Hire a graphic designer
A graphic designer creates visual material — identity, print, packaging or digital assets — and hands over production-ready files. The quality of the brief drives the outcome more than any other factor. Scope is defined by deliverables and revision rounds, so both should be written down before work starts.
What graphic designers do
- Interpret a brief into concepts, then refine a chosen direction
- Produce final artwork set up correctly for print or screen
- Supply source files and exports in the formats you will actually use
- Apply or build brand guidelines so the work stays consistent
- Liaise with printers or developers on technical specifications
When people book graphic designers
- Logos, brand identity and brand refreshes
- Event collateral: invitations, signage, menus, programmes
- Packaging and label design
- Social media templates and ad creative
- Presentation, report and pitch-deck design
What to ask before booking a graphic designer
Take these to every candidate. The answers are usually more revealing than a portfolio.
- How many concepts and how many revision rounds are included?
- Which source files do I receive, and do I own them?
- Is the work set up for print, screen, or both?
- Are fonts and stock images licensed to me, or to you?
- What is the timeline, and what do you need from me to hit it?
- Have you designed for this medium before — packaging and web differ a lot?
What to have ready when you post a request
The more of this you can give upfront, the more accurate the offers you get back.
- A written brief: audience, purpose, and what success looks like
- Examples of work you like and, just as useful, work you do not
- Existing brand assets, fonts and guidelines
- Exact deliverables and the sizes or formats you need
- Your real deadline, including any printer lead time
What drives the cost of a graphic designer
Quotes vary because these factors vary. Knowing which apply to you makes two quotes comparable.
- Number of deliverables and how many sizes each needs
- Concepts presented and revision rounds included
- Whether this is new identity work or applying an existing brand
- Licensing: fonts and stock images are a genuine cost
- Print setup, which requires more technical care than screen
- Whether you need source files and full ownership
- Turnaround speed
Mistakes worth avoiding
- Briefing by example alone — 'make it like this' hides what you actually need
- Unlimited-feeling revisions with no agreed cap, which stalls projects
- Not asking for source files, then being unable to make small edits later
- Assuming fonts are yours; most are licensed to the designer, not the client
- Forgetting printer lead time when setting the deadline
Frequently asked questions
What files should I ask for?
Ask for editable source files plus exports in the formats you will actually use — vector for logos, print-ready PDFs for anything printed, and correctly sized images for screen. Without source files, even a small change later means paying someone to rebuild the artwork from scratch.
Do I own the design?
Only if your agreement says so. Many designers transfer ownership of the final artwork on full payment while retaining rights to concepts you did not choose. Fonts and stock images are separately licensed and often do not transfer at all, so confirm what is covered before you rely on it commercially.
How many revisions should be included?
Two or three rounds is a common and workable range. What matters more is that the number is written down. Open-ended revisions sound generous but tend to produce drift rather than improvement, and they are the most common reason design projects run late.
How do I write a good design brief?
Say who the work is for, what it needs to achieve, where it will appear, and what constraints are fixed. Include examples you dislike as well as ones you like. A brief that states the problem lets a designer solve it; one that only describes a solution reduces them to a pair of hands.
Often booked together
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