Yeah, you’ve many questions to ask before hiring a graphic design agency, right? Basically, it’s natural to have questions for anyone as it’s going to be a long-term relationship where quality is the top priority! Probably, you’re thinking about the answers to the questions you just read in the title, huh?
Okay. Let me ask you, “Do you know the amazing psychological fact behind the demand for graphic design skills?”. Research says that the human mind memorizes something like an image, not as a text, video, or audio! For this reason, we can remember people with pictures of their faces; we like music because it creates an emotional snap of something!
So, creating a beautiful image or design can attract the viewer the most, and a unique design can help stay in a person’s mind for a long time as people tend to dive into visuals more than others. That’s why world-class graphic designers try to create not just beautiful designs that people will like but rather something that the viewers will remember for a long time!
Indeed, the designers want to trigger people’s minds by eliciting emotions with mouthwatering visuals! Then, what should you expect from a graphic design agency you will hire? Sure, you want to get them to visualize your brand in a way that sets you apart from the crowd! Thousands of graphic design agencies around you. You’ll need to find the right one for you as all are not the same!
Yup, while choosing the right graphic design agency, you must have some must-ask questions to figure out the right graphic design agency among many. You already have many important questions in your mind! This blog will help you with top 10 questions to ask before hiring a graphic design agency! Interested in knowing them? Read on.
You know well what you want — company branding with amazing visuals!
So, you’re thinking about an agency that not only will share with you the top talent of Adobe software and other applications but also a creative flavor with the most valuable resource in today’s world- “ Design ideas”!
At the same time, you’ll need to understand whether the agency you are going to hire thoroughly understands what you expect and how they can add “More” to your order from their end. We don’t hesitate to invest more only when assured that the return will be much higher. Everyone expects the best, why not you? But, the budget is important because you cannot afford too much all at once!
So, the agency needs to understand properly what exactly you want and make you smile with optimal output at the end. That’s why you’ve many questions floating in your mind before hiring a graphic design agency!
Better, we find out those questions to measure the potential of graphic design agencies to hire with must-ask 10 solid questions:
Even a new agency should have a fantastic design portfolio in different areas. Indeed, a portfolio is not just for showcasing their expertise but a presentation of how they work and their expertise area!
With the above question, the primary thing you'll know is whether your specific segment of product or service is familiar to this agency. After watching some works in similar categories, you should also have some faith in the agency! Yeah, this doesn’t mean you must like the previous works; otherwise, you will reject the agency.
Remember, your brand needs specific instructions to become out of the box with mind-triggering visuals! Sure, previous works will reveal the way the agency how works.
Look, a real estate company might prioritize sleek, professional design layouts, while a children’s toy brand may need vibrant, playful designs! Agencies with experience in your sector are often better equipped to anticipate your audience’s preferences and industry-related ‘present’ challenges.
For example, your agency’s previous work with a children’s toy brand might have focused on vibrant, playful designs with traditional toys, while you expect work with robots and small laptops! However, you need to identify how they presented the toys, how they reflected the vibrancy through the designs, and how their creative thinking ability is reflected in those works!
But what if the agency didn’t work in a similar field previously?
Not a big deal! you won’t reject them right away. Even if they hadn’t worked in a similar field, the work in another area would still help you decide what to search for in a portfolio, right?
Before hiring a top-notch graphic design agency, you need to go in-depth about it. While you know what you expect, like a specialized agency for a specific project or hiring one hourly for various work, the agency itself can have preferences to work.
Now it’s time to learn their design pricing package. Yeah, some agencies offer basic pricing packages like “logo design, branding design, social media template, etc.” If your work needs more, you should ask to modify the package. Also, you can try to understand how rigid the agency is regarding pricing. This may help you to predict future conflicts!
Though you should give a price quote! Sure, you can share with them what you expect and how much you can afford. It’ll be tricky to know them first and then you manage in your way!
Learn about their fixing terms and conditions; the design agency provides unlimited revisions or not and relevant so on preferences. However, here is an important suggestion: while negotiating the pricing — ensure that the agency won’t compromise on the quality of their work after agreeing with your budget!
In the age of AI, how much time do you need to draft the steps of any work? Don’t be bothered considering this as an irrelevant question. Well, it’s not unrelated. I’m trying to make you understand the importance of knowing someone’s way of working and asses the uniqueness of that. While AI can write a “step-by-step guide” within a few seconds, why must an agency do that? Because this is where they will differentiate themselves from others!
So, how should detail be processed?
How much time can you permit? Is it the less, the smarter for you, and the more, the better for the agency? You’ll be in a professional relationship where each second and penny matters. Depending on the task, you must identify how much time is reasonable for this work.
Regarding the process, try to understand how much time they are willing to spend to generate a unique idea and how much time they need to execute it. After sharing the first draft, knowing how they’ll deal with the phases is essential. Question them and understand what they want to say. Also, find out if they are trying to hide something, too!
Yes! Please don’t think you want the work done and don’t care about the software used. Knowing about graphic design software doesn’t mean you must know how to create designs with it. Instead, it’ll help you understand the efficiency of the agency! You’ve heard that right. read it right! Here is how:
While this is a suggestion for judging the proficiency level of the agency, it can also give you an idea of how they can do your work! If you know these tools, you can predict how your desired design may look.
To understand the professionalism, sincerity, and dedication of the agency you’ll hire, this question will help you significantly! No matter how good the designs are, revisions can always be needed, even at the last moment, huh?
When you expect a commitment to long-term collaboration, you appreciate unlimited revision each time if needed. If the agency agrees, it means they are candidly professional and give their clients top priority! Yet, you should judge the agency by asking this question while considering the type of the project and others.
Now, let’s consider another side of the coin!
What if your agency disagrees with unlimited revision and asks for an extra charge? Would you consider not hiring them immediately with this answer? Well, you shouldn’t. Carefully judge what exactly they mean by disagreeing!
Practically, one revision is evident in many cases since the first work is like a first draft to the client, and two revisions are still okay in many cases. So, if the agency denies a minimum of two revisions, it seriously questions its sincerity.
However, if they don’t want newer ideas incorporated each time they revise the works, they should not be blamed, too! So, after listening to their reply, try to understand how inflexible they are and what they expect. Negotiate and finalize based on your judgments!
Look — you’re hiring an agency, not just a team of graphic designers; an agency means a well-organized team to manage ‘head-to-toe.’ While the designers are committed to giving their best, the ‘Quality Control Team’ must ensure that the works meet the client's requirements and match the industry standards.
If the agency doesn’t have such a team, it's a big challenge for you whether you should hire them or not. If the answer is yes, ask them supplementary questions to learn details.
Like, how many members do they have on the quality control team? How do they assess their work? How experienced are the quality control team members?
Let me give you an example. Search YouTube for “Mistakes in Titanic Movie,” and you’ll see how many flighty mistakes were overlooked by the editors in this great movie! If such a fantastic movie has so many mistakes even after being reviewed by some of the best editors of that time, how do you expect that you will get perfect work from a graphic design agency if there is no visible initiative for quality control?
This is a question that most graphic design agencies may feel confused about answering! Think from the perspective of graphic designers! You give them instructions, and they prepare a design accordingly. Suddenly, you tell them to incorporate new ideas, which will change the whole design! You won’t pay them any extra because of this too! In such a situation, what should they do?
On the other hand, you didn’t intentionally make fun of them, as you were unaware of this sudden change in requirements from your side! So, what will you do if the agency refuses to work in that way? Highly professional agencies may not like this situation but will certainly handle it patiently!
Therefore, you need to know about their mindset. However, the attitude shown by the agency to this question is more important than the answer itself. They naturally show a cordial attitude and are always prompt to incorporate new ideas even after finishing work.
Don’t get too delighted immediately because a professional agency must have a concrete plan for dealing with such emergencies! Better, you try to understand what is their plan to respond in such cases. If they have a ‘NO’ say in your needs, you should think again before hiring this agency!
Don’t hesitate to ask this important question before signing the deal. In many cases, the agencies initially hide things like hidden charges, which ultimately ruins a relationship!
For example — the agency may agree to revisions as often as you want, and you may ask for two or three revisions during the work. Later on, the agency informed you they needed extra charges for each revision, which doesn’t match their previous words!
So, get clarification on each point and note their words. Before finalizing the deal, read and discuss each of the terms and conditions. Try to cover everything in the terms and conditions. So, ask them about their charges other than those mentioned. If the agencies reveal that they may charge for things not in the agreement later, I strongly recommend you not sign such agreements!
I believe you’ll agree with me, right?
The question is more crucial than it seems! The type of file you need may vary depending on the kind of project you are working on. For instance, in a ‘creative logo design’ project, you need vector format files like Adobe Illustrator. For marketing-related works, you’ll require editable files so you can modify them for future work.
Now, if the agency disagrees with providing such files and wants to give you the PDF, PNG, JPG, etc., their intention is not clear because it means that they want you to return to them each time when you need a modification or update. It’s time-wasting and irritating, too!
Even after completing a project successfully, controversies arise with issues like ownership or copyright! When the work is done, specify who will retain the ownership. Think about the advertising agencies. In many cases, they keep the ownership while working for big companies, yeah, it’s okay!
If the agency wants to do it in that way, be clarified about that in the first place. Yet, you may expect the copyright to be yours since you purchase the works from them. In that case, communicate with them properly and mention it in the agreement so that no controversies arise later!
Make them understand that if they prove their professionalism through their work, you’ll surely hire them again; therefore, they don’t need to trick you! Hmm, their willingness to share editable files proves their dedication and commitment to a stronger relationship.
You can’t learn everything about the planet from the textbook knowledge! Thus, you may need more than the above questions. Let’s discuss further what to prioritize apart from those 10 powerful questions above!
I’ve already mentioned that you need to communicate the terms and what you expect. Don’t be afraid that because of asking too many questions for clarification may result in losing a bright agency to work with. Professional people are not like that! They always like to get things done perfectly and on time!
So, clear everything before you start working with a graphic design agency, like the time to complete the project, conditions, budget, and so on.
This is required when looking for a long-term relationship! A free sample project helps you to decide not just on whether to proceed further but also to plan on how to proceed. It’s even needed when hiring a top-tier graphic design agency in the market! And it doesn’t matter how strong their image is, you have never worked with them, and therefore, don’t know how things will be with you!
However, don’t pursue the agency to attend the trial for free. Instead, offer precisely the price you agreed to for a long-term relationship. It’ll give you a complete idea of how much to expect with certain offers!
Finally, we’re at the end of exploring lots of untold scenarios of a graphic design agency! Sure, the above questions to ask before hiring a graphic design agency are compulsory to grab sound knowledge. So, it’s expected that you have got an idea of how you need to approach a graphic design agency you plan to hire!
Remember that a good reputation, a strong portfolio, and some intelligent words are only some things you should rely on before hiring. Even the best agency in the market may need to help understand your expectations in a particular project. Otherwise, your valuable time and money can be wasted on this! Of course, you don’t it.
Still, if you feel confused, contact Graphic Design Eye to meet your needs! This best graphic design agency will be the suit for you by delivering the top-notch design within your budget! At least, you can meet the agency to learn their inside!
Time is out, today! Soon, I’ll come up with another exciting topic to gear up your business. Till then, stay safe and sound.
See you with the right choice! Cheers. 🎉
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked*