If you are a business owner in need of a logo, brochure, website, or other design but don't know any designers, you probably feel a little bit lost. Hiring an in-house team is often too expensive and not really needed, and it can be challenging to choose a single designer to outsource your work to.

Not to worry, we are here to help with seven things you should be looking for in a graphic designer.

1) Experience

An experienced designer has great conceptual skills which can turn vague ideas and abstract concepts into grounded realities that are even better than the ones you have imagined in your head. They have worked with a variety of clients in various industries and have a fine tuned work flow which produces high quality results.

Experience helps to build skills, confidence and knowledge. A designer that has a lot of experience will be more likely to meet your needs and follow through with your designs.

You should ask a prospective designer how long they have been in the graphic design line of work, what sort of projects they have worked on and what they specialize in. On DesignCrowd it is easy to gauge the experience of designers. You can filter and narrow down your options.

Check how a particular designer ranks against the competition by looking at their ranking. The ranking will tell you how much a designer has earned during their time on the platform compared to all other designers. Higher earners are likely to be more experienced at delivering quality results to a set brief.

Another way to look for experienced designers in DesignCrowd is by using the Wins Percentage in the filter box. This option provides you with a list of designers who frequently win bids or contests on the site.

2) Portfolio

One way to effectively gauge the level of a designer's skills is by looking at his or her body of work. Ask to see a portfolio and look through it assessing each design, the quality of it and if the style of work will meet the needs of your business. Note that the portfolio should contain real-life client work, and not just personal projects on the side.

You can see a designer's portfolio on DesignCrowd by going to the profile of a designer. The designer's portfolio is located below the services being offered.

3) Expertise

You also need to figure out what type of designer your project needs. While there are well-rounded designers who can do almost anything you ask them to, it pays to choose a designer who specializes in what it is that you want done such as a logo design or a t-shirt design. Hiring a specialist over a generalist assures the designer excels at the kind of work you need done.

On DesignCrowd, you can easily check if the designer's subject matter expertise matches your needs, ensuring that you collaborate with an experienced designer who understands your project requirements. Do this by going to the filter box located on the upper left hand corner of the DesignCrowd website and clicking on the Type of Designer field which is shown to the right.

As shown below, clicking on a designer's profile will also bring you a listing of all the services they provide, so you will know if they will be able to meet your needs.

4) Testimonials

Testimonials and reviews from other people are also useful when reviewing candidates for your designs. They convey authenticity and sincerity since they come from people who have previously worked with the designer. Glowing testimonials have the ability to reduce any worries you might have over the designer's ability to meet your design needs. They also provide insight to the communication skills, work ethics, and credibility of the designer.

You can check a designer's client feedback on Design Crowd through their Positive Rating, which is shown by how many stars they have. This will show you how happy past clients were with the designer's work. You can also sort the designers based on their feedback by putting a range on the sliding button under the Positive Feedback field in the filter box.

5) Location

If your design project is time zone-sensitive and language-specific, hiring a designer in your location is of extreme importance. If you do not want language barriers and you want to avoid miscommunication at all costs, you will be better off hiring someone who speaks the same language as you. And if you want to work on the project during normal office hours, then hiring a designer who is in the same time zone as you is highly recommended.

If the location of the designer is important, you can check each designer's profile preview for their country of origin. You also have the option to sort by location on DesignCrowd by clicking on the Designer's Country field on the filter box.

6) Cost

If you want to achieve high-quality work in a fast turnaround time, be prepared to pay extra as top designers typically charge more per project. The cost you are willing to pay can spell the difference between a homemade, amateurish design and a professional, polished one.

But if you do have budget constraints, DesignCrowd makes it easy for you to sort freelance designers and studios according to cost. All you have to do is go to a designer's profile and view the services section. Each service that the designer offers has an accompanying cost indicated in the upper left hand corner of the service box.

You also have the option to run a contest and select a package that meets your budget in the Payment options tab. This tab shows up while you are in the process of posting a design job, right after the Project details and Creative brief tabs.

7) Personal Qualities

Lastly, you will be spending a lot of time with your chosen designer, even if the bulk of the work is done remotely. As such, personal qualities and communication skills are very important. You can already tell how responsive and communicative a person is just by how he or she communicates during the initial stages of the project. Look for someone who is professional, passionate, and motivated.

While it is hard to know if you will get along with a designer just by looking at their profile, their bio says a bit about who they are, what they prioritize and what they do. You can read it to get a glimpse of what they can bring to the table by clicking on their profile. The short bio is located right beside the designer's name. And if you're wondering where to get a lovely bio for you and your services, try Picsart bio generator and see how it ramps up your services.

These seven things can help you in your quest to find the right graphic designer for your business. With the help of DesignCrowd, hiring a designer has never been easier. Although there are literally thousands of designers available for hire on the platform, we make finding the ideal fit uncomplicated, and fuss-free with the filter options and profile features found on our site.

Head on over today to find the graphic designer to meet your unique business needs.

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Written by Jessica Walrack on Tuesday, October 11, 2016

Jessica Walrack is a professional freelance writer with a background in sales and marketing. After 7 years in the corporate world, she stepped into the online sphere and has now been freelancing for 4 years. She specializes in helping businesses to create a stellar online experience for their audience in order to build industry authority and increase profitability. In her spare time, Jessica enjoys traveling all over the world with her family.