There are many designers out there that promise you the world and quite frankly this industry is highly overpopulated with "designers". We figured it would be a good idea to point out some things for our potential clients to look out for when shopping for a graphic designer. The things we will list should prepare you when interviewing your future designer for any advertising or media creation.

Make sure that the designer you are interviewing knows what they are doing.

For instance if you are getting a logo designed the ONLY format your designer should create it in is vector art. If your designer tells you otherwise they should think about a new career. Vector art is the only format that is scalable without resolution loss and with that you can get any type of graphic created from your vector logo. Your artist should be able to answer any questions without hesitation. Ask them if they have a minute to draw a vector heart for you or a vector arrow. You would be surprised how many so called "graphic designers" these days use clipart instead of original artwork. Watch them and make sure they do not open a file with a heart or arrow in it or used a tool with a pre-made shape. Make sure that they are actually taking the few steps to draw it. If your designer can't take 45 seconds to draw any of these items from scratch (while you watch) then they are not real artists.

The design process

How does the design process work? The prospective graphic artist should have steps in the process to create your media. You should be involved in these steps and have a certain amount or revisions until the job is right for you. Get to know your potential designer and how they operate before making a final decision on who you are going to hire for your important advertising job. If you don't feel comfortable with the designer or their confidence think about why.

Make sure they calibrate!

If your interviewee (designer) does not calibrate for color output, don't trust them! What they show you on a monitor could be completely different than what you receive printed. Color consistency and calibration can make or break a design. Red should not print pink! Grey should not look green when printed although there is a fine line in the differences of these colors.

So what do they charge?

Most "good" designers can charge anywhere from $75 an hour and up. If you find someone to do you business card layout for $10 you should be very skeptical about the image they will create for your company. You might think you saved a couple bucks but what does that really mean about the image your company portrays? Nobody wants work done by someone with a cheap image and a poor image says more than just that. It says that your company might cut corners on everything you do. Don't go cheap on your design although more importantly don't pay too much! Like the old saying says "You get what you pay for".

Look at your designer's website

If their site looks like its from 1990, more than likely they design like it. If they don't have their own PERSONAL website (excluding myspace, facebook, merchant circle or any other site), meaning www.[theircompanyname].com you should be very very cautious. A designer without a website is a designer afraid to show design work to the public.