I am hiring a graphic designer for the first time and although this question might sound ridiculous I wanted to reach out to people with more experience and ask for their input.
I basically gave him a sample banner, showed him a lander and asked him to come up with some ideas.
I think some ideas on how to judge him are:
01) Did he make animated or static banners
02) Did he know to make the file size small (this is for mobile)
03) How well does the banner match the lander?
04) What original spin did they put on it?
05) How well it converted (not sure about this one)
06) How good they are at understanding what I tell them (since these are foreign workers).
Does this sound right? Other suggestions?
Thanks in advance.
Hi fightingfffreedom
Im jay, a digital designer of 14 years. I have been making landing pages and banners for quite some time so I know whats needed for offers to convert. If your looking at foreign workers you may be dealing with someone who doesn't necessarily know the industry, they could be a great designer but I would be asking about their experience creating banners for your sort of product and marketing.
Point 01 - This requirement I would prefer to have in the brief, I don't think I would animate a simple banner if it wasn't asked for or discussed. However if the example was animated I would then animate the banner.
Point 02 - A digital design professional should know the basic requirements of banner serving. Dimensions, file size and format etc.
However the basic specs should be in the brief too, so we could design and build correctly.
Point 03 - Yes I think you could judge a designer on how well the banner matches the lander if this is what was requested. However based on the purpose, I have designed many banners that have not matched the lander intentionally, as they were designed for the purpose of attracting the users attention and getting them to the page. So it really comes down to what you have requested.
Point 04 - Yes you can decide on creativity, if you don't like a designers style, or feel it wont work for you then you don't need to use them. Just be aware that we all sometimes forget to consider 'design in relation to conversion' and let our personal taste get in the way of a converting offer. I once had a client ask me to change the colour of a CTA in a well converting banner because she had seen it to much?! Conversions wend down...
Point 05 - No you cannot judge a designer based on conversions... You need to have a designer create multiple designs and test them all. Then with feedback you can tweek the best ads to try and improve conversions. If the designer fails to take feedback and/or cannot translate your requests then you can re-think weather he is the right designer for you.
Point 06 - Communication is key, if you cant communicate with a designer you wont get what you need, skilled or not.
To sum up: I think with a detailed brief, good communication, and a few examples from your designer you will have a fair idea of what they are capable of and whether or not you like the look and feel of the artwork.
I hope this helps, Im new to the affilaite/vendor game but I do know design, landers and banners.
Have a great day!
Jay
When interviewing graphic designers, as well as their price, look at their feedback and portfolio. Approach hiring like marketing campaigns - split-test, ex: Hire 2 - 5 workers to do some work for you with set specifications. Then keep the ones that perform well.
What to look for?