email address have their website address in it? (graphicblueprint@gmail.com vs. info@graphicblueprint.com)
A graphic designer’s understanding of branding should be mirrored in their business practices.
Blogging
Once a visitor comes to your website, what will you do to keep them there?
One thing that keeps visitors coming back is blogging.
In the past, a blog was used as a personal journey or diary online.
Today, blogs are a great way to build a company’s brand awareness and also showcase their expertise in their industry.
Research shows that small businesses that blog get 126% more lead growth than small companies that do not blog.
A blog is not an opportunity for you to continually promote themselves. It’s about providing value and solving the problems that your readers are having.
When looking at the designer’s blog, look for informative content that solves problems you may be facing in your business. Also, look for case studies, design processes, and tutorials. Lastly, look for consistency within their blog.
Conclusion
Having a graphic designer for your business can be a significant investment if you know what you’re looking for.
Now, I want to hear from you. What are some challenges you’ve had when working with a graphic designer?
