David Airey

Where to find the right designer

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by

David Airey
in

There’s a huge variety of designers available for all levels of investment, from budgets in the hundreds to those in the hundreds of thousands.

The more effort you put into finding the right designer, the more likely it is you’ll get the level of design you deserve. As I’m not always the right fit for the projects I’m approached about, whether due to budget or skillset, I’ve collated a few broad resources that I hope are helpful.

Creative Review. One of the design profession’s leading publications.
Behance. A massive portfolio network.
LinkedIn. A lot of talented designers share their work on the platform.
THE DRUM. News, information, jobs, a comprehensive directory, and more.
It’s Nice That. Creative inspiration from around the world.
AIGA. The American Institute of Graphic Arts.
Graphic Artists Guild. Similar to AIGA, I think, only smaller.
X (Twitter). Search for a relevant term, or ask someone to post a request.
Identity Designed. Visual identities from designers across the globe.
Dribbble. A “show and tell for creatives.”
Forrst. Similar to Dribbble in some ways.
Coroflot. Portfolios showcasing a wide range of creative specialities.
Creativepool. Jobs, portfolios, and freelancers.
Design Week. A professional publication with news and features.
Cargo. A popular portfolio platform with a “featured sites” showcase.
Graphic BirdWatching. Promotion of female graphic designers everywhere.
Design blogs. Those are just a few of the ones I like visiting.

Additionally, it can be a good idea for potential clients to contact companies that have distinctive branding, as there’s no harm in asking who created the work. Designers, too, can be a great source of referrals, as those I know are more than happy to recommend others in the design profession.

Further resource: Design Business and Ethics, from AIGA.

Comments

14 responses to “Where to find the right designer”

  1. Rob Cubbon Avatar
    Rob Cubbon

    Nice list, David, I certainly find LinkedIn very useful for searching for professionals in many fields. And, of the design sites I think Behance takes a lot of beating.

    Reply
  2. Laurent Holdrinet Avatar
    Laurent Holdrinet

    Thanks David for this pretty exhaustive list.
    It is quite useful and interesting for designers too…

    Reply
  3. Sergei Tatarinov Avatar
    Sergei Tatarinov

    Comprehensive list, but since LinkedIn has made it on it, you should add Zerply too (http://www.zerply.com) – way better than LinkedIn. It’s growing super fast and their new search http://www.zerply.com/find is fantastic.

    I am no affiliated with them in any way. I’ve been a user for about 5-6 months and a few clients have found me through this service already, even before the recent ‘boom’ of new users they’ve experienced after 500startups demo day and what not.

    Reply
  4. Bart Avatar
    Bart

    And for Belgium this is http://www.creativeskills.be.

    Reply
  5. Aaron Bates Avatar
    Aaron Bates

    David,

    Fantastic post with plenty of resources. Many of those are very popular here in the US. And I agree—the more effort a client puts into finding the right designer, the more it will pay off.

    Besides those online communities and portfolio sites, I encourage people to ask around! I’d like to add that most designers (all of who I know) work within a network of other design, marketing or advertising professionals. Chances are you may know someone who works in a related field and in turn, they may know a designer they like or a resource that has been good for them.

    If you believe in your company’s brand or message and work hard to develop and sustain it, then why should developing an appropriate identity or brand design that helps drive your success be considered any less important, or hold any less value? Designers help put a “face” on a business and give it a personality, so it would be wise to put an effort into finding the right designer who will help you achieve your goals and position you where you want to be.

    Whether it’s local, national or global, the design community thrives on word-of-mouth and referrals, and it’s a matter of working with a designer who suits your needs and will work closely with you to tailor a unique solution for you. That creates value you cannot get with a crowdsourcing experience.

    Reply
  6. Julie Oakley Avatar
    Julie Oakley

    I think the real difficulty is for small to medium sized organisations to find a good designer to develop a relationship with. Many talented designers are poor at communicating what precisely the client will be receiving, and the relationship breaks down because of misunderstandings over costs, service etc. Unfortunately a wonderful portfolio on behance is not going demonstrate what the working relationship is going to be like.

    I think that some smaller businesses are attracted to crowdsourcing because they feel that they know precisely how much work is going to cost. But they really miss out on having better design and a real commitment and service from a designer. When budgets are tight, talking through the terms and conditions at the beginning to establish the ground rules so that both parties know what to expect is invaluable.

    And I think there’s nothing quite like personal recommendation.

    Reply
  7. dave blackburn Avatar
    dave blackburn

    A good post David; indeed a problem for many companies here in the UK as there are thousands of designers.

    I would also like to suggest ourselves as a ‘resource’ as we work with designers all around the UK – and are non bias 🙂

    Reply
  8. Jamie Wayne Avatar
    Jamie Wayne

    I see Julie’s point on the working relationship. In my opinion, because of that point, I’ve felt that showcasing a small gallery of work alone doesn’t give any client the opportunity to see the many things that go on underneath the finished results.

    Things like, what the relationship of working with the designer was like, how simple or complex the process was, how much effort, time, and money went into the project, and a former client’s feedback can help others see how that designer can handle their projects.

    I’m slowly building my portfolio but I do have it designed so that a client has the option to read the case study for each project to see the working relationship with me and my client’s testimonial. Will that make or break my portfolio? I’m not entirely too sure what will happen, but I do want to give others the convenience just in case.

    Reply
  9. Michael Avatar
    Michael

    Well… too bad that none of those are located in sweden. ;( But it’s okay, if you try hard enough you tend to find them anyway. I usually just look for the guy with a macbook at the local coffe shop.

    Reply
  10. David Avatar
    David

    Nice list! Depends on what needs designed though — prefer http://sortfolio.com/ for web designer seeking, though I’ve mostly resorted to using twitter to find most lately 🙂

    Reply
  11. Amir Farid Avatar
    Amir Farid

    Great list of resources. I too have found that there a thousands of designers in the UK and to find one that can design and devlop a solution thats catered to your specific needs. well lets just say its a mine feild. The resource list sure makes it easier and a definate step in the right direction to finding the right designer for your partiqular needs. Great post 🙂

    Reply
  12. Amanda Vlahakis Avatar
    Amanda Vlahakis

    Excellent list. Just applied to join Graphic Birdwatching! 😀

    Reply
  13. David Airey Avatar
    David Airey

    Great point, Julie. And Jamie, nice plan of action. Testimonials and an insight into the design process can go a long way.

    Reply
  14. Michael Tomes Avatar
    Michael Tomes

    Hi David,

    Thanks for the mention.

    Mike
    Creativepool

    Reply

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