5 Questions to ask your Designer (Part 1)
It’s always exciting to be receiving new work be it marketing print collateral, a new website or a new brand, but with so many talented Designers out there how do you know who to pick?
Aside from liking their work there are a few more details you should look into during your initial chat with them to ensure they’re a good fit for you.
01. Tell me about you and your design business - why graphic design?
If you haven’t spent time swiping through their instagram, facebook and website–and even if you have–it’s great to ask this question and hear more in depth about their passions. There are probably some hidden values, concepts and inspiration that they haven’t figured out how to share with you yet that might surprise you. This could help you feel more understood by them and foster deeper trust with your designer.
02. Where do you get your inspiration from?
Why it’s important to ask: You want to ensure your designer isn’t going to make you another cookie cutter brand or use something already in existence. As much as trends are beautiful and fun, they are just that: trends which basically means it’s fast fashion.
Your designers answer should include: Something that comes back and includes you. If you want an authentic and original brand, the designer should be getting most of their inspiration from their conversations with you (your goals, your ideal client, etc). Yes, it’s ok to be inspired by what’s out there but ideally, they don’t let that take over the work.
03. Tell me about your favourite design from your portfolio?
This one is not only fun for you but incredibly juicy in terms of getting to know what you might receive from your designer.
Why? If a designer says they like a project because “it looks nice”, then they are mostly concerned with just making something pretty. They did not go deep into a communication strategy and assess how your brand can be powerful and offer clear direction and messaging about what a business does for their audience.
Look for:
What got them excited?
What strategies did they use or information did they uncover?
Did they overcome any challenges?
What was the end result for them and the client?
04. What is your process like?
A good designer has thought this through and ideally, has either done enough projects or has planning foresight, where they have a good understanding of what is needed to bring the project to completion.
Look for answers that are clear and concise:
Is there a discovery and research phase be that with you or looking into the market?
Is there a creative ideation phase where they develop options or work for you to review?
How long do you get to review answers and do you need that to be shorter or longer?
How many revision phases will there be ( see the next question for more on this).
What can you expect delivery to look like?
05. What does your revision and feedback phases specifically look like?
First off, you want to ensure this is even included in your project scope because your voice is important in shaping the final result. Usually 2-3 revisions phases are offered.
Secondly, you want to ensure your designer’s response says that while they’re an expert and here to help you, they also recognize you are an expert in your business and they will listen and include what you bring to the table too. It really should be a blend yours and their expertise.
***BONUS***
06. When you create my color palette will it include screen and print color information like HEX and RGB or CMYK and PMS?
Ok, there’s a little bit of jargon on this one. Without getting technical, basically, you want to know that you’re going to have everything you need for whatever situation comes up in the future in terms of marketing.
You should consider if you’re a digital only brand (maybe your only provide services and no products or your products are purely digital like online courses) then you might get away with only the HEX and RGB for screen.
Ideally, you want to probably get some form of print (CMYK and/or PMS) codes just in case you decide to share your business via digital and print; you know business cards, postcard promo’s, etc.
These are elements, at Sallua Creative, we bring to every project with our client. We truly believe that every business is unique (even if a similar service and product already exists) and so we take the time to get to know you, just as we’ve taken the time to refine our process and ensure you’re receiving an experience and final product that’s actually supportive to you.
