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 If you're looking for a graphic designer for the first time, you may not know what to expect from the design process. The truth is that designers are individuals, and every designer has a slightly different working method. There are several things that most professional designers do have in common, though. Here are a few things you can expect when you work with a graphic designer: 1) Expect to sign a contract before work A contract protects the designer, and you. It will spell out who owns what, how long the estimate is good for, payment terms, etc. Some designers call contracts by another name, such as terms & conditions, to make it seem a little less scary. Designers that don't require you to sign a contract most likely haven't been in business very long; that's not necessarily a bad thing, but it is a clue to the designer's level of professionalism. 2) Expect to pay a deposit before work Many people believe that designers just make things pretty. A good designer tries to communicate your message, and that takes research. While your designer is researching your job, they cannot take on new work or promote their business. A deposit isn't payment for future work -- it's a payment for the work that is going on right now. 3) Expect to pay more for rush jobs People often have unrealistic ideas of how long it takes to get something designed. There's a lot of research and legwork involved in designing. If your job is a rush, you can expect to pay more -- especially if it requires weekend work. Not all designers treat rush jobs the same, so it's a good idea to discuss what constitutes a rush job and what extra fees rush jobs might incur when you first hire a designer. Just because your job isn't a rush now doesn't mean it won't become one. 4) Expect to pay more when you make changes Changes that you make that aren’t specified in the job specs and that isn’t an error on the part of the designer, are usually called author's alterations (or AAs). You can expect to be billed extra for any AAs you request, so it's a good idea to go over your copy carefully before submitting it to your designer. If you change the actual specifications of the job (job specs), you can also expect additional charges. A professional designer will let you know what extra fees you are incurring before they begin to work on your changes. 5) Expect to be charged by the project, not by the hour Most professional designers charge by the project. They may break it down for you so that you can see where all your money is going, but they usually don't charge by the hour. 6) Expect that you will get an agreed-upon number of concepts Every designer's worst nightmare is the customer that will "know it when they see it". That's why it pays to do your homework ahead of time: if you really know what you want, like, and need, your designer is more likely to come up with something that works for you. Whatever price you agree upon will only include a limited number of initial design concepts; if you need more, the price will go up. 7) Expect to do your homework first I have met with customers who wanted a logo, but hadn't thought about why they wanted a logo, or even who their target market is. It's truly critical that you spend some time thinking about what you really need: who is your target market? What’s special about your company? Why your company, and not some other company? While it's true your designer should spend time discussing this with you, you'll get better results if you've think about these issues before you meet with designers. 8) Expect to pay more for files Most design projects are for a one time use: a brochure, an ad, a postcard. When the designer quotes a price for you, they're assuming that you will only use the design for that one project. If you want to take that graphic from your brochure and use it in an ad, for instance, it will cost you more because you're using for two projects. If you know that you want to use the design for several different projects, let the designer know; the designer will then price your job accordingly. 9) Expect GIGO (garbage in, garbage out) Designers are not miracle workers. If you hand a designer your 72 dpi, digital camera photos for a brochure that will be printed, your photos will most likely end up looking fuzzy in print. Yes, the designer can improve the photos somewhat, but there's a limit to how much such photos can be improved. The same is true if you give the designer already printed material to scan, torn photos, blurry photos, scratched photos . . . you get the idea. 10) Expect that you will make the final approval for the job When all is said and done, this is your job; final approval (and responsibility) rests with you. While your designer will certainly proofread your work, most likely they will also have you proofread it and sign a form that says the work is approved. Don't sign off on the job unless you're completely satisfied. If you do sign off and find a mistake later, it will cost you more money to fix the error. |
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