The marketplace for freelance workers has exploded over the last 5-10 years! According to Intuit’s 2020 Report by the year 2020 nearly 40% of American workers or 60 million Americans will be freelancers. As this trend continues, more and more businesses will turn to skilled freelance graphic designers and graphic artists to create their website layouts, print ads, banner ads, corporate logos and other various graphic assets. When evaluating freelance design prospects for hire, it is important to identify and select the right designer. The following questions will help you to not only select the right freelancer designer but find a design rock star, avoid common pitfalls and create amazing freelance designs.
Does the Freelance Designer Have a Portfolio
?
This one is crucial! This single question and the accompanying portfolio can quickly weed out any freelancer designer that isn’t up to par. Access to view a freelance designer’s portfolio is standard in the industry. If your designer does not have one, quickly move on. It can be helpful to include that you require a designer to have a portfolio for review in your task description. This will automatically cut back on any designers that are not qualified from responding to your task request. A portfolio will help you see past projects, but not tell you much about the project itself. Make sure to ask follow up questions around specific portfolio examples you like, such as what the client provided them to work from, why it was a success, etc.
Things that you want to look for in a quality design portfolio are:
1) Design work for recognizable brands and established businesses
2) Design examples and aesthetic similar to what you are looking:
If you do not see an example of work close to what you are looking for, but like their work, ask if they have a better example. It is risky to hire a designer for a project in which they have not worked on something similar in style and budget as your current project.
3) Recent work
What are the Designer’s Skills, Tools and Areas of Expertise?
Regardless of your design project, you will need your freelance designer to possess a specific skill set tailored around your project. Remember not all designers are the same, as there are widely different design skills and tools depending if you need web vs. print design or a logo vs. photo retouching. Find a designer that focuses on the specific type of design you are looking for. Common freelance graphic design specializations include print design, UX/UI design, web design, icon design, publication design, multimedia design, advertising design, illustrator, 3D animation design and flash/ Silverlight design. Understand the requirements for your project and which type of designer you will produce the best results. Make sure their skills, design style and programs they are designing in work for what you need. Whether you are looking for freelancers with extensive CSS or CAD knowledge or need someone with a background in designing for AB testing, larger freelance platforms like MyCrowd and 99designs have a large selection of all the different types of designers you need.
What is the Designer’s Work Experience?
Experience is not the best measure to reject potential design hires, but it is a great way to qualify them. The reality is nearly 40% of designers will leave the profession within the first 2 years of work! The boom in the industry requires that designers constantly remain professional, skilled and innovative in order to compete for a living. If you are able to see a portfolio that has spanned over 2-5 years this is an excellent indicator that you have a designer that is capable of delivering on a project. A big bonus question is to ask if the designer has any experience working with corporate clients, and if so, that can be a big plus in terms of professionalism and organization. NOTE: There are young designers in their early years that may not have tenure, but undoubtedly have an impressive portfolio and skill set. So do not disqualify a candidate solely based upon on a lack of years in the business. If they seem to have the talent and are most aligned with your vision for the project they should still get strong consideration.
Can the Designer Meet Your Business Expectations?
Freelance designers in some respects consider themselves artists. There can be classic differences between business personality types and artistic personality types. Clear communication upfront is crucial. Make sure your freelance designer understands you are running a business and that you have specific deadlines and timelines you need to meet. Some designers can get caught up in the beauty of the project and lose sight of the business goals.
One of the top 5 reasons people freelance is the creative control it provides them over their projects. Unfortunately, there are times where you may want to limit creative control and are looking for a specific look/ aesthetic. Be clear in how literal or creative you would like the designer to be for your project. It is important your creative visions are aligned and there is no friction over creative license.
Make sure the designer understands that you will require the source files so that you can modify design elements in the future. If there is an issue around this subject or they want to charge you for them work with another designer. Many designers may resist giving you the source files but the truth is you are at a loss if the designer disappears and you can’t change the files.
Clearly asking a freelancer if they can meet your expectations will help you discern whether or not they are a good fit for your project. Always consider your project requirements first, and select your designer accordingly.
Will the Freelance Designer Work with Your Budget?
As design fees can rage widely from $25 / hr for a design student to $200 / hr for a top notch UX/UI designer, it is important to get the best designer in terms of experience, quality, skill set, and work style within your budget. It is best to review multiple candidates at once and expand your search to just outside your budget to cast a wider net for qualified designers. It is important to have the flexibility to negotiate among multiple qualified candidates to get good rates and the best design skills. However, do not be cheap as you will get what you pay for and possibly hire a designer that feels taken advantage of and in turn will not deliver the best final product. Seek an estimate from your freelancers and allow it to be the discerning factor among your final candidates. If you are curious as too typical rates, check out this article from The Freelance Graphic Designer’s Resource about graphic design rates.
One important thing that is important not to forget when discussing price. Clarify if the designer is using royalty free stock art, custom art or making their own elements. Do not get stuck with an unexpected invoice for custom illustrations or purchased artwork that you thought was part of the design fees. Find out and identify any additional cost and be clear who is responsible for those costs and how they will be paid.
Do Not Rush to Hire the Wrong Freelance Designer
Taking the time to ask the right questions will result in you finding a rock star freelance designer for your project. One time saving tip is to create a questionnaire or list of your important questions to send to the designer in advance. This can automate the process and weed out the weaker candidates. Another tip is to hire two different but closely skilled freelance designers for a test project. Hire the one you like best for your more important and larger design needs. Online platforms like Odesk and Guru can help you to find, evaluate and hire qualified freelancers on your projects. Innovators like MyCrowd allow you leverage crowdsourcing to perform QA on mobile and desktop website and apps. You can even create crowds of prospective candidates or freelancers you have hired before. This saves you time and streamlines the designer selection process. Let us know what questions you find helpful when hiring a designer!
