Ask HN: How to find a good designer for a small project? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: How to find a good designer for a small project?

14 pointshubraumhugo6 comments

We're a relatively young B2C software startup looking for a designer that helps us position/brand/style our product more professionally. We are looking for a simple branding package to align the design of our applications and marketing material (logo, typography, icon set, colors, etc.). The budget is $5k - $10k.

Should we look for freelancers instead of agencies? We think that agencies have advantages like faster turnover and multiple involved people who bring in different ideas and concepts. The downside is the higher price.

Is the project/budget too small for an agency?

Where do I look for good designers that fit our needs? Upwork, Dribble, Behance?

Any feedback is greatly appreciated!

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I'm speaking from "the other side" - never searched for a designer, but have worked as a freelance designer for 10+ years, and then as a product (UX/UI) designer in medium and large companies for another 7-8 years.

The way I see it, the biggest problem with freelancers is higher risk. The market is crowded, and even if you like the portfolio, and initial conversations make you optimistic, the chances that something will go wrong in the process are higher.

So yes, agencies are much more expensive, but in exchange they offer higher reliability.

If I were searching for a brand designer, I'd probably start with friends of friends. As in many fields, positive feedback from people I trust is an important factor (provided I like the portfolio of course).

If I did not have any friends of friends (actually I don't :-) - surpsiringly, I'd pick freelancers over agencies. I'd just be ready to spend significant time researching them thoroughly, talking with many designers, starting off with really small test task, etc. This way, I do my homework and reduce the risk of someone disappearing in the middle of the project. And the advantage of lower payment (comparing to an agency) remains long-term.

One more thought - for smaller company (such as yours), I'd search for more "full-stack" designer (if I may call us that). A designer specializing on, e.g., only branding is good fit for larger companies, where there many designers each work on their particular field. The best fit (again, in my opinion) for small teams is a "product" designer - that is, someone who has experience in designing all the entire product life cycle - from initial business requirements to UX wireframes to UI designs (that starts with a "design system" usually in form of Figma library), to marketing materials (that starts with a "brand book").

Shameless plug: I am such designer :-) and I'm available for part-time projects currently [0]. Despite the self-ad, I hope my response is useful.

[0] https://vlad.studio/resume/

Hmm, I did not answer the actual question: *how* to find a freelance designer. Off top of my head:

- a passive way: post a job at Upwork, Behance Jobs, Dribbble Hiring. React to responses. - more proactive way (but with less chance of finding a good fit quickly): browse Behance, Dribbble. For anyone you like, check their other works, then homepage/contact information.

OK I got too inspired :-) Here is my check-list to find a perfect freelance designer.

(Portfolio: Branding)

- is everything consistent? Are design decisions (colors, fonts, stroke widths, tone of voice, etc) applied consistently throughout all visual elements you see?

- is there a touch of humor? Do you nod / smile looking at the branding? (Not required but always a good sign).

- are there descriptions in the portolio (not just pictures)? Are they clear? Did they mention what client's problem they solved and how? I believe clear writing is as important for a designer as visual skills.

(Portfolio: Interfaces)

- do interfaces look usable? Are they presented not as a standalone screenshots, but as a coherent system / flow? The designs may look pretty but be awful at interaction.

- how close the screenshots are to real life? No Lorem Ipsum?

(First contact, setting expectations).

- is the designer good at self managing? Ask something like: "We need this and that, how would you work on this project?". Together with time and cost estimate, ask for the expected workflow. If their response includes things like "define responsibilities; interview stakeholders; assemble and discuss moodboard" - definitely a good sign.

- do they have a template agreement? Does not matter if they don't, but if they do - a good sign.

- do they care of how the results of their work are used? In case of interfaces, how do they go about handing off the work to developers? In case of marketing, do they actively ask about marketing needs and make sure the provided materials are convenient to work with?

- do they respond quickly? Is the tone friendly? Is the communication clear? There are many great designers out there. The challenge is to find one that delivers reliably and does not make you struggle along the way.

(Small test project)

- did they meet the estimated deadline?

- was the quality of design good enough?

- was the communication clear and timely?

I like the style of your artwork Vlad. Especially the creatures.

To a first approximation, the same way you find a good engineer. Like good engineers, good designers are busy serving existing clients and you are in a Market for Lemons. [1]

Practically speaking, what kind of programmer can you get for $5-10k and an explicit "the downside is higher price" approach to paying market rate?

But the truth is you don't need a good designer. At worst, you just need a good enough designer. Nobody really cares if your marketing material is professional if your product is solves customers problems.

Moreover, if your product is consumer focused, coming across as professional might not matter much. Think skateboard culture. Good luck.

[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Market_for_Lemons

Could anyone share their experience with 99designs and/or dribbble?

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