How to Hire a Designer

As a business owner, one of the most daunting things you might do will be to hand over your business and brand to another professional. This can feel scary because like, it’s your baby right? How can someone else do it justice? Finding the right designer is the key to alleviating the fears you have about relinquishing control. If you find the right person for the job, it won’t even feel like that. Collaborative designers exist (hi!) and we are determined to bring your vision for your brand to life.

Where can I find a designer?

Well, besides being hulled up in a cave, I mean….their home office, there are a few different platforms you can check out in order to find the right designer for your brand and website!

• Instagram: There is a sizeable community on Instagram for web and brand design! This is also a quick way to get a feel for someone and their style. Try searching for tags and profiles like “web design + your niche” or by your CMS of choice.

• Pinterest: A lot of designers post their work on Pinterest. This is a great way to start mood-boarding too! Save some of your fave designs to a Pinterest board and check out the website links attached to them. Just be careful, as sometimes people will upload other artist’s work and try to take credit for it.

• ilovecreatives: We loveeeee the ilovecreatives job board! They teach Squarespace and Shopify courses, so the majority of the designers there work with those CMS, but you’ll often find other CMS designers available.

Are You Perfectly Aligned?

Finding a designer that aligns with your values and your brand will be key to a great experience for you, and getting a brand delivered that you love.

If you aren’t sure what to look for to determine if you and a designer are aligned, here are some things to keep in mind!

• Style: Look over their portfolio! Designers should have something visible from their portfolio on their website or Instagram. If they don’t, that’s kind of a red flag. Even if they don’t have a lot they should have something.

• Budget: Are their prices within your current budget? If it’s not in the budget now, can you feasibly save up for the service? This isn’t something to feel shameful about, we are all at different phases of life and business. If the designer you find is out of budget, they sometimes offer payment plans or you can seek out a lower price point. There are plenty of designers offering quality work at lower price points. You might be working with a newer designer or receiving fewer deliverables.

• Values: While you don’t have to agree on everything, having similar values will definitely help in design translation and in communication. If you are a purpose-driven business, finding someone who shares those values will make your experience with a designer much smoother.

Reach out to connect!

Okay, so you’ve found the right designer to work with, now you have to break the ice. This is way less scary than sending that first message on a dating app, I promise. Just contact them in their preferred method so your message doesn’t get lost and they’ll likely get back to you shortly about the project to let you know if it’s an aligned fit or not.

While I can’t speak for other designers, it is really helpful to me when folks put in a little effort in the lead form. If you hardly answer the questions, I won’t know if it’s an aligned fit and will likely pass on the project. If you visited a designer’s website that had little to no information on what they offered or what to expect, you’d probably pass on hiring them. It feels the same to see an almost blank lead form, I don’t know what you want or if I can deliver what you want. It can also come off like you’re not really that excited about your business or brand - which will make a big difference in the outcome of the project!

So before you hit submit, make sure you’ve taken the time to gather the appropriate information - or at least your best guess for what the project will entail and your timeline. Feel free to gush about your business! We want to know what makes you excited about taking this next step.

If you’re ready to take the next step in your business and hire a website or brand designer - I’d love to work with you! You can check out my recent work here, or jump over to the service page to see what I offer. Chat soon! <3