Saturday, June 16, 2012

Essential Tips to Remember When You Hire a Graphic Designer



Writing unique content, and placing that content on your website, are some of the tricks that Internet Marketers learn early on when they begin this type of business. The positioning of the graphics on your website is also something that you need to take into consideration. It is important to take the time to place the graphical elements of your website in the right positions. It is not simple or straightforward; it takes time and ingenuity. Getting a professional to do this for you is usually a good course of action. Here are some ways to make sure that you hire the best designer for what you have in mind. If there is anything at all that makes you feel overwhelmed with your online business, then that just means you have to learn a bit more and get more comfortable. Anyone with experience in SEO will understand what we mean and maybe even have a chuckle about it. Obviously you need to have some working capital for outsourcing which a high percentage of new web businesses cannot afford. We understand if you are not quite at that point, though, but there is much available that is very low cost or no cost. Never forget, when you are first exposed to something you have never tried before, proceed with caution and do some testing before doing a major roll-out. Not just in the case of bringing on contracted-out help, but with anything you have to get it done but also done smartly.

Always check out the portfolio of the person you are thinking of hiring. Make sure that this person has a portfolio that you can peruse. If they don't have one, find someone else. Some of the people you will find are just starting in this industry. A portfolio can actually have work related, and fun things in it. If someone needs to start a portfolio fast, this should be included. So if the portfolio is not there, find someone that has one. You will thank yourself for being so prudent later on. Find out what your competition is doing in the area of graphic design. Look at the graphics and images they have up on their websites and in their marketing materials. What's your gut reaction to the style, layout and other graphics elements they use? You may want to take certain pointers from these sites, and also identify some things you want to avoid. It's helpful to see what your competition is doing so you can get a clearer notion of what kind of graphics you want to use yourself. Then you'll also be better equipped to select the right graphic designer for your project. It is especially helpful to put together a list of sites you like and don't like to have to help give your designer a better idea of what you are hoping to get from them.

One other thing you can do is have a conversation with the designers you want to hire. Of course, resumes and references have their place. Sometimes a person will simply be a bad fit for you on the job, something a resume cannot alert you to.

The only way to tell this is to have an actual conversation with the person. Although you can use Instant Messaging to talk with someone, if you can get them on the phone, that is even better. If you are able to get good communication, it increases the probability that the project for the graphic designer will actually be done in a reasonable amount of time. Graphic design is just as important as content design. People's buying decisions are often made on the basis of their initial reactions to a website, which has to do with the graphics and layout it has. The reason we tend to forget about graphics is because the graphic design of a business is so subtle. Don't do a sloppy or mediocre job on graphics just to save a few dollars, as in the long run a great graphic designer is a worthwhile investment in your business.



No comments:

Post a Comment