Clear Brief
A successful project starts with providing background information about your business and a thorough explanation of your project.
Make sure your brief goes into detail about your company, the project's objectives, budget, timelines and the specific qualifications you are looking for in a design professional.
Sharing the budget and the deadlines in the job description ensures that candidates understand the project and assess whether they can meet your expectations before submitting a proposal.
Do Your Research
A portfolio is the best tool to help you understand designers' skills and experiences. You can look for online portfolios on Instagram, Behance, Creativepool and many other platforms.
It's easier to shortlist a candidate if they have projects that fit your criteria and are similar to what you envisioned for your brand. However, if you have something uncommon in mind, you have to consider a few aspects about the designer:
Do their skills match up with what you have in mind?
Have they completed projects of varying types and styles?
Does their portfolio include projects for clients like yourself (businesses of the same size, industry)?
If the answer is "yes" to all of these questions, there's a good chance this designer will be a good fit for your project. If any of those questions get a no, it's best to continue the search.
Shortlist designers based on portfolio and relevant experience
After browsing through some portfolios (how many depend mainly on your preferences), it's time to get in touch with those designers and ask a few questions.
Interview
Rather than interviewing candidates over the phone, it's a good idea to conduct interviews over a video like Skype or Zoom.
You can get a better sense of the candidate's previous experiences, skills and design process.
Video conferencing will also give you a sense of the designer's critical thinking and understanding of your project.
Proposal review
Proposals are essential to the understanding of what to expect from the project. You have to expect to see the following in a proposal :
Introduction of the designer or the agency, including their skills, expertise and experiences
The stages of the execution of the project - explanation of each step of the process
A detailed timeline of the project
A quote for the services
Our team also provides mood boards of how we see the project progressing; that way, you can see the designers' vision and assess if it fits yours.
When it comes down to it, working with designers is like working with anyone other professional. Imagine what you'd want from a client if you're unsure how to work with your designer. Clear, consistent communication. Reasonable and detailed expectations. Market rates for a job well done. Polite feedback. With these things, your relationship with a designer—whether freelance, contract, or agency will be a good one.