Graphic Design is not like engineering, law, medicine or even plumbing, where you need to be certified in order to practice the trade. Anybody can walk into a stationery store, buy pre-fabricated business card paper and print their name and address on them, and call themselves a graphic designer. Because of this, there are a LOT of designers out there. If you are in need of design services, your job is to qualify who the GOOD graphic designers and choose the one who is smart, creative, and understands your needs.

Before hiring a graphic designer the first thing you should know is exactly what is is that you want. Are you looking for someone to do everything for you, to manage the entire process for you from design conception to production on print and interactive projects, or do you already have a brand identity and jsut need someone to design a brochure?

Once you have this figured out, ask for recommendations from other business associates and review their online portfolios. If you do not have any contacts or referrals to work with there are a lot of design organizations you can contact to get a list from (American Institute of Graphic Artists, Graphic Artists Guild) or magazines (Communication Arts, How, Print), or you can contact your local chamber of commerce.

Now that you have a list of designers try doing preliminary research by reviewing their online portfolios, these are usually a good way to start weeding out which ones you think will not meet your needs. Once you have your short list of designers, call them and ask for a meeting time so that you can review their professional portfolio.

These face-to-face interviews are extremely important. It gives you the chance to see how well you will interact with the designer as well as an idea of how the process will work.

When reviewing the portfolios keep these points in mind:

• Is the work strong, and is it logically organized?
• Does the work speak for itself or does each piece need to be explained?
• Is there a concept behind each piece or is it merely decorative eye candy?
• Has the work actually been produced or is it prototype?
• Does the artists style match your style?
• Does the portfolio contain samples of materials that you will need the designer to produce for you.

Questions to ask the Designer

• Pick a design and ask the designer to explain how it met the clients specific needs for that project.
• Find out how many applications the designer has produced for a specific brand campaign.
• Ask to see samples of the entire program if they are not readily available.
• Ask who acted as project manager for the project, the deisgner or the client.
• Ask if the client is currently successfully using the design.

Another thing you should do is ask for a copy of their resume. It is not necessarily important that they have a formal education in design. For every excellent designer without a college degree, there iks a lousy one with the degree. What the degree will tell you is that the designer will most likely work with a logical process rather than a impulsive way. What you should really look for in the resume is their breadth of experience. What level of clientele have they worked with? Have they been trained/worked with any other more experienced designers/creatives? Have they won any awards? Is the content of their resume logically organized? All of these factors will start building the picture of what it will be like for you to work with them.

It is important for you to understand the designers approach to projects, their process and methodologies, as well as how they value their relationships with their clients. Some designers perfer to show only one solution to each project – the best solution to meet your needs. Others choose to keep clients in the loop throughout the design process, sharing creative ideas and sketches and working collaboratively with their clients. Both options are valid, it is up to the client to decide which process and which designer is best for them.