Questions to Consider Before You Hire a Designer

Before approaching a graphic or web designer to start your next project, take a moment to consider your company, your product and what you want to achieve with this project, whether it is a logo design, a new website, a product flyer or a new corporate redesign.

When starting a project, your designer should ask these questions to help him or her better understand how the project needs to progress. These questions are vital to developing or reorienting your corporate identity and creating a more effective brand. I have simplified the questions here and will be posting a more detailed questionnaire on my website shortly.

Consider your answers carefully, you may even need to take a break and review it at a later point.

Why do you want (your current project)?
You may want a website to provide information to customers, to increase your online traffic, or as a way to sell your product. You may want a logo in order to have a distinctive symbol that visibly differentiates you from your competitors, but are you considering it as a standalone item or as just one part of your brand?

What is your business/company?
This includes your company philosophy and your long-term goals in addition to the products or services you provide to your customers.

What separates you from your competitors?

What pain/problem does your business solve?
What ‘pains’ do your customers experience? How do you relieve these pains?

Who is your target market?
Who will be buying your product or service? Consider demographics such as age, gender and income as well as psychographics such as their lifestyle and interests.

What is your budget?
What are you prepared to spend? Are you able to pay for extra necessary features that may be discovered during this research process?

What is your timeline?
What is your deadline? What needs to happen along the way?

What do you NOT want in this project?
If there are definite elements you do not want to appear in the project, be sure to let your designer know from the beginning. Even if you aren’t quite sure what you do want, you can help narrow down the scope by listing what you do not want.

What are your long-term plans with this project?
Consider whether you initial requirements allow room for growth in the future. Your project may require extra work in the initial stages to create a smoother transition a few years down the road.

While this is just an initial search into the motivations behind your project, your designer will appreciate that you have already taken the time to consider these questions before they even meet with you.