by Chris Raymond

More and more business publications, from Business Week to Fast Company, are focusing on the business benefits of strong design: whether it's the designer lines of home products at Target, the industrial design of the iPod, or branding of consumer products--good design enhances the bottom line. (For another take on the strategic value of design to differentiate a business, corporation or institution, see http://aiga.org/content.cfm/clientsguide ; also see http://aiga.org/resources/teaser/2/4/8/documents/AIGAfinal-1.pdf, which effectively argues that every business needs good design.)

Yet, my experience on both sides of the fence--as a purchaser of design services and a provider of design work--tells me that few business owners or association staffers have more than a vague understanding of what a graphic designer does or how to work effectively with a designer.

In the hope of improving this situation, a few tips:

1. Strategic Business Partner

Perhaps the most important point is to view a designer as a strategic (business) partner, rather than a service provider. Like your accountant or IT director, designers have expert knowledge, which can help you increase sales or attract new customers. The relationship should be one of mutual respect: you as the business owner know your customers, your market, and your competition. A designer knows how to effectively design visual communications that will get your message across most effectively in your competitive marketplace. A quick overview of the process is concisely expressed at http://aiga.org/content.cfm?ContentAlias=workingwithadesigner

2. Design or Production?

Determine if you need a designer or a production artist. If you already know, for example, what you want your business card to look like, you are set on colors and typeface, and you have a sketch of a logo at hand from a relative or friend, you will be better served to call on the services of a copy shop such as Kinko's or Sir Speedy--their staffers can transfer your concepts into standard graphics software and get it ready for reproduction.

Conversely, if you have a business objective (reposition your company in the marketplace, attract new customers, promote new products or publications, etc.), that is the time to hire a designer to strategize with you on the best way to reach your goal. Decisions on format should follow from the objective, rather than preceding it.

3. Show them the money

So you've determined that you need a designer. Now what? This is the time to determine your budget, even if it is a ballpark range. Share this information with the designer at the outset: No one benefits from spending time developing concepts that will exceed your budget. On the other hand, experienced designers will know how to get more for less by using budget-saving production and printing techniques. The designer can also help you think through which elements are immediate must-haves and which can be postponed until more money becomes available. Keep in mind that you can have only two out of three: quality, speed, and cost.

4. Professional ethics

Anticipate a lot of up front discussion as your project begins: a designer will want to learn everything possible about your market and your goals. Design is a process of discovery and exploration--enjoy it! At the same time, don't ask several designers to provide you concepts before you select one to work with. Spec work violates the ethical guidelines of the graphic designers guild. You wouldn't ask 3 interior designers to come in and redo one room each in your home for free and then select one! But more important, you will not benefit from the design discovery process that leads to the most effective solutions tailored to your organization.

5. Finding a designer

So how do you select a designer, then? Ask colleagues for recommendations. If you see work you like, such as a logo, stationery, annual report or brochure, find out who did the work. Once you have some possibilities, ask the candidates to come in and show their portfolios. Let each one know your communication and marketing goals, so they can tailor their presentations to the type of work you need. When reviewing a portfolio, be sure to ask questions that focus on what that client's objectives were and how the design solution attained them. This will give you a sense of the designer's process and ability to think in business terms. See also advice from AIGA, http://aiga.org/content.cfm?contentalias=wheretofindadesigner

6. The journey of discovery

You've selected a designer. Now what?

a. Ask for a creative brief--it will provide you and the designer a foundation that documents the scope of work, the communication objectives, the audience, and a detailed budget and production schedule. Both parties should agree on the contents and sign off before work begins. The brief should also specify how many concepts the designer will provide and in what form.

b. If you are not the only person signing off on a design, determine your internal decisionmaking process upfront. If your boss has the final say, keep him or her apprised of the discussion and decisions made along the way, so that the concept you select is not met with rejection--and a costly loss of time and money to start a second unbudgeted round of concepts. If you feel uncomfortable in presenting a design, ask your designer for tips or have her make the presentation with you. Don't ask a designer to "design by committee"--your communication piece is not a Chines menu, where you can randomly combine elements from column A and column B, along with a dessert chosen by the CEO's wife who happened to stop by.

c. Evaluate the concepts presented. Banish "I like" from your vocabulary in responding to them. Instead, focus on the communication objectives detailed in the creative brief, and discuss how the concepts presented effectively meet or don't meet those criteria. You may love burgundy and gray, and have just redone your family room in those colors, but if you are doing an annual report for an audience of long-haul truckers, not bankers, those colors are not going to be effective. (This is a true story!) Trust your designer to know how to use visuals, type, and color to achieve your goals. (Of course, if you or your CEO absolutely abhor orange, let the designer know at the outset before concept development.)

d. Have all of your content in FINAL form before handing off to the designer to bring the concept to completion. It is costly in terms of time and chances for error if you provide the content piecemeal and make multiple changes over the course of the day. If you have a very modest budget, the designer will appreciate your effort to stay on schedule and minimize unnecessary corrections, so that more of your budget can be used to make the finished product outstanding.

7. ISO LTR

Your design project reaches completion--the new business cards go out, the marketing brochure is mailed. Invite the designer to a "post-mortem" lunch or meeting. Discuss what went well and what could be improved. Discuss how well the piece met its goals--did you, for example, receive more phone calls or increase sales as a result of an ad? After all, the designer is now one of your business partners, and this should be the start of a fruitful long-term relationship!

Chris Raymond has been a print and web designer and art director for two studios in the D.C. area. Currently, she freelances through Aquent, the global leader in creative placements. Before moving into the design field, Chris was a journalist and editor, writing about science and biomedical research for a variety of publications, from the Chronicle of Higher Education to JAMA. She holds a Ph.D. in sociology. She would relish opportunities to design "using both sides of the brain," and is available for long-term freelance assignments or full-time staff positions.