It’s obvious that you need a powerful logo to keep competitors at bay. You need something expressive yet informative to reach and impress masses. Every business, regardless of its size, needs a logo to create its identity in the industry. In this article we share a Checklist For hiring The Best Logo Designer.
It helps you target your audience with ease. Most importantly, a logo tells your brand’s story and let’s your target audience resonate with it. When it comes to building an emotional connection between you and consumers, a thought-fully crafted logo can do the job for you too.
But to make the most of your logo, you need the expertise of an expert. It seems easy to find graphic designers and hand over your project to them and wait for the final product. However, the process doesn’t always go as smoothly as it seems. If the designers didn’t get what you are looking for, your logo won’t bring fruition. Not only this, you will waste time and money too. This situation is indeed stressful.
As a brand owner, we’d suggest you follow this checklist to get the services of a reliable designer.
1. Discuss your Goals and Expectations
You shouldn’t consider the designer as an outsider. You are going to sign a contract with them at some point so it’s better to treat the designer as a part of your team. And, when you work with a team, you don’t hide goals and expectations from the members.
Therefore, don’t be shy when revealing your expectations. Be enthusiastic enough to share your goals and motivate your designer to be on the same page. In simple words, discuss all aspects related to your company that might help in crafting professional logo design. You need to focus on the following too:
- Be clear on the objects of your project.
- Discuss specific pointers to get the best results.
- Provide creative briefs about your company.
- Discuss your competitors.
- Share the obstacles if you have faced any with previous designers.
- Be clear on the deadline and give them enough time to finish everything.
2. Look for the Skills you need
Before starting your hunt for graphic designers, be clear on the skills that you need to counter the objectives of your project. Once you know what skills you will need, you can narrow down the options available. Take note that finding the right person that designs the logo according to your expectations won’t happen overnight. To get the solid logo that earns you identity and recognition, you need to take expertise from a designer who is as passionate as you about the project.
Therefore, look for the type of clients he has been working with along with its industry, style or theme, etc. You should also decide color scheme, typography and other elements. Also, be clear on whether you need original illustrations or not. Following this step will give you an idea about what to expect from the designer.
3. Discuss your Target Audience and Brand
It becomes impossible for a designer to come up with a comprehensive design if they have little to no knowledge about your business. As a brand owner, you are aware of your day-to-day functions and rival brands. But, the designer that you consider might not know a single thing about your business.
So, you are obliged to have a talking session with the potential candidate and give details about your target audience and brand. If you have creative ideas to target your audience, you should share it with the designer too. Basically, you are supposed to talk about everything that let’s the designer have a firm grasp on your company and how it connects to potential customers.
4. Ask for Portfolio but don’t rely on it
It makes sense to go through the portfolio of a designer to get the perception of their work. But, relying on the portfolio alone doesn’t sound the best strategy. When you dream to take your company’s brand two steps ahead, you need to broaden your search to find the ideal candidate.
So, you should ask what inspires them to make certain choices while designing the logos listed in their portfolio. This way, you will get a clear picture of their inspirations and factors that evokes the creative side of their personality.
5. Go for relevant experience
Most designers are creative enough to work on diverse projects and add value to brands. Not all designers fall under this category. That is why experts prefer to work with designers who possess work experience in the relevant industry.
Having relevant experience means they will have required knowledge already and you don’t have to spend extra time to provide details. With the proper information, the designer in question can speed up the work and complete the project with success. Your experience in the relevant industry will also help you connect with potential consumers through the functional logo.
6. Ask for Designer’s Requirements
An exemplary partnership is when you put forward your expectations to achieve the desired results and ask for the requirements of the designer at the same time. So, it’s wise to consider their needs. You need to provide whatever they ask for the successful completion of the project.
It will reduce the risks of excuses in the middle of a project. Also, try to understand the design process of the candidate as everyone works on their pace. It will allow you to anticipate their requirements and what they expect from you. Be sure to focus on the following:
- Discuss design concepts with the designer.
- Consider their ideas or suggestions for maximum results.
- Always double-check the concepts to ensure all elements are covered.
- Try to give feedback and tell what you do think about a certain step.
7. Discuss Designer’s Inspirations
Designers are a bunch of creative people who look around for inspiration. So, when you look for a suitable designer for logo designing, don’t forget to ask what inspires them. It could be anything such as websites, books, artists or other brands, etc. Learning about their inspirations will allow you to make a conscious decision, whether to work with them or not.
Acquiring in-depth knowledge of their inspirations will let them understand their style. And, you might discover elements that may make your project an instant success. It is essential to find what motivates them to create flawless designs just like it is important to share what you want in a logo, to get the final product as per expectations.
When you want to hire a logo designer, it is necessary to look for more than a certain set of skills. From their work style to creativity, you need to talk about anything that lets you know if the person in question is the best fit for the project or not.
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Author bio
An individual with a passion for writing and a built-in creative spark, James Warner is a creative writer and graphics designer at FullStop – a logo design agency based in New York City. As one of the agency’s most talented personnel, James Warner adds value to FullStop’s creative team.
