What to Expect from a Freelance Designer

No need to feel overwhelmed or confused!

Many new business owners out there haven’t had the pleasure of working with a freelance designer before. So, I thought I would lay out some things you should expect from a designer.

From start to finish – what you should expect in a nutshell.

Professionalism – Design briefs, contracts, invoices.

When working with a freelance designer, you should, at the very least, expect a high-level of professionalism.

Design Briefs

I find providing a list of questions about your business, project goals, likes and dislikes of other designs, and budget requirements is necessary before beginning any project. This makes quoting a project much easier, as well as getting a feel for what I am getting into before signing off on a new venture.

So, with this in mind, I generally send my potential clients a design brief. I try and look for a certain style you might enjoy by the examples of creative you like. And, the more I know about you and your business, the more the creative will tell the same tale.

Contracts

Not every project absolutely needs to have a contract to go with it, but in many cases it should. Not only does this protect the designer but, it makes sure deadlines are met and items that are requested are completed as discussed in the preliminary steps. Generally a contract would come into play when working on a larger, long-term project or a project with many components and team members working on it.

Invoices

Any invoice from your designer should look professional as well as be accurate. Be sure you are receiving invoices from your designer for each step of the way. It should be detailed, especially if you’re being charged hourly. We all like to know where our money is going! Keep in mind every designer does it differently, but ask questions about the process from the get-go especially If you’d like to know details!

Timeliness

If you are given a time-line, expect to receive your final files/product on that date, no later. The only reason a designer should bypass a deadline, is if there are additions to the project once a timeline is set in place. Then, as a client, you should be flexible as well.
Timeliness also applies to communication. During a normal work week, you should expect no more than 24 hours to hear a response from your designer, unless an absence was already planned and you were notified about it. This also shouldn’t affect your deadline either.
Keep in mind we are only human too and emergencies do happen! But you should be given a heads up ASAP on any unexpected incidences.

Patience

I find designers and programmers to be impatient at times when explaining a design concept to a client or answering questions that to a designer are probably second nature. The truth is, the design business is all about customer service. You should feel taken care of and have all of your questions answered, or at least addressed.

Going through high school and a little time in college, I worked in customer service at a grocery store. I had a few select experiences with difficult customers. In one particular instance, I didn’t have the ability to allow the customer to check out stamps and other items in the same order while working behind the customer service counter. So, as calmly as I could, I explained to them exactly why it wasn’t possible and how sorry I was for the inconvenience. You would think that would have been enough. The customer proceeded to throw the newspaper he wanted to purchase at me and got extremely angry.

In this extreme case, there really wasn’t anything I could do except for stay calm and explain the reasoning behind the inconvenience. When working with a designer, you should always feel assured everything you need is taken care of and if it isn’t, why. Remember to have patience also. The web is vast place. Not every situation is known by every designer. Before working with a designer, have every idea laid out and documented. This way the designer can give you the absolute best prediction on whether or not they are the ideal person for the job.

The more we know about your project and desires, the more patient we can be. Nobody wants a lot of surprises when it comes to their business. Although, surprises can’t always be avoided.

Honesty

Let’s face it, you don’t want to work with a designer who is going to tack on extra time for something that wasn’t necessary or something that wasn’t discussed before-hand. I often get the question, “ Do you charge for emailing, phone calls, and well frankly any type of communication method?” Which is a touchy area with some freelancers. My personal take on this issue is simple. How would I conduct my business if I couldn’t communicate with you?

Communication is part of process and shouldn’t be an extra cost. Make sure you ask questions like this when starting out the design process with any designer and/or developer.

Project Completion

Simply because a project is complete, doesn’t mean the designer’s job is over. A good client is forever. If you have questions after you’ve received your final files or after your website has launched, ask them! We’re here to make sure your needs are met and your creative is working out great for you. Also, if you don’t hear from us first, shoot us an email and let us know how your creative is performing. Personally I love to know that what I’ve done is helping someone else succeed or how I can improve on my skills.

If you have any questions at all about my design process or working with a designer in general, feel free to contact me! I’m available on twitter @shicksdesign

Are you a designer or developer with some thoughts on processes? Share what steps you take when working with a client! I’d love to hear from you.

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