Graphic Designers

J

jlynch

New member
Where do you go to find your graphic designers? I'm looking for one, but don't know where to begin when it comes to credentials and those sorts of details. Do you mostly just look at their work and make a determination from that?
 
I found a good graphic designer on Elance.

Most designers have their portfolios on there and you can look at them. You can chat with potential designers you may want to work with to get a feel if they are right for your job.
 
For me, if someone can do the end work and produce results, I don't need a piece of paper to say they're qualified to do that.

Learning in a classroom or from a book, is must different from hands-on real world experience.

I'll take real world over a piece of paper any day!
 
With most designers I think their work can speak for itself. If they have a degree that's wonderful but with design alot of people are self taught. I actually have a degree in Graphic Design and alot of what I know came from the class room and book but then a great part of my knowledge was self taught and learning by trial and error.

ELance is a great place to find professionals but can be a bit pricey. Best of luck on your web designer hunt.
 
handsonhosting said:
For me, if someone can do the end work and produce results, I don't need a piece of paper to say they're qualified to do that.

Learning in a classroom or from a book, is must different from hands-on real world experience.

I'll take real world over a piece of paper any day!
Click to expand...

With that I would agree completely. I remember how my career as a designer started. I opened new document in CoreDRAW and started slowly but surely. No books, no paper...
 
jlynch said:
Where do you go to find your graphic designers? I'm looking for one, but don't know where to begin when it comes to credentials and those sorts of details. Do you mostly just look at their work and make a determination from that?
Click to expand...
Portfolio's are a plus, but simply chatting with the desinger for a few moments will give you a sense of their abilities. Ask lots and questions.
 
hi,

you should look at their previous work and see if they have worked before on a website that suites to your requirement. Also, you can post your project on freelancing sites like elance, getafreelancer, getacoder and many others, this would get you the perfect guy.
 
You need look for portfolios and check it is really that portfolio is his.
We are searching in odesk.com and in elance.
But you can make a an advertisement and place it in most popuar freelance website and in most popular webmasters/designer forums
 
handsonhosting said:
For me, if someone can do the end work and produce results, I don't need a piece of paper to say they're qualified to do that.
Click to expand...

Fully agree, I have found some of the most amazing designers without needed to see any special paper.

I have also noticed those with degrees (not all but a good many) are stuffy, I can not work well with stuffy people. :(
 
I know someone that is very good in graphic designing. I would like to recommend to you Mr. Nestle Poell. Just take a look in his portfolion in http://nestlepoell.net/ I'm sure you will like him. Please tell him that I refer him to you. My name is Arnold Arieta.
 
Try the dude at CreativeSuite.net

He's a freelancer and his work's pretty reasonable (both as far as quality + pricing are concerned).

....and I got a good turnaround time with him.

(P.S. Do tell him that "ScarabWeb" referred him to you if at all you use him :)).

Good luck with whoever you choose though.
 
How much is the price range of good graphic designers? I've started posting some ads to hire a graphic designer for my website but I don't know the right price. By the way, thanks for the links, I already look at both and I might consider CreativeSuite.
 
I know a skilled and talented graphic designer and most of his portfolios are good. He didn't come from any outsourcing / freelance sites. Luckily he happens to be a family member and his service is exclusively free to us so there's no need for me to look for a graphic designer online to ask for help.
 
I think that those sorts of things are best found either through contacts or through freelance sites where you look at people's work. I have several graphic designers that I know, so I won't have to worry about it too much.
 
Price for a graphic designer will depend on what you need done and what the skill set is, along with the return time.

I've paid between $45 and $1000 for various "quick" jobs that I've needed done. I've paid MUCH higher for full sites (of course) and that was just the TEMPLATE not the actual content!

Turnaround time will affect price. There are three factors - Speed, Quality, Price... pick 2, you can't get all 3!

For low price, and high quality - expect to wait a long time

The important part that you need to discuss with your designer is price and budget range. People often go blind into discussions saying "I want this, and that" - but really the first question should be, how much can you spend - THEN you can adjust accordingly.

If someone came to me with $100, I'll offer then a completely different set of options than someone who comes to be with $1000 in hand. It's not about exploiting the money, that's not what I'm saying. Someone with $100 will get a stock graphic modified to their needs. Someone with $1000 may get either a higher quality graphic or even a CUSTOM graphic all together.


How much do you pay for an oil change? $19 at PepBoys where you wait 3 hours, or $39 at Jiffy Lube where it takes 15 minutes? :) They do the same job, just one does it faster!
 
handsonhosting said:
The important part that you need to discuss with your designer is price and budget range. People often go blind into discussions saying "I want this, and that" - but really the first question should be, how much can you spend - THEN you can adjust accordingly.
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I agree completely. People with a tight budget often come to me and ask how much this or that would cost. When I explain that we should work out some details in order to estimate a price, they insist on knowing how much I would ask for.

Since I do custom art, I can't work on such conditions, so I tend to reverse the question and ask what they plan to invest.

In short: we must know how much our time costs, if we are paid $1000, we can spend enough time to make things work out. If someone wants to pay $20, I would spend a couple of hours or my business would sink in a blink of an eye.
 
handsonhosting said:
Price for a graphic designer will depend on what you need done and what the skill set is, along with the return time.

I've paid between $45 and $1000 for various "quick" jobs that I've needed done. I've paid MUCH higher for full sites (of course) and that was just the TEMPLATE not the actual content!

Turnaround time will affect price. There are three factors - Speed, Quality, Price... pick 2, you can't get all 3!

For low price, and high quality - expect to wait a long time

The important part that you need to discuss with your designer is price and budget range. People often go blind into discussions saying "I want this, and that" - but really the first question should be, how much can you spend - THEN you can adjust accordingly.

If someone came to me with $100, I'll offer then a completely different set of options than someone who comes to be with $1000 in hand. It's not about exploiting the money, that's not what I'm saying. Someone with $100 will get a stock graphic modified to their needs. Someone with $1000 may get either a higher quality graphic or even a CUSTOM graphic all together.


How much do you pay for an oil change? $19 at PepBoys where you wait 3 hours, or $39 at Jiffy Lube where it takes 15 minutes? :) They do the same job, just one does it faster!
Click to expand...

Thanks a lot for that complete explanation. This is the answer I was looking for. Right now, I don't have the money but I'm willing to wait. I wanted quality but I know my budget won't get a really good graphics designer.

Is it OK to get a newbie graphic designer, which I think will ask for a lesser price, than the experienced ones? I guess I will have to gamble my money if I do this.
 
Is it OK? Sure it is. If they have provided you with some samples and you can make a determination that they are able to capture the ideas that you're looking for, by all means, go with someone starting out. If they don't have any samples to show you, you'll likely pay a REALLY LOW rate as you're taking a gamble. They may even make an offer to provide you samples before payment.

I'm a big supporter of the no-spec movement (http://www.no-spec.com). Basically this a group of designers that speak out against clients or competitions that say, "send me your designs, and if we like them, we'll pay you" - in essence the client then gets many design concepts and can take whatever and go to a new designer and get it done even cheaper etc. I believe that all people should get paid for their work, whether you use it or not! If you contract for it, you should pay.

If you wanted to go on an inexpensive route, you can always go to Template Monster or any other similar template site and get a design you like, then get someone to tweak it a little. You can usually get out for less than $200 in many cases. Once you generate revenue, you can THEN look to getting a custom design done if you wanted.

Quality does cost, but you must remember that this is the image of your company! Just as when you go to a store you're more likely to actually walk into the store if they have a big window, lights and clean floors than you are if the place was dark and rundown looking. Websites are the same way. Put your best foot forward.
 
Thanks again for the comprehensive advice.

You are absolutely correct that the quality of the website really affects the visitor's interest. As they say "first impression lasts", so I need to make sure that first impressions on my website would be impressive.

And also, I agree that whatever work a person does must be reciprocated for. Any person, even if he or she is a newbie graphic designer, spends time and effort to make the design.

I will try to look at both websites that you have suggested. I will check my budget on which is more applicable for me and my website.
 
It does not matter where you go to find a provider what matters is:

Reliability
Price Range meet your budget
Quality meet your budget

some sites to look:
elance.com
guru.com
joomlancers.com "joomla related"

and there are many more ways, craigslist, forums etc.
 
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