Before You Hire a Designer

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Good designers make your business look good.

Great designers make your business work.

Good designers are skilled in layout, colour, and typography. Polished and presentable work.

Great designers look beyond the surface. They think about positioning, messaging, and what actually happens once the work is live.

Good designers follow instructions and offer unlimited revisions. But that often means you are stuck art-directing and dealing with endless back-and-forth messages.

Great designers own the outcome by learning your business, market, industry, and competition. It may feel slower, but it removes guesswork and reduces revisions. More importantly, it leads to design that is aligned with your vision.

Founders don’t just need things to look nice. They need a visual identity that accurately represents their business and supports growth.

When hiring a designer, do not just look for:

Instead, look for designers who:

There are tons of graphic designers out there right now. Nowadays, many of them start freelancing independently, without any agency or in-house experience. This limits their exposure to strategy, collaboration, and how design actually functions inside a business.

When in doubt, a small paid project can be useful. It quickly reveals both skill and professionalism before making a long-term commitment.

That said, established designers often do not need test projects. Their experience, process, and track record demonstrate their value.

Great designers will not rush into visuals or treat your business like a quick win. They won’t posture, flex numbers, or recycle what already exists.

They take the work seriously and slow things down just enough to get it right.

This distinction between good and great is obvious once you’ve worked with both.

You notice it long before the final files are delivered.

🌑 Robert