I was once at a networking event and was speaking to a friend to told me, “You can’t swing a cat without hitting a graphic designer!” Funny thing is, she was a graphic designer.
Now, her statement above may be true in the business world, but ask anyone who has worked in marketing long enough, and they’ll tell you that not all graphic designers are created equal, and we’re not just talking about talent.
What makes a great graphic designer, and why should you have one on your side? Here are 5 things that make a good graphic artist stand out from the crowd.
1. Listening and Communication.
Excellent communication is essential. If you are lucky enough to have a graphic designer who not only has the ability to listen to what you want as a client, but also can effectively communicate their thoughts and feedback to you, then you should hang on to that artist for dear life. A good artist will be able to explain things in laymen’s terms for clients that may not know all the lingo, or have a full understanding of the technical aspect of design or promotional marketing.
2. An Artist Who Understands Your Industry.
In our case, it means an artist who understands the promotional marketing industry. Designing for promotional marketing can be a lot different than designing for mediums such as posters or brochures. Does your graphic designer have a working knowledge of what fonts, colors or logos may or may not work on certain promotional items? One logo may print beautifully on a reusable grocery tote, but it may not print so well on a small pen.
If one of the first questions your artist asks is “What item your logo will be going on?”, or “What size the imprint area be?”, then that’s a good sign. It means they are thinking ahead enough to want something that’s going to work with the item you’re ordering.
3. Good Business Sense.
Some designers are amazingly talented, but they may not be as business savvy, which isn’t always a deal-breaker, but you do want someone who understands and can work within your design budget. A great graphic designer will make the best use of your time and money.
4. A Solid Understanding Of Design As It Pertains To Sales And Marketing.
Good design is more than just good design. (Yes, I just said that.) Good design is compelling. It inspires. You want an artist who knows how to motivate your customers through their use of typography and color choices. The wrong shade of red can make or break your logo. You want your design to sell your business to your customers.
5. Responsive and Delivers On Time.
It may sound like a no-brainer, but you want an artist who is there when you need them. You just came out of a meeting with the boss and he needs a last minute order of custom padfolios for a conference he’s flying out to at the end of the week. A good designer will do what needs to be done to accommodate your rush request. There’s nothing that will send me in a panic more than sending an email or leaving a voicemail for someone with an urgent request, and not hearing back from them in a timely manner. You want a designer who is responsive and who delivers on time.
These are just a few things that make a good graphic designer stand out from the sea of others out there in the promotional marketing world. We at Imagination Branding are head over heels for our in-house graphics team, and are proud of the hard work they put out on behalf of our clients!