At some point, you may realize that hiring a designer is the next step to keep propelling your business forward. We have tips for the when, who and how to make this process easy.

When is the right time?

As your business grows and evolves, you may realize that in order to have consistent branding, that truly conveys your message, it may be helpful to hire a designer to help bring your visions to life. It may be that you simply do not have the time to do the branding yourself. In other cases, you may be looking for help creating collateral that matches what you imagined. Finally, you may need a designer to help fully develop your brand and what it will look like. A designer will bring a fresh set of eyes to your project and can create new ideas you may have not considered.

Working with a designer can help you remove several tasks from your ever growing to-do list. Additionally, a designer can take care to ensure that your branding is consistent throughout all platforms and mediums of your business. This is important when building a brand because it helps your customers to easily identify and remember you.

Who should I hire?

Once you have decided to hire a designer, it is time to begin looking for one that will be a perfect fit. A great indicator is the designer’s previous work. It is a good idea to look at several designers portfolios to see which ones may align most closely with your business. A designer’s portfolio will likely not show their entire body of work, but it should give you an idea of the types of projects they are most comfortable working on and of their personal style.

There are many places to find freelance designers including Upwork, Freelancer, or Behance. Additionally, you may want to ask other small business owners you trust for recommendations. Finally, there are many full-service web design and development companies out there and finding one whose site speaks to you can also be a great place to start.

After you have found a designer you think will be a good fit, it is time to email them. In the email you should introduce yourself and your company. Include information about your business’s values, mission, and any ideas you already have. If you have an existing logo and website you should also include links to them. Here, you can also mention what it is you are looking for and maybe even a budget for the project.

At Kuvio, we love when potential clients share this information with us early on because it helps our designers to determine whether or not they will be a good fit for the project and if they would be able to meet your expectations while remaining within your budget. If a designer does not think your project is right for them, they will often refer you to another designer who better fits your style. This is beneficial for everyone because designers do not enjoy working on projects they are not well suited for and you may feel less satisfied with the work.

If the designer is interested, the next step is to set up a meeting, so that you can discuss more specifics about your brand and project. After this, the designer will be able to jump in and get started!

How can we work remotely?

The designer you choose to work with will not necessarily be in your same geographic location and as a result will be working for you remotely. At Kuvio, working remotely has provided us with many benefits including increased productivity and lower overhead costs which can be passed on as a discount to the consumer. However, with this type of work there are few ways you can make sure you and your designer have a successful working relationship.

Communication is key with remote workers. Virtual meetings through a platform like Google Hangouts can be helpful for this. We also use Slack to communicate between team members to allow for easy collaboration. Additionally, it is best to set clear communication expectations from the get go, for example, a promise to reply to each others emails within 48 hours can help things run smoothly.

Trust is also vital in remote work, without it, success is almost impossible. You want to feel comfortable that the designer is doing what they say they are, even when you can not directly observe their work. As a designer consistently communicates and meets deadlines you will develop more trust and the relationship will become stronger. For this same reason, it may be a good idea to hire the same designer for future projects if you are happy with their work.

We hope that these tips will make you feel more comfortable when hiring a designer to help build your brand. If you have additional questions about branding, working with designers, or how you can improve your own site please do not hesitate to contact us.