Forbes reveals in one of its blogs that if most businesses have strong feelings about visual branding symbols. On the contrary, client’s brief and deadlines are the two major nemesis of graphic designers across the globe. Ironically, enterprise society has long considered these two as the necessary evils, as they argue over few deceitful tales that can easily be read as a con story. On many occasions, businesses are forced to choose what they won’t ever pay for, or pay for something that they would never chose. And while these scammers exist right in front of us and almost 25% of all graphic designers are self-employed, it isn’t easy to uncover the mystery with a single blow.
On the basis of various tales about such designers from hell that we heard over the time, here are a five types to look out for.
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The UFO-Inspired Designer: So you went by the books; you made a contact, gave a brief, paid the initial amount, took your receipt and went back home. Now it’s almost a month and you are yet to hear from him. The UFO-inspired designer evaporate right into the thin air and you might never hear from them again. The whole client-designer meeting looks like a UFO rumor now, except that you have a receipt.
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Fraud Designers: These heavy-ascent amateurs will present themselves as experienced designers only to grab your money for making a custom logo design from the scratch. The final outcome would be a hybrid of free mock template, Comic Sans font and copyrighted stocked images, all rendered out of friends 30-Days trial Photoshop CS6. There deliberate attempt to make a simple thing complicated affects the time and money of the both the party. The major difference between Fraud Designers and UFO designers is the fact that they will always pick-up the call, ready with an excuse.
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The Blackmailing Designer: These kinds of designers are probably the worst ones. They never intend to build a logo or design a website, they simply want to collected credentials from the owners and fill the default site with malware, banned content, stolen logos and viruses. Reason? Well, they will keep on doing it until and unless you don’t pay them ransom money. A well respected designer will build a site or design a logo in their own space without asking for any kind of information you are not comfortable with.
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The Relationship Card: Do not fall prey to relationships when trying to achieve a professional goal. Find a cover next time any of your friends/family recommends someone within the family or vicinity for a design work. This is a disaster in making already since it will ruin your professional goal as there won’t be a primary authority, and it will affect your relation with that person too.
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The Captain Crook: The Captain Crook designers are mostly sly and wily. “Why put in efforts to create something unique when you can easily steal”, seems to be the motto of such designers. Such designers scout for innovative design ideas and blatantly duplicates them, without thinking that it may lead the client into rough weathers. Money remains the prime concern for such designers and these designers try to squeeze out as much as they can from their clients. Loosing clients doesn’t bother such designers for they always know there are other who they can trick.
We know about 5 different kinds of stereotyped graphic designers, it is now time to know which mistake as an individual we should avoid.
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Being Ignorant of References: There is no reason why you should shy away from checking references. This doesn’t make you look skeptical at all and in facts builds a strong base for business relations. Forbes suggests you to talk about former clients, experiences and projects with the designers. If you have any doubt, just call it quits.
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Not Checking Portfolios: There is no chance that you will hire a musician on your son’s birthday without listening to his previous records. The whole sentence sounds unnatural to begin with. For the very same reason, you should not be spending your money on a wild goose chase by investing in a designer who hasn’t kept a record of what he has done. Portfolios speak a volume for an artist and can be put online or carried physically. No matter what caste, culture or region he is from, or whether he is a freelancer or full-time designer, at the end of the day, a portfolio is a must. His designation might be his identity, but his portfolio is his identification.
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Not Getting a Contract Drawn: In today’s world, it is advisable to get all your terms and conditions written. When you acquire a graphic designer, don’t get into negotiations and transactions until you don’t have anything written. The contract drawn by you is your legal protection and the whole contract is actionable in civil court, according to Smashing Magazine.
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Not Using PayPal or Credit Card: There is a reason why business owner should do their transactions using PayPal or credit card. This mode of transaction comes handy if your product is not delivered on time and you want to file a case for a refund. This helps you rationalize legal matters in the later stages of development.
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Not Inquiring Online: If you find a perfect graphic designer who you believe can create the best designs for you, don’t just hire him or her at the first go. Do well to browse the website a little to find out more about the designer and the list of companies he/she claims to have worked with. Remember to check reviews for the designers before you hand them over the work.
In the End
Picking up the right kind of designer is critical to your business growth. The era of graphic designers have evolved over the time, smaller devices such as smartphones and tablets have taken over the traditional monitors, bringing in a design revolution on larger scale and challenges. Do not attempt to foray in these lands without a proper armor. The more you know, the least afraid you are.
Tell us how you have been handling designers for your company in comment section below.
Jyoti Bhandari is a blogger and social media specialist working with Designhill, one of the fastest growing custom design marketplaces. Over the years, she has written several articles, blogs and columns on topics related to graphic design, social media, startups, SEO techniques and e-commerce.
