BRANDING
8 Red Flags to Avoid When Hiring a Designer.
Educating the client for a change.
This wasn’t the plan. I was going to write about tips and tricks for designers to find inspiration and kill their creative block.
But when I started the research for that, it hit me that there is so much content for designers but barely anything to help the client out.
This fact actually disappointed me because every relationship is a two-way game. You cannot succeed as a designer until you and your client are on the same page.
How is that possible? By educating the client.
I was always curious when my clients had no clue about what they actually wanted from me for their brand during the first meetings. Now I know why.
I think it’s time to change that. These are 8 of the most common red flags you should look out for in a designer.
By the way, I think my story on what nobody told me about branding would interest both, my fellow designers as well as businessmen who want to become design driven.
1. They don’t have a portfolio
If a designer doesn’t have anything to show you, that’s the most obvious red flag right there! And when a designer does send you his portfolio, be sure to cross check it.
This applies to beginners as well. Even if the designer does not have industry projects yet, they must have created something to practice out their skills or just to create their personal brand on social media.
You can judge them by their personal projects.
For my fellow designers, this is not discouragement. If you don’t have a portfolio yet, just create something for your own social media or even just a pet design for your favorite brand.
And give it your very best so your potential client can judge you based on those designs.
This was exactly how I started. I chose my favorite brands and recreated their logos and made mock social media posts for them.
2. They don’t ask questions
For your branding to be successful, the designer needs to know each and everything about your business. Good designers know that and ask questions. They try to diagnose your problem.
If a designer shows impatience and wants to get started on the project as soon as possible, that is not a good sign.
When you go to a doctor, he asks you the problem you are facing, your diet, your health history and other various things, right? Then he proceeds to give you the prescription.
Same goes for a designer. In order to create a branding for you, they must know the in and out of your business and your processes.
3. They don’t try to educate you
Good designers know the importance of educating their clients. They know that their creative process would need your involvement which is why they tell you exactly how to stay in the loop.
They help you figure things out and tell you what type of branding would suit your business. They assist you to pin-point your problem.
One of my earliest projects failed miserably because of this. My client only told me what his business did. There was no brief, no discovery, no discussions.
As a beginner, I was hesitant which is why I didn’t say anything and got to work with what I had. I soon realized it was my biggest mistake. After the client told me the branding was a no-no, I went to meet him to know what went wrong.
During that meeting, it became obvious to me that he had no idea he had to tell me more than just the “what” of his business for the branding to be successful.
And I told him just that. He was actually surprised and wanted to start the process all over again. This time, I educated him about briefing and getting involved in the project. His sales increased by 40% after the brand reveal.
4. They don’t have a process
Every designer or design agency must have a creative process. Without this, everything would be all over the place and creative minds need to be relaxed to be able to produce magic.
If the designer does not have a process, he might not be the right one.
Although every designer’s creative process varies, some of the basic steps can be:
- Reseach and discovery
- Competitor and industry research
- Strategy and positioning
- Designing the brand touchpoints (logo, typography etc.)
- Mockups
- Social media strategy
5. They either charge too high or too low
If the designer’s pricing is not in sync with their portfolio or is too high or too low from the market value, they are bad news.
Good designers keep tabs on the market value and charge close to that. And if they are charging higher than that, they must have an impressive portfolio to back up the pricing.
You can judge the pricing by the market value or by judging from the portfolio of the designer.
Again, this is not a discouragement for you my fellow designers. If you want to charge higher than the market value, go ahead. But do make sure that your portfolio testifies.
6. They use too much jargon
Designers who use too much jargon are also bad news. They use words like scale, aspect ratio, and white space very frequently in hopes of impressing you.
A good designer doesn’t impress, he educates. It is a common practice in every industry where people use jargons to disguise themselves as an experienced professional.
Jargon is meant to be used in a gathering that can actually understand the terms. You should not use design jargons in front of a writer and vice versa.
7. Their conversations aren’t result-oriented
You: What would happen after this branding?
Designer: Your brand will look good. Your logo will look pretty. You will have creative patterns.
You: Ok, but how will it help my brand.
Designer: After this branding, you will be able to advertise your brand beautifully. *Starts uttering a train of adjectives*
If the conversation with your designer looks like this, RUN! A good designer would tell you how the branding will help your business grow.
His conversation would be goal oriented. He would be talking in numbers rather than adjectives.
The above conversation with a designer without red flags would look like this:
You: What would happen after this branding?
Designer: Well, I had a client with a similar problem. After the branding, his sales were increased by 40% so you can expect something similar.
Have you ever had a conversation filled with adjectives?
8. They don’t have a helpful attitude
Your business is facing a problem. That might be not enough traffic, not enough conversions, anything. You hire a designer to give you a solution.
Now if this designer is not empathizing with you, he doesn’t have a helpful attitude, then that is a major red flag.
Because a designer who is not helpful, isn’t going to understand your problem the way he should. If he doesn’t understand the problem, how do you expect him to come with a branding solution?
Whenever I go to meet a prospective client, I listen to everything he has to say. And then I ask questions. These questions help my client give me all the information I need to get started on his project.
My name is Muhammad Usman, and I am the founder & creative director of a brand experience design agency. My aim is to help not only the creatives but also the businesses that want to become design-driven and escalate their sales. If you have any questions, I’ll be happy to help out in the comment section. :)
