Graphics injects life and color to the otherwise bland business of branding and content creation. Imagine if all you had to express yourself and brand imagery was just text – yeah, it’s not so much.
Every year businesses, brands, organizations, virtually everyone who’s got a story to tell or a product to sell commit huge resources to graphical content. Some have dedicated in-house designers, others outsource their graphic design needs to Agencies, and some go the freelance route.
Regardless of the means, it’s an investment that surely pays for itself.
You’re probably looking to join in on the graphic design party if you’re here. The first step to doing that is hiring a graphics designer, and in this guide, I go through everything you need to know to find and hire your first graphics designer.
The hiring pitfall
It’s easy to think of graphics and graphic design as just another auxiliary route to gaining market share and surpassing the competition. But it’s not; that mindset is why many businesses treat graphics design as an extra – something you do on the side that requires no planning or serious thinking.
For the most successful brands out there, graphics and graphical content is a critical component of their content creation strategy. Think of it as the octane boost you’ll need to propel your engagement driving engine past the limiting ceiling of good to great. In a business world where virtually everyone is good, being great is the bare minimum for registering outstanding success.
Having this in mind helps you approach your graphic designer hiring process as not just another outing to secure the services of a freelancer but a detailed search to finding someone who can brand your business in the best possible way for optimizing engagement and invariably conversions.
Why graphics design
If you’ve been following me by now, you should have a strong understanding of why graphical content is critical to the success of your business. But for clarity, let’s quickly outline the importance of graphics design to answer the question of why you should go hard on your journey to finding an excellent designer.
Graphic design is a critical component of branding
And branding is, in turn, an effective way to stand out from the crowd as a business today. Think about it – there’s little if any difference between Coke produced by the Coca-Cola company and Pepsi produced by Pepsi Co. Yet, many people perceive them as two entirely distinct products, all the while associating very different experiences to each. That’s all primarily down to branding.
Graphics propel conversions and drives sales
If I told a story of the most wonderful hamburger ever made on the one side and showed you a picture or maybe a gif of said hamburger on the other side which do you reckon will push you more towards buying? I’ll answer for you – the graphical content.
Heck, most people will even start salivating on mere looking at the picture. It’s simple; graphics drive sales as they provide a more relatable experience to the end consumer – there’s just so much words can convey, at least when the words are not drummed up by the 21st century Shakespeare.
Graphics foster engagement and customer retention
It’s one thing to make a sale today, and it’s another thing to make a return customer out of that sale. Keeping product quality aside, you’ll need excellent graphics and graphical content to make that happen.
This all ties back to graphics being a funnel for creating the best brand experience. When your customer purchase journey is an engaging experience, you subconsciously imprint your name and brand on that customer’s mind, and when next they’re looking for a similar service, you’ll be the first to come to mind.
At this point, it’s important to note that graphical content comes in many types and formats. I’ve made reference to images and gifs in my earlier explanation. I’ll cover the most popular types of graphics content of the kind that will be most relevant to you.
Types of graphical content
Generic graphic content
This includes everything from visual identity designs to marketing and advertisement materials, infographics and publications. From the name, you can deduce where these are applicable, but the overarching theme here is that of creating outbound graphical content optimized for driving engagement.
Illustrations
Ever come across those weirdly intriguing cartoonist pictures of humans with long legs, small heads and a ‘flat’ look. Those are ‘Odd Bodies’, and they’re just but one type of illustration. You can think of illustrations as custom bespoke cartoonish graphics drawn out in 2D.
Illustrations characteristically feature weird but interesting shapes in addition to vibrant, splashing colors. They are a sure people pleaser; virtually every major brand in existence today incorporates one form of illustration or the other into their content creation and marketing strategy.
Cartoons
Cartoons are a great way to tell a story in a light-hearted and relatable way. Reasons why they’re a highly revered avenue for brand storytelling. Like illustrations, cartoons come in different styles, and the best one for your business is largely down to your taste (read consumer taste) and business needs.
Logos
You probably already have a logo (and if you don’t, are you kidding me?). A logo is a graphical summation of your business presented in one frame (picture). The best logos say a lot without doing too much graphics-wise.
That about sums up the most relevant graphic content types for the typical business enterprise. Let’s now talk about how to find the best freelance graphic designer based on your needs.
Where to find freelance graphic designers
Freelance graphic designers pitch their tents in several online locations. For simplicity, let’s divide these locations into three broad categories;
- Graphic design forums and boards
- Agencies
- Freelance websites
Graphic design forums and boards
Graphic design forums and boards like Behance provide a media for artists to showcase their talent. It’s unsurprising then to see that these forums host some of the most talented graphic designers. Since these sites were made for showcase, not hiring, it’s difficult to hire a designer on a whim – you’ll need a bit of courting.
How to go about it
What I do is use the search bar on any of these platforms to search for a particular art style I’m interested in. So, for instance, if I wanted an illustration in the Odd Bodies style we talked about earlier on, I’ll simply search for Odd Bodies, and a list of designs should come up. Usually, this list is sorted by the number of likes or shares, so you’re most likely seeing the best of the best.
From there, I click on the design I like, navigate the graphic designers’ page and drop a message.
‘Hey, I love your work. Are you open to commissions,’ is a one-liner that works. Not all graphic designers will respond to your message, but most will.
Once I get a response, we negotiate the rate and then set up payment.
Important! You want to pay using PayPal or any other payment service with dispute mediation, in case things go awry. They rarely do, per my experience.
Top graphic design forums and boards for hiring graphic design freelancers:
- Behance
- Dribble
- DeviantArt
- Portfoliobox
- Carbonmade
The advantages of hiring using freelance graphic designers using portfolio sites and design forums
You make your selection based on what you want
You see an art style. You love it. You contact the designer. As opposed to contacting the designer first and then working your way to assess their style to see if it matches you or your brand. I find that it’s easier and faster to get what I want with this route.
There’s a diverse pool of talent to pick from
You’re probably better off searching for a graphic designer to commission a graphic design project using a specific technique or style on a portfolio site than on, say, a freelance website.
As long as you know how to search (which is basically knowing the keywords associated with the style you’re looking for), portfolio sites are the ultimate goldmine for fishing out graphic designers – whichever style and whatever tools you prefer.
The drawbacks
Professionalism is not a given
Portfolio sites are portfolio sites, not hiring sites, so there’s a possibility that you’ll meet freelance graphic designers who’re not the best professionals. That’s all roundabout way of saying you might get missed deadlines, poor communication, the entire works of unprofessionalism.
You can get scammed
Again because these sites are not hiring platforms, you could run into a freelance graphic designer who fails to deliver on your project after taking your money. This is why I emphasized using payment platforms like PayPal when hiring graphic designers on Portfolio websites.
Overall, despite the drawbacks, I still find myself using these portfolio sites every once in a while to hire a graphic designer. More especially when I need something unique done.
Agencies
Graphic design agencies are hubs for graphics designers. There’s a lot of similarities between a graphic design agency and a graphic design freelance site, but the major distinguishing factor is graphic design agencies provide a managed service.
So in most cases, you don’t need to scout for a designer, you don’t need to supervise the design process or work your way through revisions. All you need do is provide your requirements, settle the invoice and wait till the project is completed.
How to go about hiring a graphic design agency
Multiple graphic design agencies exist on the web, but the best ones per my experience (and by word of mouth from people I know who’ve used these services) include;
- 99designs
Like I said, most of these platforms provide a managed service. So all you need do is sign up. Fill in the request form. Get a quote, pay and wait.
You’ll need to make sure your requirements on the request form are as detailed as possible. What I do sometimes do is request a meeting, video or voice call. In that call, I make sure to explain what I need to be done and then get clarification on whether they can handle my requirements.
The advantages of using graphic design agencies for hiring a freelance graphic designer
You get a managed service
Most graphic design agencies link you to a project manager that sort of interfaces between you and the freelancer. That project manager is responsible for breathing down the neck of the freelance graphic designer to ensure project deadlines are met, requirements are satisfied, and quality of work is top-notch.
Fully vetted freelance graphic designers
The best graphic design agencies institute a screening and vetting procedure for hiring freelance graphic designers. There are thresholds to be met and must-have skills to possess. This ensures that you, the client, only ever gets to encounter top graphic design talent
Security, safety and professionalism
Generally speaking, your money is safe when you deal with graphic design agencies. If the job is sub-par or not in keeping with the project requirements, most agencies will allow you to file a dispute for a refund.
Some even have trial periods during which you’re free to cancel your contract, no questions asked. Professionalism is also top-notch; you can expect prompt communication and adherence to deadlines when dealing with graphic design agencies.
The disadvantages of using graphic design agencies for hiring a freelance graphic designer
It can be expensive
Graphic design agencies pass on the cost of running extra management and administrative services to you, the client. And it’s not cheap. Per my experience, they pan out to be the most expensive option for hiring a graphic design freelancer, all things considered.
Fixed inflexible contracts
Except you’re dealing with agencies that provide unlimited revisions (with higher prices to match), any change to the existing design contract will require extra payment on your side.
I mostly use agency design companies when I have a large subset of graphic design work and no time to do any man-management. They offer a relatively stress-free way to get the job done and fast.
Freelance websites
Freelance graphic design websites like Fiverr and Upwork are popular destinations for people looking to get graphic design work done. And rightly so. Like Portfolio sites, they offer an incredible number of talent with price categories for every budget range.
That diversity might, however, pose a hiring challenge – so much talent to choose from and, unlike portfolio sites, so little to see.
How to go about hiring a freelance graphic designer from sites like Fiverr
Start your search based on your needs
Most freelance graphic designer sites provide a search bar to easily search for any one graphic design need. Start from there. Your search should be focused on your particular need. Are you looking for a freelancer who’s good with the Odd Bodies style? Type in Odd Bodies graphic designer in the search bar and view the results
Make a preliminary list of potential hires
From the search results, you should be able to make a preliminary l list of potential hires. Here’s how I do it;
Check their reviews
By check their reviews, I mean ignore the five-star reviews and focus on the not so positive three to one-star reviews. Any freelancer coming up through search on a freelance platform certainly has an excess of positive reviews, so that’s not your concern.
What you want to know now is are there any ‘hidden’ negative traits about the freelance graphic designer. And the best way to discover that is by sorting out the negative reviews.
Check if there are one-star reviews. One one-star review is unlikely to mean anything serious, but if there are a couple of these hinting at the same or related issues, then that’s a red flag
Pay close attention to the three, two-star reviews. One-star reviews usually come from pissed off customers – three-star from levelled headed people who, per my experience, tend to point out the subtle but consequential issues of the graphic designer. Ask questions (of the freelancer) if anything said by a three-star reviewer concerns you, and then gauge their response.
The advantages of hiring a freelance graphic designer using freelance websites like Upwork
It’s cheap
There are $5 graphic designers on sites like Fiverr, and while Upwork charges a higher premium, it all still pales in comparison to the prices you pay for agency graphic designers. But be warned, not all graphic designers are created equal – there’s just so much someone charging $5 can do.
The hiring pool is large
There’s an increasingly vast network of graphic design talent to select from on freelance graphic design sites, and that number is growing by the day.
Security
Freelance websites operate an escrow service that allows you to request a refund for botched design jobs. You can go into any contract with the assurance that it’s the best or nothing.
The disadvantages of hiring a freelance graphic designer using freelance websites like Upwork
Cheap might not be the best
Like I noted earlier, cheap graphic design services might not be the best, especially if you’re looking for unique, non-generic designs. Luckily some freelance platforms now offer Pro services designed to connect you with top tier talent at a higher price markup.
Unprofessionalism
Freelancers operating on sites like Upwork and Fiverr litter their services with some bits of unprofessionalism. So it’s not out of place to see late deliveries, poor communication and the likes every now and again.
Picking the best fit graphic design talent – the process
Whichever route you take – be it Portfolio sites, Agencies or Freelance websites, you’ll want to vet the quality of the freelance graphic designer before committing to the final purchase. Here’s how to do that
Make up a working list and send out invites
Invites should be short and to the point. Describe your needs, your brand (or person) and your expectations. Send it out to your preferred list of freelance graphic designers and await a response.
Ask for portfolios
I bet you saw that coming. Portfolios are the one true way to vet the skill and expertise of any graphic designer. Ideally, you want someone with a style that fits your own style and brand image.
- If you’re sourcing for a freelance graphic designer using portfolio sites, then you probably got to your select freelancer using their portfolios.
- If you used the search function well on freelance websites, then most portfolios you’d see for the freelancers that come up should be in line with your style.
- Most agencies have portfolio dashboards for freelancers where you can assess their work.
Which freelancer portfolio looks best to you? That’s a potential hire.
Schedule interviews
From assessing portfolios, you should’ve zeroed in on two, maybe three, freelance designers that appeal to your taste. Now’s the time to schedule an interview. Many people see interviews as an avenue to quiz potential hires; I mean, that’s the meaning of the word interview, right? But I have seen that that’s not so much of an efficient strategy. Why?
Freelancers go through numerous interviews over their careers. They’ve heard all the questions and have all the catchy answers to give (at least this is true for successful freelancers). So except you’ve taken the time to brainstorm an otherworldly set of questions, you’re basically playing to the tunes of the freelance graphic designer.
Here’s a strategy that changes this dynamic and is more likely to land you a freelancer that understands needs and goals:
- Describe your objectives to the freelancer and have them develop a plan on how best they can fulfil that objective using their skills as a freelance graphic designer.
- The plan doesn’t have to be a treatise on graphic design. In fact, the simpler, the better, what you should be looking out for is how dynamic or out of the box their solutions appear to be. Usually, this is a surefire way to gauge the creativity of the freelancer.
- Does their plan align with your vision?
- Does it make sense?
- How ingenious does it appear to be – for instance, a graphic designer might suggest an animal mascot to symbolize the qualities of your brand image.
The answer to these questions for each freelancer you’ve interviewed should help you narrow down on the final one. If you’ve successfully picked one, congratulations! Now’s time for the actual hiring.
Hiring the freelancer
Once you’ve picked out the final candidate, it’s on to ironing out the fine details and getting started with the project. Here’s what you need to do:
- Outline the requirements of the project once again in the clearest manner possible. Now’s the time to weed out any areas of confusion that might lead to issues in the future. Set deadlines, milestones and any other relevant project metrics.
- Negotiate the payment and payment method. Don’t be a cheap stake. Good design costs money. If you’re paying too low, chances are you’ll get a low-quality design at the end of the day.
- Remember also to use payment methods that offer dispute resolution service (PayPal) if you’re paying off a freelance site or agency.
- Set clear communication requirements
- Pay your invoice and start the project
A note on communication and tracking the project
It makes sense to check in with your freelancer every once in a while to see how far they’ve gone with the project but don’t overdo it. Freelancers (the good ones) are busy people, and you’re not the only client they’re attending to.
Conclusion
Whoosh! That’s a long read, but if you’ve made it this far, then you’ve done the right thing – you’re fully equipped to hire your first freelance graphic designer. Don’t worry if it seems all complicated. In the real world, it’s not. The process from searching to sending an invite to hiring shouldn’t take more than an hour of your time if you’re dealing with responsive freelancers. Just make sure to follow the steps I’ve outlined and trust your gut – if a freelancer doesn’t sit well with you, then you’ll probably hate their work when it gets delivered
