Here is a bit of info on how to find a good designer and the process in working with them:
1. Find a freelancer/small studio locally if possible. Ask around and get referrals from people who have worked with them before.
You can find their folios of work online or email them to send a PDF of their work. Additional things to consider might be: Do they deliver on time? Do they reply promptly to emails? Were they nice to deal with?
These things can make your life a whole lot easier and mean you can focus on running your business.
2. Put together a design brief to send to the designer for a quote. Here is a great list of the type of info you can put in a brief.
As with anything, you can shop around and get a couple quotes from a few designers. Just remember, sometimes it can be better to pay a little more if you know (through referrals) that they are good to deal with and produce quality work.
3. Normally once a quote is approved the designer will ask for a deposit up front (30-50%) to ensure that both parties are committed.
This also assists in the cashflow for both parties, which can be a killer for small businesses! If you are worried about your own cashflow, ask if you can break the payments up into milestone payments (e.g. on delivery of first concepts) to reduce the total lump sum payment required.
4. The designer will then work on your design and normally present several concepts to you (on which they would generally spend a decent amount of time, thought and care developing) and then work with you to determine if these designs match your objectives and how they can be improved.
5. The designer will then take that feedback and further finesse the design, working with you to develop something you are happy with and is appropriate for your business and target audience.
6. Finally they will deliver to you a logo/design in high quality formats (normally EPS, PDF, JPEG and PNG) and in CMYK colour (for print), RGB colour (for online) and B&W that you can use on any application needed.
They will then send you an invoice for any outstanding payment (we love, love, love if you pay promptly as cashflow can be tough for a freelancer) and hopefully everyone is happy!
Design really is an iterative, conversational process involving a close, trusting relationship between the designer and the client with the back and forth of ideas and input leading to design that is effective for your business.
Ask yourself is it worth skimping a couple hundred dollars now for a design that might not be as effective as an original, well thought-out one and you may have to pay more for to fix in the future.
Working one on one with a designer ensures that both parties get more value and are able to work effectively together. Forming a closer relationship with a designer also means that they will get to understand you and your business better; so the more you work with them the better the design work will get!
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