Forum Moderators: LifeinAsia
We are facing a new challenge. Having previously done all our graphical design in-house, we now wish to re-build 2 websites and we want to use the services of a professional graphic designer to give the sites a more sophisticated looking 'brand', more user friendliness, and a more professional appearance in general.
This job is going to involve the design of logos, colour schemes, icons and various other graphics, etc. We will take care of the page coding ourselves.
This is new territory to us so we are treading carefully and hoping for some advice from folks in this forum who have experience in these matters.
We have received numerous applications from graphic designers (and many that think they are graphic designers), and one applicant really sticks out from the rest. His experience is relevant, he's mature (late thirties), he is in full-time employment and wants to do a bit of moonlighting in the evenings and weekends. Our budget is tight but we don't want to compromise on quality so this guy's situation may be perfect for us - as I feel, unless I am being naive, that because we would be fitting in with 'his' schedule, we won't be expected to pay top prices for his work...
I have several questions off the top of my head (in no particular order):
1. How would we pay for the work of a designer? Presumably it would be 'by the hour'?
2. What if we don't like his work? How would we make sure that he stays on track, and his work matches our requirements on an ongoing basis - i.e. before he's spent days going in the wrong direction, at our expense.
3. Is it reasonable for us to state from the start that any designs that he creates that we are paying for becomes our property? And as such, we can stop other people using them? How do we phrase this - is it basically the IP rights we need to ask for? At the end of the day, we have to ensure that our logo actually belongs to us.
4. To reassure us that this guy is right for us, would it be unreasonable to ask him if he could offer us a small sample of his work - for example, if we ask him to knock up a new logo for us so that we can get an idea of how fast he works and the quality of his output.
5. Presumably some graphic designers can churn out designs quicker than others, thus keeping the cost down. How could we find out how quick this guy is? Do designers tend to estimate the amount of time it would take to complete the job? I imagine that this may be difficult to do accurately? Are there any safeguards?
6. Any ideas how much a good GD would expect to receive as an hourly rate given the current climate, and taking into consideration that the designer would not be working on it full-time? (we are South England based).
7. Are there any general do's and don’ts that we should be aware of when dealing with GD's? I am aware that certain approaches work for certain people. I am also aware that GD's tend to be quite artistic by their nature - its a question of how do we get the best out of these types of people.
The more I think about this project, the more I worry about the many potential pitfalls, it isn’t nearly as simple as I first imagined - Any help would be greatly appreciated - thank you in advance.
Stavs
1. You can either let him give you a project cost or let him bill you hourly like a contractor.
2. You need to give him some space. Make sure you can see it at intervals, but you are paying for his expertise. I have seen clients ruin designs because they are too controlling. You want to make sure that they are not going into left feild, but he is the designer. He know more about what will look good. Let him know about constraints like no picture links and corporate colors, but don't spell it out too much. You will end up with something that is not real great if you try to get too envolved. If you are worried about going down the wrong road suggest a project wage instead of hourly.
3. Make sure that he is signing over the copyrights to all work. This is normal for graphic designers. We assume this but it would be good to get it in writing.
4. Take a look at his portfolio. Refer to answer 7.
5. You need to get an estimate. Usually you will get a quote. That is why you should try and get a project charge. He will want to make sure that you are not going to waste his time. He will probably build sometime into the deal that you get 2 or 3 designs and after that he will charge you more. You should be able to see his quality from his portfolio. If he seems to have a superior portfolio then the client is the reason that the design is not being created on time.
6. I don't know about the UK. In the US it varies. Depends on schedule and skill.
7. Give the designer some space to be creative. You are not a designer. Lean on their abilities. Don't try to control the design too much. Also get rid of expectations. Try not to visualize what you think it should be. Also have an open mind. You are paying for his time. Don't expect to get major corporation designs for the money you are paying. Big companies pay millions for what they are getting. If you give a designer room for creativity you will get a lot more than trying to control it. If you need the designer to create what you envision in your mind be prepared to pay for it.
Don't expect a professional design to do any free work. We are slammed already. That may work with people straight out of collage, but seasoned designers are not going to give you free work. Asking them to do this will only start the relationship off poorly. Take a look at their portfolio. It should give you an idea of their skills.
