Finding the right designer for your needs can be a big undertaking, and with so many options available, it can be quite challenging to know who is the best to work with. Design is a massive industry with all sorts of ways that people conduct work, so it can be even more frustrating here than anywhere else. Luckily, this wide variety and huge market of designers means that there tons of great people for your task — you just need to find them! By following these five steps, you can mitigate risks and facilitate the smoothest possible process of getting the design work that you need.

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1. Know What You Can

Before you embark on the task of finding the perfect designer for you, it's important to know what you need, such as your budget, design needs, and stylistic considerations. One of the most important factors to determine first is your budget, as this will guide how, and what sort of designer you find. If you only have a few dollars, you might be better off saving more money up, or looking on Fiverr. For a few hundred, you'll probably be best off working with a freelance designer. If you're prepared to undertake design with a few thousand dollars of a budget, you might even go after an agency or collective of designers. You don't need to know the exact amount you're going to pay, but knowing a ballpark of what you're prepared to pay will be important in finding the right designer, and seeing if your budget aligns with their price in the first conversation.

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Alongside budget, knowing some details about your design needs will be useful too. You're not required to go to a designer already knowing exactly what deliverables you need and in what style, but having a basic idea of what you're looking for can be important for finding clarity and alignment when choosing a designer and in the first conversations. If you have some examples of work you like, taking screenshots and sending them to the designer can be a great way of ensuring they're on the same page as you. If you don't know too much about these things yet don't worry though, it's not up to you to know everything about design, and simply knowing that you need some design is a great first step.

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2. Find Referrals

There are a ton of graphic designers around, so how do you know who to choose? One of the best starting places is to ask for referrals. You can do this by putting out a general message onto social media that you're looking for design, but this may result in hundreds of replies, or automated messages, and leave you no better off than you started. The best place to find referrals is simply to ask friends and people in your community for their recommendations. If you have a friend who recently had some design done that you love, that's a great starting place! One of the biggest benefits of finding a referral from somebody that you trust, is that you'll go into the design process knowing that this designer is capable and trustworthy, which can be some of the biggest concerns. Otherwise, you can simply look around at other brands like yours. If you find someone with great design, more often than not, they'll be excited to help you out and tell you who did it!

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3. Look at Past Work

One of the easiest ways to know that a designer will be capable of doing the work that you're looking for is to see what they've already done. A common pitfall when choosing a new designer is simply choosing because you hear they're a (good) designer, but not actually checking out the work that they do. Just because somebody is great at design, if their portfolio of work is all for feminine cosmetics, they may not be a great fit for your metal band. Once you've shortlisted your list of designers and found some potential people to work with, looking at their portfolios is a great way to narrow it down further. It's not like all designers only do one style, but it's a lot easier and less risky to find somebody who you know can do what you need, rather than hoping. Obviously, these designers won't have the exact work you already need in their portfolio, but if you could picture what you need living alongside the rest of their work, chances are they'll be a good fit for you. The two considerations here are the type of design, and style. If you know you need a brochure, choosing somebody that has made brochures before may be beneficial — they'll know the little details like the best layouts, and how to set up the folds without any problems. In terms of style, just knowing that somebody's work is something that you like and that would fit within your brand is a great step in making sure it will work out.

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4. Have a Discussion with the Designer

Instead of diving straight into a discussion about exactly how you want your design to look, it's important to get to know the designer, their process, and see if it'll be a good fit for you. It's best to start by talking about any concerns or potential worries you have upfront, and these could harm a project from continuing further, and you don't want to realize that halfway through. Even though budget can be a scary conversation, if you know what you're prepared to pay, you can have an honest and professional conversation with the designer. Money can be a place where the designer and client have different ideas, so it's important to have this conversation early on. Do note that some designers will have consultation fees for this first conversation — which will also be worth asking about upfront — but don't let these fees affect your decision if you don't like a designer. Losing a few dollars upfront is better than going forward with a badly-suited designer, so it may be worth considering these fees in your budget.

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From there, asking questions about things like the expected project turnaround, how involved in the process you'll be, or how often you can expect to hear from the designer will help you out too. If you like their answers and feel comfortable with what they're saying, you'll be well on your way to a successful design process. Similarly, just by having this discussion you'll get a good sense of who the designer is, and get a feel of if they're a good fit (or any red flags that appear). By having a clear conversation upfront, you can eliminate a lot of potential worries that can come up down the line, and go into a project with clarity and peace of mind.

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5. Sign Off on a Plan

Just because you had a great chat with a designer and told him what you need, this doesn’t mean you’re home free just yet. One of the most important things you can do is have a clear plan for your conduct, in writing, about what is going to happen. Usually, a designer will provide you with something along the lines of a project timeline, brief, and invoice, but if not it doesn’t hurt to request one or bring your own contract. Without any official documentation of the process, you’re not too protected if a designer suddenly vanishes, or takes longer than expected, and it can be a huge pain to try to resolve. By having a written agreement, you’ll know when everything is expected to be completed, when you owe money, what input you have along the way, and what safety nets are in place. If you do end up having issues, or getting designs that don't match what was discussed, you’ll always have this paperwork to fall back on and help keep everybody aligned under what was agreed upon.

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By following these 5 steps, you’ll be well on your way to finding the perfect designer for your job and having a hassle-free design process that gives you exactly what you're looking for. Once you find a great designer that you trust, you'll have an awesome person to go back to for future work — so you'll have both consistent work, and no hassle of finding somebody new, each time!