Working With Graphic Designers

I came across this article at the Huffington Post (Click below to read) on working with graphic designers. And I thought it would be really nice to share it. It has some good tips. But, there are still more tips that I could add to the article to aid those wishing to work with a professional graphic designer.

One of the most important subjects that has risen in the last few years for graphic designers is the problems that result with the public’s access to technology. I am grateful for computers and all the tools that make my job easier and more effective, but:

1. In the old days, people didn’t have computers, iPhones, iPads, Scanners nor all the technology available, so, they relied on a graphic designer that had a drafting table, all the manual tools to do the job and years of experience learning how to use them.

2. In present days, everyone has access to all the tools. However, they still don’t have all the years of training, school, and experience to use them. The same way that a doctor goes to school to learn to perform surgery, a professional graphic designer also goes through years of schooling training, and experience before they can create your customized design. This is done, exclusively for you and no one else.  To achieve this, a professional graphic designer has to have the necessary training and experience to understand your needs, your goals, your likes and dislikes, and your company’s overall branding.

In order for the designer to put together an estimate, he or she has to do a lot of research in the client’s field to get familiar with the Industry and to see if there are standards – for example, the fast food industry used ketchup red and mustard yellow as the main colors of their branding– so it would be completely wrong to use purple as the company colors. In some cases they have to research history, markets, news, and much more to be able to give the client a realistic project estimate.

Once an agreement is reached and a contract is signed, a designer then begins the process. If this is a logo, for example, he or she will start researching shapes, fonts, colors, and much more to try to hone in on the look and feel of the logo that best represents company’s essence. By the time you get a sample from the designer, countless directions have been explored. What you are seeing is the creme de la creme of what the designer has created. Sometimes the process is very short and the ideas come rapidly. Sometimes it may take days for this process. So, it is impossible to know, ahead of time, how long something like this will take.

Read the article here.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ian-mills/8-best-tips-for-worki_b_5473608.html