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.

1. On Time
2. On Budget
3. Above Creative Expectation.

Shortly thereafter I realized that most of my clients want me to meet a triple bottom line. That is to say, every project needs to be:

1. Good for Business
2. Good for the Environment
3. Good for the Community

When asking them to elaborate on these criteria, again there are three points for each:

Good for Business means it must:

1. Increase Revenue
2. Build the Brand Image
3. Reduce Production Costs

To have a positive impact on the environment I must make sure to

1. Reduce Waste
2. Recycle excess materials
3. Reuse existing materials

and to be good for the community I must

1. Promote Moral Standards
2. Display Ethical Behavior
3. Foster Educational Properties

Whew! That’s a lot to think about, let alone live up to when designing an information brochure or a piece of packaging design.

So when I accept the job and am ready to put together the contract, inevitably there are three major points every client needs adressed in the contract

1. Cost
2. Time
3. Quality

Then I remember reading a statistic about reader’s information recall when applied to bullet pointed lists ( sorry, I do not remember the source, please let me know if you know it). The optimum number of bullet points to list is five. More than five an d the list looks too long and most people will not even begin to read it, less than five and it appears as if you do not have enough information and therefore the content is inconsequential and subsequently unread. I know, I started with 5, but here is where the 3 comes in. People only remember the first two and the last bullet point. Show them five and they will remember three. (What do you do if you have less than five points? Write a short paragraph or put the info into a sentence.).

Do you have more threes you come into constant contact with?

Here is my take on the 5 E-mail Commandments:

E — Email only the people to whom the message actually pertains. Just like how people do not like to receive e-mails that were not intended for them specifically, people also do not like others to receive information that should be proprietary.
M — Make a point of responding promptly. Even if you cannot answer the questions immediately, the courtesy of sending an e-mail that says “I am looking into it and will get back to you as soon as possible.” will ease recipients mind knowing that you received their request, put you at the top of their mind, and it will speak volumes of your professionality. If you respond within 24 hours to a request you will already be ahead of 75% of your competition.
A — Always use spell-check (and grammer check if possible) before sending a message. Most e-mail programs have an auto-spell-check feature. Look for it and turn it on! Nothing says unprofessional more than misspelled words.
I — Include your telephone number in your messages. Most e-mail programs have an auto-signature or footer function. Avoid inserting a graphic of your company’s logo. You may think it looks cool, but it is just a superfluous graphic that your intended receiver needs to download and store for every single e-mail.
L — Learn the difference between business e-mails and personal ones. The only thing that I find more annoying than spam, is junk mail forwarded by business constituents. Think before forwarding.

Other things to think about:

Use the SUBJECT line correctly, people use these to sort through their in-box. Make it short and relevant and try to remove RE: and FWD: they just get in the way of the message. Oh yeah, and do not type the entire message in the subject line. That is just annoying.

Brush up on your grammar. Pick up The Elements of Style or The Chicago Manual of Style.

Personalize all e-mails. It only takes a second to type Dear Mr. ____ and it shows that you respect your recipient, and because of it they will immediately fell more connected to the letter than they would without it.

Make the document look sharp. Avoid too many typeface, color, and sizes. The most professional letters use one font family (usually Times) at one size (usually 12pt) if you need something to stand out use bold, italics or all-caps, but do this sparingly.

Humanize your correspondence. An attachment without an explanation or e-mails with just 5 words like “I NEED THIS NOW” seem cold and bossy, even rude. Adding something simple like “Let me know if you have any questions.” or “Do not hesitate to ask.” lets them know that they are dealing with a human and will increase their desire to work with you in the future.

Keep your messages as concise as possible. This is business and people have limited time. If you get a reputation for writing run on letters people will start to avoid them.

Emoticons are fun and cute when IM’ing your friends and writing personal letters, but their is no place for them in the business world. Clients want to work with a professional who understands their business not with someone who is cute. Can’t you be both? Professional and Cute? Do I really need to answer that?

Be Prepared for Change

Change is inevitable, and not always for the better. Keep your eye on business cycles. Is the Dow going up or down? These shifts often mean layoffs and budget cuts. If you hear that some huge corporations are laying off large percentages of workers, chances are this will eventually effect you as well. While the news reports people being cut you rarely hear reports of marketing budgets being cut, but these usually go hand in hand. Lowered marketing budgets could mean less money for design if you are freelancing or even layoffs at your agency if their project budgets are cut by the client.

It seems that most major software and hardware gets upgraded on an annual basis these days. Aside from the cost of staying current by purchasing these upgrades, there is also the issue of understanding the new benefits and issues that come with these new technologies. You need to devise a way to stay current with the technologies and understand how make decision not only on when and why to upgrade, but how to learn to use these technologies effectively. It is not always cost or time effective to take a class for every piece of software that gets updated every year. I find it best to subscribe to industry magazines (like MacWorld) that highlights what is new every month on both the hardware and software front, that also give in-depth reviews and tech tips on how to use these new upgrades. When upgrades happen, I usually start with online tutorials or books to help me get acquainted with the new options, then if it is a major overhaul with a lot to learn weight the cost/time benefits of taking a specialized class.

Market trends change with pop culture. Keeping up-to-date with the mass culture will help you create solutions that connect your client with their target audience. Certain styles or celebrities that are hip one moment, can be detrimental to your clients image the next.

Focus on Realistic Goals

Identify jobs that interest you and that you are qualified for. There is nothing more frustrating to a person looking to fill a position that to have to sort through a pile of resumes from people who are clearly unqualified for the position. Try to get as much information about the position as possible before applying. Address every point in the job description with hard and true facts from your personal work experience. The more you can sell your qualifications for the job the better chance you have on landing it.

Research the position before setting the goal. I ask my students to list their goals, 1 year, 5 year and 10 year, if possible. It is amazing to hear how many state that they love designing and developing story lines for video games. So their initial goal upon graduation is to work in the production department for a major game developer, but their 10 year goal is to become the “boss-man” and run the game company. I ask them if they understand what it means to run a game company. Most have no real idea. It involves overseeing sales of the games, watching production, operations and advertising budgets. This position means meeting after meeting after meeting, analyzing profit/loss statements and deciding wether to open more position or lay-off staff in order to maintain the profitability of the company. 0% of this position is spend in creative development. Is that really the position you are striving for? IF so you should switch you major to Business and minor in Digital Media. Even Creative Diectors do little creative development. By virtue of their title, they direct the development of the creative, not create it themselves. Know what you want to do and find the position that best fits that description, then work towards that goal.

Know the pros and cons of freelance and full time before making the final decision. Working full time sounds ideal doesn’t it? Health insurance, vacation pay, 401k, steady work flow. But is it really ideal? Some people do not thrive in corporate environments. Being pigeon-holed into a very specific job duty, working in a cubicle or bull-pen, punching the clock, time sheets, and more. What is the alternative? Freelance. Work when you want, vacation when you want, creative freedom, no boss to answer to. But even this life has it’s cons. You will not only need to be an artist, but also a salesperson and accountant among other responsibilities. The work does not just land on your desk, you have to go out and actively solicit jobs, then when they pay you, takes are usually not taken out which means you will need to save approximately 30% for Uncle Sam, then pay him quarterly.

There is a half way point between these two position; the temp. There are staffing agencies that you can register with that will do the sales footwork for you and withhold the taxes for you. They will call you when they have work for you and offer different jobs some in-house, some work from home. Sometimes they offer you an hourly rate, some times it is a flat rate to complete a specific project. And you always get to accept or reject their ofers. Sound great? In order for them to stay in business they take a cut of the budget from the client before paying you, this can reach up to 50%. But who cares if you feel you are getting paid a fair amount, right? Why let them pay you $20 an hour to work in-house at an agency when you could have done some research and solicit the work from the agency directly and get paid $30 an hour or more?Then there is the fact that the artist who accepts the work gets the work. The more work you deny the less they are apt to call you to see if you are available. They often offer 401k and health benefits, as long as you work a minimum number of hours a month. Now it starts to become more and more like a full time job, reducing the reasons you decided to start working as a temp in the first place.

Know Your Craft

Become an expert at what you do. Read every technical manual, book and magazine you can that directly influences your career goal. When possible, attend seminars and trade shows. Learn to listen and ask questions that are applicable to your career path so that you better understand the roles and responsibilities of the position to which you have applied. The more you know the more valuable you are.

Do not sell yourself on points that are in contrast to the position that you are applying for. If you are applying for a position as a designer, do not sell youself as a designer who can problem solve technical problems with viruses and networking. Chances are you will find that you will be expected to do both jobs simultaneously. Why can’t I connect to the internet? I can’t send e-mails. I think I have a virus. You will find more and more of your time solving fellow employees problems and having less and less time to focus on solving the creative problems for your client.

Take pride in your work. Never show something that you do not want to see produced. If you promise a client you will show them 5 designs and have only come up with three that you really like, you are obligated to show them 5 regardless. Do not just crank out 2 mediocre designs, hoping they will not like them, and try to focus them on the three you like. Chances are they will like one of the designs you do not and will want you to produce it. If this happens it means that you have not done enough research and have not spent enough time brainstorming. It is not fair to the client to show them something that you know to be mediocre. And if mediocre work gets produced, how happy will you be to put it in your portfolio. If you are not going to put it in your portfolio, why work on the project in the first place? I attack every project the the attitude of “This will be my best piece yet!” and “This is one for the award books!”

Keep Your Resume and Portfolio Up To Date

You never know when a business cycle will take a down turn. be ready. If you have been keeping your eye on the business world you may see it coming. But you never know when a crazy pilot will decide to try to land a plane on the 60th floor of a financial building. Wether freelance or full time, with the completion of every project it is worth the hour or two investment to include it into your print and online portfolios to keep them up to date. I have seen many artists work for years at a position they thought was secure to suddenly find themselves on the street and needing to try to put together a portfolio relevant to the work they had been producing the last few years, but not having access to the files and samples any more.

Show and say only what is relevant for the position to which you are applying. Omit the fluff. If you are applying for a web developer position does it matter that you know Tae Kwon Do or how to play guitar? Will that help you land the job? Maybe, if the agency has a major karate studio or guitar manufacturer as a client, but chances are it is just fluff. It may be good for them to know that you can design logos and packaging, bit if web development is only 20% of your portfolio you will not be as desirable as other applicants.

Be prepared to work as a team member.

Wether freelance or full time employee, everyone works on a team. The teams just differ in the way they work and who is on them. As a full time graphic designer you will probably work with a team of other designers and be managed by an Art Director. As a freelancer, your clients becomes your team members, and depending upon the size of the company, the size of the team will change.

Learn to take constructive criticism. It is a tough thing for designer to do, listen and accept comments others make about your work. You may not like what other people are saying about your work, but sometimes what they are saying may be a better idea or lead to a better execution. The ability to listen and accept will not only make you a better team player, but will also help advance you in your career and to grow as an artist.

Develop An Appreciation for Production & Programming

Fully understand what it takes to get a job completed. Wether you are responsible to the actual coding or preparation of the print mechanical, an understanding of these processes will help you to communicate with the people who do this as well as give you the ability to develop concepts that will be able to be produced. Not everything is easy to produce, but knowing the technical possibilities and the personalities of your team members (their willingness to go that extra mile) can only help you in completing every project successfully.

A small mistake in one step usually leads to a bigger problem down the road. By not understanding the full scope of the creative strategy as well as the technical possibilities and limitations you open the door to develop a concept the client may want that will either un-produceable or not cost effective to produce.

Take production meetings seriously (even if others don’t). You will gain respect and contribute to the success of the project.

Plan Ahead.

You will become the invaluable team member is you are the one who understands the scope of the project and what needs to get done when and where, and are able to help other team members understand and stick to the strategy/timeline.

Focus on Issues that Impact Your Health

Every industry has it’s health issues, know yours. Here are a few we battle in the field of design:

• Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
• Back Pain
• Eye Strain: Fluorescent vs incandescent
• Toxic Chemicals: Spray Glue