Are you considering hiring a graphic designer for your print or web design needs?

With a saturation of graphic design professionals in the market, how can you truly know who to rely on? Especially when you find yourself needing a professional logo for your business?

With inexpensive online logo generation programs available online, there is a true misunderstanding of the need for a good graphic designer.

With close to 2.1 million graphic designers in the United States, your odds of finding your perfect graphic designer on your first attempt is extremely difficult.

As an expert in the digital technological field, I have witnessed countless business owners waste precious time and money hiring graphic designers that were not a good fit for their business.

Not Properly Briefing The Graphic Designer

Graphic designers are not in the business to study your brand or your industry. The more information and insight the graphic designer has of your business, the better the design will be. When you meet with a graphic designer, it is sensible to have an idea of what you would like for a design. Your logo should tell the story of your brand, and evoke a memorable image in your client’s minds.

“The logo is one aspect of a company’s commercial brand or economic entity, and its shapes, colors, fonts, and images usually are different from others in a similar market,” says graphic designer Jacob Cass.

Your graphic designer should know how to use colors to convey your brand’s message. Your target market plays a tremendous part in how your logo should look. A proper briefing will ensure the graphic designer is a good fit for your brand and will also ensure that your brand’s story, history, and vision are understood.

Seven Questions Your Graphic Designer Should Ask:

• What image are you attempting to convey with this design?

• Are there any colors that you prefer to have in this design?

• Are there any business logos or designs that you admire, and why?

• What time frame are you looking at in creating this design?

• Will you also be using this logo for digital print and apparel?

• What are some of your competitor’s logos in your industry?

• Who will be consulting with you to make the final decision on whether the finished product is acceptable?

Buying A Cheap Logo For Your Business

Your logo is your business’s visual footprint, and you should treat the graphic designer as a partner that’s investing in the visual stock of your company. With many websites online charging only $5 to design a “professional” logo for your business, experienced graphic designers are being severely discredited and underutilized. Trust me, I have purchased a $5 logo for one of my previous companies – and I was extremely disappointed.

The online “graphic designer” knew nothing about my business – and also misspelled the word business in my logo. I did not notice the mistake until two months after my business purchased business cards, branded apparel, and multimedia marketing. Due to the fact that I purchased online, there was no way to recoup my money. A $5 mistake turned into a $5,000 mistake.

“Before you go through a template-based service, it is important to note that someone else may use the same template and therefore be taking away from your brand identity. A  designer will most likely be more costly, but the design will be tailored to your brand” states Brandon Sugar, graphic designer and President of Sugar Unlimited.

Not Looking Over The Graphic Designer’s Portfolio Carefully

Your graphic designer’s previous work should look professional and innovative. A portfolio speaks volumes about the knowledge, professionalism, and attention to detail your designer possesses. Your graphic designer should recognize their design limitations, and communicate their technological deficiencies with you.

If you have negotiated a price based on an hourly set amount ensure your designer is working within their level of expertise. If the graphic designer states that they can design the logo you want in a certain amount of time they should stick within the projected time. Any work done outside of the agreed price should fall on the designer’s shoulders.Ask for the designer’s references and previous clients. Doing this will give you extra insight into the legitimacy and credibility of the graphic designer. You don’t want to pay a graphic designer thousands of dollars for a design that they will be using a $5 graphic design template software to generate.

Hiring a graphic designer is essential in our technological world, so avoid making costly mistakes by implementing the tips I have provided you. You don’t want a $5 decision to turn into a $5,000 mistake!

Like the old saying goes “you get what you pay for.”