Whether you run a firm, a local store, a restaurant, a cafe, or any other sort of business, you'll require the services of a graphic designer at some point. While finding one could be a tricky task for you, here’s a complete guide to ease your journey of hiring a graphic designer.

Why shouldn’t you hire an in-house graphic designer?
This question may frequently arise in your mind when you're hiring a graphic designer. This might answer your question:

There are certain pros and cons to both of them. An in-house designer works solely for your brand. They can't switch brands unless your contract expires. Which evidently means they know your brand and brand style inside and out. Since they're going to be working full-time for you, their services will be available to you all the time. You get to contact them and assign them to work at any working hour.



However, an in-house graphic designer can be pretty heavy on your budget, especially if you're running a small business. An in-house designer needs to be paid like a regular employee. Therefore, you'll have to pay an in-house designer even when you don't need any designs from them. Their rights are going to be similar to regular employee's as well. Thus, you cannot make them work past working hours and watch the workload you put on them. Moreover, they'll have a particular area of specialization that can work against your favor if you want to go for a different approach in your designs.

Hiring a graphic designer can work more in your favor than against it. You only hire a designer when you require their services. You also have to pay them on a project-to-project basis. This works best in your favor when you're on a tight budget. You also get to hire them according to the area of specialization that you need for your project. You might need a logo designer at a certain time, while a poster, brochure, or website designer at other times. Hence, you can hire them according to your project needs and get flawless designs at a much cheaper rate.

But finding the right freelancer could be hard for you. They won't be familiar with your business and brand style, so you'll have to provide them with a detailed description of your project and brand. Since graphic designers mostly work remotely, it'll be hard to reach out to them. Even if you do, there are still going to be times when the freelancer won't be able to attend your meetings.

Now that you're sure you need the services of a graphic designer, here's how you can find the best graphic designer:

Convey your ideal design
Before hiring a graphic designer, it's standard procedure to first completely convey what kind of design you're looking for. Create a job post and brief the designer about what you need to get done. Specify the kind of vibe you're going for in this design. You might already have an idea about the design aesthetic you want—research on your end. Make Pinterest boards to clearly show the designer what feel and aesthetic you want. The better you brief the designer about your expectations, the more the designer will be able to deliver them.



Specify your brand's identity and your signature style. The design you're going for should be new and different but not entirely strayed from your brand's identity.

Where to find good designers
Freelancing websites should be the first place to look for freelancers. There are plenty of websites that provide freelancer services to clients. Websites like Fiverr, 99designs, Upwork, Freelancer.com, etc., provide you with freelancers profiles. You can browse through their portfolios. At 99designs, you can hold design contests. Numerous designers compete in the design contest, and you get to pick out the most unique and best design. At other websites, you get to post job posts, and designers bid and offer proposals to you. You can browse through their proposals and pick out the best designer for your project.

These sites offer freelancer's pay rates and their reviews and ratings as well. It makes your job easier to find a freelancer within your budget and with the qualifications and experience you're looking for. It will save you a great deal of time to go looking for reliable and credible designers anywhere else.

Besides freelancer websites, you can also ask for local recommendations from your friends and former and present colleagues.

What to look for in a designer

Designing skills
The very first thing to look for in a designer is their skills. Not just designing skills, you need to be specific about the sort of skills you want. You can't call a good logo designer, a good illustrator, or a good web designer. It's essential that the graphic designer is good at the area of specialization your project is about. Look through their graphic designer cover letter, resume, and portfolio, and specifically judge them on the samples that are relevant to your project.

Experience
A designer's experience in your industry is necessary. For example, if you own a cafe, the designer you hire should be experienced in designing restaurants and cafe logos or menu cards. If the designer's experienced in your field of work, they'll be familiar with the trends and what your target audience wants.

Design aesthetic
Search for a designer while keeping your own targeted design aesthetic in mind. Find designers with a similar design aesthetic to what you're aiming for. You can't choose a designer with an edgy design aesthetic while your target audience is mostly children. In contrast, an edgy aesthetic will work best for teens and young adults.

Communication skills
Communication skills are key in every freelancer. You need your freelancer available to you whenever you have to reach out to them. Communicating your ideas and receiving updates keeps your project going smoothly. Through constant communication, the freelancer will be better able to meet deadlines and deliver your expectations.

Once you’ve thoroughly gone through all the steps and picked out the right graphic designer for your project, form a contract. The contract protects the rights of both parties through the length of the project. Some websites save you from this trouble, but at other times, make sure you construct a contract. Include all the legalities in the contract. Specify the timeline of the project, payments charged, the way of payment both parties agreed on, who’s going to own the rights of the work, and protection of confidential information.

Although finding and hiring the perfect graphic designer is a tricky challenge. This guide will assist you through the process and help you find the best of the best!