Archive for the ‘Graphic Design’ Category

Creating a Perfect Graphic Design Resume

Wednesday, November 25th, 2009

In addition to your graphic design portfolio, you will need to create a graphic design resume to outline your skills, experience, and education for prospective employers and clients. The most important thing to remember when creating your graphic design resume is that your portfolio is a separate item. Don’t try to showcase your skills as a graphic designer within your resume by using fancy fonts, graphics you have created, page borders, or graphic page dividers. Keep your graphic design resume simple, professional, and organized.

Your graphic design resume should be tailored to showcase the skills requested for the opportunity or job offer that you are seeking. It is okay, and actually a good idea, to keep a stock graphic design resume on hand, updating it whenever you change positions or complete a significant freelance assignment. However, be prepared to make changes to the organization of your graphic design resume if it seems warranted by the opportunity you are seeking.

There are many things you should be sure to include in your graphic design resume. Make sure you list all of the computer software, technologies, and skills you have acquired, your level of expertise, and how long you have been familiar with the skill, software, or technology. You should also list any certifications or degrees you have received. If you do not have a college degree but do have professional certifications or awards, you do not need to list your high school education on your graphic design resume.

Those of you not familiar with the latest on Graphic Design now have at least a basic understanding. But there’s more to come.

Your graphic design resume should also include information about your previous employers or projects. This may sound obvious, but many graphic designers are not aware of what information should be included in their experience. Any significant freelance assignments and any industry related work experience should be included in your graphic design resume. Do not list jobs like fast food or retail in your graphic design resume. It should be geared to showcase your talents in the graphic design field, and other jobs you have held on your way to your chosen career as a graphic designer are unimportant.

Your experience section of your graphic design resume should show the month and year of employment or the freelance assignment, and the month and year that the employment ended. Your graphic design resume should also highlight specific achievements at each position, or ways that the work you did or the freelance assignment you completed benefited the company you were working for.

Make sure that in addition to any educational references and mentions that you list all of your academic and professional achievements, significant projects, awards, and certifications on your graphic design resume. Many graphic designers neglect to include specific information in this section of their graphic design resume.

Finally, the best thing you can do to make sure that your graphic design resume is perfect is to proofread your graphic design resume. If you’re not sure that you have caught everything, have someone else proofread it as well. If you submit a graphic design resume with errors of any kind, you will be labeled as not being detail oriented, and you will not get the job or project that you are applying for, regardless of your skills or talent.

The day will come when you can use something you read about here to have a beneficial impact. Then you’ll be glad you took the time to learn more about Graphic Design.

About the Author
By Anders Eriksson, feel free to visit my latest venture: GVO and make sure to claim your $1 trial membership!

How Can I Be Sure I’m Hiring a Professional Graphic Design firm?

Friday, November 6th, 2009

The following article lists some simple, informative tips that will help you have a better experience with Graphic Design.

“I need a professional graphic design firm to do my logos, stationery, web design and brochures. I’ve met several graphic designers at networking groups. I’ve looked at a ton of web sites. How can I be sure I’m hiring a professional graphic design firm that can meet all of my needs?”

A professional graphic designer will have a full range of services available to meet your needs. These include print and web design, Flash and video work, photography and illustration, resources for quality and affordable printing, and other marketing services. The professional graphic design firm also uses professional tools, like Adobe In Design or Quark, Photoshop, Dreamweaver or Cold Fusion to just name a few.

Look at the firm’s clientele. What size firms are they servicing? What services are they providing for those companies? Do the services they provide cover a full spectrum of graphic and marketing services? Professional graphic design firms will have access to and be using a wide variety of resources. You can ask for the full list of their services if they aren’t already included in their on-line web sites.

Once you’ve narrowed your list down to two or three firms, ask for references and call each one of them personally. Getting your business off on the right foot is at stake here. Take the time to really understand what their clients think of them. Here are a few questions you might ask. This is not an exhaustive list, so before you start calling add any additional questions you can think of to it.

If you don’t have accurate details regarding Graphic Design, then you might make a bad choice on the subject. Don’t let that happen: keep reading.

Did the services they provide include the following: logos, stationery, business cards, marketing post cards, advertising concepts and print advertising, brochures, newsletters, press releases, marketing CD’s or DVD’s, web design, web optimization and market research.

For each of the services that were provided ask how happy the client was with the end product. Was it delivered on time and within budget? Did it produce the desired results? What were the downsides of working with the firm from this client’s point of view? What were the upsides? All in all, how happy were they with the products produced? Would they call this firm a professional graphic design firm? Why or Why not?

Once you’ve made the reference calls, take the time to look at the results of each interview. If you rate each of your potential firms on a 1 to 5 scale on the above elements, you’ll find on that a leader begins to emerge.

Then ask yourself some additional questions as well. Which of the professional graphic design firms you are considering has experience in your field? Which one does work that you like and feel is effective? It’s time for your personal taste to be brought into the decision making considerations. On a more personal front, which of the people do you think you’ll like working with more?

Once you’ve considered all of these factors, a clear decision should emerge. If it doesn’t, take the top two and – flip a coin because you’ve done all the relevant homework.

About the Author
By Anders Eriksson, owner of this excellent site: Product Profits Club (click to claim your FREE membership)

Relationship Building to Market Your Graphic Design Studio

Wednesday, October 21st, 2009

The more you understand about any subject, the more interesting it becomes. As you read this article you’ll find that the subject of Graphic Design is certainly no exception.

You’ve optimized your web site, tuned up your web page so it’s stellar, and still you want more business for your graphic design studio. Where do you go? What do you do?

Go out and meet your potential clients in person! Many of your potential clients are people oriented. They want to feel that they have a relationship with the person with whom they do business. That personal connection is very important so these particular clients would never dream of doing business with someone just because their web site came up on the first page of the search engine. These are the people who want personal contact, to meet you in person, talk with you on the telephone, and get to know who you are.

It may take some time and effort to build these relationships, but once you do you’ll be very happy you did. With clients where you’ve built a personal connection, the loyalty factor is much higher. They’ll stick with you, giving you repeat business over the years.

But, you ask, “How do I meet and attract them to do business with my particular graphic design studio?”

Those of you not familiar with the latest on Graphic Design now have at least a basic understanding. But there’s more to come.

Networking. Depending on the area of the country where you live, there are numerous ways to meet potential clients in your area. Larger cities have a lot of different networking groups. Even smaller towns and communities have clubs and organizations which can be productive networking opportunities. Below are some of the places you can find networking groups and the types of groups you may find.

Chamber of Commerce – Usually local chambers have networking events – breakfast, lunch or evening cocktail mixers. You can come as a visitor the first time and sometimes more than one time. After that they may require you to join — which is not a bad idea, if you want to build credibility for your graphic design studio. Being able to say you are a member of your local Chamber of Commerce enhances your credibility to people who find you via the web as well.

Business Networking Groups. These are groups that meet for the express purpose of giving and getting business. Some of them meet weekly and some meet monthly. Usually the ones that meet weekly are “exclusive” meaning that if you join as their graphic design studio, no one else in the group will be doing graphic design. The monthly meetings are often non-exclusive meaning that more than one graphic design studio can join.

Other Networking Opportunities. The Rotary Clubs, Lions Clubs and other humanitarian organizations provide excellent opportunities to network while contributing something back to your community. Alumni organizations, political and school organizations also are excellent fields for networking.

Remember though. Relationships are usually not built overnight. They take time. So, don’t expect to show up once and go home with immediate business for your graphic design studio. It may take several meetings for people get to know you and what you do. So while it takes some effort on the front end, the clients you’ll get, will stay with you longer, because they know you and see you on a regular basis.

Those who only know one or two facts about Graphic Design can be confused by misleading information. The best way to help those who are misled is to gently correct them with the truths you’re learning here.

About the Author
By Anders Eriksson, feel free to visit my latest venture: GVO to claim your $1 trial membership!

Austin Area Graphic Design Freelancer Resources

Sunday, September 6th, 2009

When you’re learning about something new, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the sheer amount of relevant information available. This informative article should help you focus on the central points.

Working as a freelancer in graphic design can be very challenging. Not only do you have to find your own graphic design clients, do all of your own graphic design work, and handle all of your own graphic design office tasks, you are also on your own with keeping up with graphic design information, technology, and resources. The best way to keep up with these types of information about graphic design is through networking. There are many networking and client finding resources for graphic design freelancers in the Austin area.

Freelance Austin is possibly the best available resource for the graphic design freelancer. This organization offers a graphic design freelancer directory for Austin business owners to search and locate a graphic design freelancer. There are also many graphic design networking events, and various freelancer meetings and events. While Freelance Austin is not specifically for graphic design freelancers, it does put the graphic design freelancer in contact with other industry professionals as well as potential clients. This Austin freelance organization is, if nothing else, a great way to generate referrals for clients for the graphic design freelancer.

Publishers Resource Group is a great resource for any freelancing graphic designer to be aware of. Rather than a networking organization or graphic design professional association, Publishers Resource Group is simply an organization that routinely, and preferably, uses freelance graphic designers for all of their publishing needs. Based in Austin, this curriculum designing company hires freelancers for type design, cover graphic design, and all other graphic design projects.

Those of you not familiar with the latest on Graphic Design now have at least a basic understanding. But there’s more to come.

Creative Freelancers online is another great graphic design freelancer resource. Carefully screened graphic design freelancers are listed in a graphic design freelance directory. Clients then look through the available graphic design freelancers, go through online graphic design portfolios and resumes, and then contact the graphic design freelancer through the Creative Freelancers web site. This is a great way to get qualified clients and leads for your graphic design freelancing business. Best of all, there are not many listings in the Austin area, so anyone looking to get in on the ground floor of this web site in the Austin area should get themselves listed as soon as possible to take advantage of the many Austin graphic design freelancing opportunities that may become available.

The Oasys Network is another great online graphic design freelancer resource. This web site allows all graphic design freelancers to post their talents and graphic design portfolios. The web site has numerous options and opportunities for gaining exposure as a freelance graphic designer as well as generating leads for potential clients for a freelance graphic design business. Open to all graphic design freelancers, this web site is much like Creative Freelancers, but much less restrictive on what Austin graphic design freelancers can take advantage of the web site.

As you will undoubtedly find, there are many resources, both free and inexpensive, for graphic design freelancers. The best way to find these resources and take advantage of them is to simply research on the internet by searching for Austin graphic design freelance resource. You can also check with your local Chamber of Commerce for information about Austin area graphic design professional associations.

About the Author
By Anders Eriksson, feel free to visit my latest site: Power Copy Club to claim your FREE membership!

Why Graphic Design Resumes Get Tossed

Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009

If you have even a passing interest in the topic of Graphic Design, then you should take a look at the following information. This enlightening article presents some of the latest news on the subject of Graphic Design.

Many talented and capable graphic designers find their resumes filed in the circular file bin, otherwise known as the trash can or recycling bin. Why do these educated, talented, and worthy graphic designers get their graphic design resumes tossed out? Typically, graphic design resumes get tossed due to simple, avoidable mistakes that are made by many beginning graphic designers.

The first mistake that many people make when looking for their first job as a graphic designer that gets their graphic design resumes tossed out is that they try to display their talent within their resume, not through description, but through vivid graphic design. Graphic design resumes should be simple and professional. Fancy fonts, graphics, and page borders do not belong in graphic design resumes. While they will grab the attention of the hiring managers, these graphic design resumes will be promptly laughed at and tossed away.

The second most common mistake that many people make when creating graphic design resumes is that they do not proofread their resume before sending it to prospective employers. When there are mistakes, or even one obvious mistake, in graphic design resumes, hiring managers automatically assume that the graphic designer lacks attention to detail, and regardless of the qualifications that the graphic designer may possess, these graphic design resumes also end up tossed aside.

Sometimes the most important aspects of a subject are not immediately obvious. Keep reading to get the complete picture.

The third most common mistake that people make when creating graphic design resumes is that they do not accurately showcase their abilities, skills, and strengths in their graphic design resumes. Your employment history should not only include dates and job titles, supervisor names and company names and locations, but it should show your duties, accomplishments, and major achievements. If your employment at a graphic design firm, or your efforts in an internship, resulted in a benefit to the firm, you should include that information in your employment history.

There are many other reasons that graphic design resumes get tossed aside in favor of other, less qualified graphic designers. Listing employment history that does not qualify you for the position sought is a common mistake. Listing interests, hobbies, and other personal affiliations that do not have anything to do with graphic design will also get graphic design resumes tossed out.

If you have a college education, belong to professional associations, or have other certifications in graphic design you should list them in your graphic design resumes. Be sure to include any detailed information that highlights your skills and talents that were exhibited in your educational track. Graphic design resumes that have little or no experience and do not include this type of information will promptly be tossed out in favor of better qualified candidates. However, you should not list your high school education on your graphic design resumes unless you have not yet completed your college education, or if you obtained significant skills or awards related to graphic design while in high school.

Finally, make sure that your graphic design resumes do not contain any falsified, fraudulent, or exaggerated information. Not only might this unethical behavior get graphic design resumes tossed out, it could lead to termination from employment gained through falsified or exaggerated graphic design resumes.

Now you can understand why there’s a growing interest in Graphic Design. When people start looking for more information about Graphic Design, you’ll be in a position to meet their needs.

About the Author
By Anders Eriksson, feel free to visit my latest site: Power Copy Club to claim your FREE membership!

Medical Graphic Design -A Specialty That Covers a Lot of Territory

Friday, June 12th, 2009

You have a new company or new product focused in the medical and health field and you want to do the best possible job of marketing it. How do you do that? You can go the traditional route and find an advertising agency or graphic design firm to assist you with getting your message out. Or, you can find a firm or studio that specializes in medical graphic design. They will have both a depth and breadth of relevant experience that will give you an edge in crafting your message and creating visuals that attract appropriate clients.

What services do I look for?

Medical Illustration. A key component of medical graphic design is medical illustration and the presence of a certified medical illustrator or an illustrator that is a member of the Association of Medical Illustrators. If it’s not online, ask to see their illustration portfolio.

Medical Animation. Telling the story of what your product or service does may require animation – either using Flash for your web site or 3-D Animation. Expertise in on-line rapid downloads, as well as producing CD’s and DVD’s for marketing and sales purposes is something you want to be sure of. A good medical graphic design studio will have either in-house ability or an on-going connection with medical animation resources.

Medical Web Design. Today, one of the most important marketing tools is your web site. And not just the design, but the optimization as well. The medical graphic design studio you are looking for will have success stories and their clients will fare well in internet searches. As part of your evaluation, assess if you like this medical graphic design firms web site, and then do the same assessment of their clients.

Medical Print Design. To go from web to print, the studio must show experience in translating 3-d explanations into 2-d graphics that focus on communicating the benefits of your product to your target audience. Benefits is the key word here. What’s in it for your potential client? Examine their portfolio. The work of a good medical graphic design studio will focus on benefits. If the brochure you see makes you want to know more or to buy, you have the right firm.

If you find yourself confused by what you’ve read to this point, don’t despair. Everything should be crystal clear by the time you finish.

Photography for the Medical Graphic Design Field. Again, medical photography is a specialty. Does the studio have a medical photographer in-house or a relationship with one they use often? Check the portfolio. Look at the clients that have used their work.

Ask for References.

Finally, pick 2 or 3 firms that you like and ask for references. Then call the clients and ask about the firms services.

- How satisfied were they with the services they received
- Did the medical graphic design studio deliver on schedule
- Did the web site, brochures, etc. deliver the promised results
- Would they use them again? Why or Why not?
- Were they easy to work with when there were changes?

Rate each of the firms on a 1 to 5 scale. Putting your impressions into numbers often assists in becoming clearer about what you’ve learned in your interviews.

When word gets around about your command of Graphic Design facts, others who need to know about Graphic Design will start to actively seek you out.

About the Author
By Anders Eriksson, now offering Unlimited Reseller Hosting from $5/month

How to Develop a Graphic Design Portfolio

Friday, June 5th, 2009

A graphic design portfolio is the best way to display and showcase your past projects, creativity, and talent. A graphic design portfolio is vital when trying to pursue opportunities as a graphic designer within a company or as a freelance graphic designer pursuing clients. The graphic design portfolio can contain any number of items, in several different formats.

The first important step in developing a graphic design portfolio is deciding what work to include. You should only include your highest quality work in your graphic design portfolio. If you include mediocre work in your graphic design portfolio simply because you are concerned about not having enough pieces in your graphic design portfolio, you will lose important job offers and clients. It is better to have a few pieces in your graphic design portfolio that really showcase your talent and creativity than have many pieces that do not help you build a solid reputation as a graphic designer.

The next step in developing a graphic design portfolio is deciding what type of graphic design portfolio you want to create. There are four main types of graphic design portfolios: printed pages in a binder, an online graphic design portfolio, images placed on a graphic design portfolio CD, or a slideshow of images placed on a graphic design portfolio DVD. Really, it is best to create one of each type of graphic design portfolio so that you are fully prepared to offer whatever your prospective employer or client is prepared to look at to judge your talent and creativity as a graphic designer.

I trust that what you’ve read so far has been informative. The following section should go a long way toward clearing up any uncertainty that may remain.

To create a graphic design portfolio of printed pages, you should choose only your best work, and only the best quality printed copies. If you are unsure of the quality of your home printer, put the images on a disk and have them printed for you at a print shop. The best quality and most creative pieces can look mediocre if not printed with high quality printing. You should then present the pieces in a professional manner. The best color for a graphic design printed portfolio is black, and the most professional style is leather. This should be something that is spiral bound, a book, or a case so that you can add or remove pieces from your graphic design portfolio easily as you progress in your graphic design career.

To create a graphic design portfolio online, you will first need web space. Website hosting and domain registration has become very cost effective. Most websites also give you free website building tools so that you don’t have to know HTML. However, make sure that you sign up for website hosting with enough bandwidth to handle all of the images and potential traffic. Once you have your website set up, you’ll want to choose your pieces carefully. Display them as thumbnails on one page, with each full scale piece appearing on another page when the thumbnail is clicked. This will give people with slower internet access easier access to your online graphic design portfolio.

To create a graphic design portfolio on DVD or CD, you must have a computer with a DVD or CD burner. To make really professional DVD or CD graphic design portfolios, you will want to get a CD or DVD burning kit that allows you to burn images onto the top of the CD or DVD and create labels for jewel cases. You can either save individual pieces on the CD or DVD, or you can simply save a copy of your website on the disc.

There’s a lot to understand about Graphic Design. We were able to provide you with some of the facts above, but there is still plenty more to write about in subsequent articles.

About the Author
By Anders Eriksson, who just joined this Free Website Traffic generation site

All About Graphic Design Companies

Saturday, May 2nd, 2009

Have you ever wondered if what you know about Graphic Design is accurate? Consider the following paragraphs and compare what you know to the latest info on Graphic Design.

Just as there are different areas of the graphic design industry, different graphic design companies deal with different types of graphic design. The type of graphic design that graphic design companies do depends on the type of clients that the graphic design companies take and the audience for the graphic design projects that the graphic design companies take.

Digital design graphic design companies use computers to design images, or graphics, and manipulate them to create graphic design print images that are then used in advertising, marketing, magazines, newspapers, and other media. Typically, it is digital design graphic design companies that students have in mind when pursuing an education in graphic design.

Multi media design graphic design companies create graphic design in various forms of media for the internet and computer software. Multi media graphic design companies often design websites and other computer related informational media using graphics, digital film, digital photography, and type, manipulated into eye catching and visually explanatory information sources. These graphic design companies and the jobs they offer are also some of the most sought after opportunities by graduating graphic design students.

Type design graphic design companies manipulate type setting into new, creative, and innovative designs that catch the eye and grab the attention of readers. These companies typically produce type design for magazines, websites, newspapers, and other print media and advertising.

The information about Graphic Design presented here will do one of two things: either it will reinforce what you know about Graphic Design or it will teach you something new. Both are good outcomes.

Film title design graphic design companies design film titles and the ways that they appear on the screen in movies. The appearance and transitions of film titles and opening credits often set the mood and emotional setting for the film. Little thought is given to this area of graphic design companies, but it is a very popular and necessary industry.

Many people do not realize that television uses graphic design companies to create openings to television shows, certain television advertisements, and other television media. Somewhat like film title design, television graphic design companies create type and graphics whose design sets the mood for television shows or catches the eye for television promotions.

Exhibit graphic design companies design graphics and manipulate images for posters, movie posters, sales posters, art openings, and other large print media. Signage graphic design companies create similar graphic designs for stores, company vehicles, and other business related signs. Package graphic design companies create the graphic and type designs for products, and are important to the marketing mix that is involved in selling products and services.

As you can see, there are many types of graphic design companies, and many areas of graphic design to choose from. Before beginning education or a career in graphic design, you should research the areas of graphic design and local graphic design companies to determine what classes you should take and what skills you need to develop. Often, the best way to determine these aspects of graphic design is to visit local graphic design companies or their websites. You can also get information from your local college or university, your local department of labor, your local chamber of commerce, your local better business bureau, or your high school guidance counselor.

As your knowledge about Graphic Design continues to grow, you will begin to see how Graphic Design fits into the overall scheme of things. Knowing how something relates to the rest of the world is important too.

About the Author
By Anders Eriksson, who just launched this URL Shortening Service, working exactly like TinyURL.com!

Careers in Computer Graphic Design

Friday, May 1st, 2009

When you’re learning about something new, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the sheer amount of relevant information available. This informative article should help you focus on the central points.

Careers in graphic design are expected to be one of the largest and fastest growing job markets through 2014. Most careers will be in computer graphic design, website design, and computer animation design. Competition will continue to be steep, even though a lot of jobs are available for someone pursuing a career in computer graphic design. This is because computer graphic design is a popular area of study, and many people pursue computer graphic design as either a career, a hobby, or a part time freelancing gig.

Careers in computer graphic design require a four year college degree, or Bachelor’s Degree. Some technical positions can be obtained with only a two year college degree, or Associate’s Degree. However, these computer graphic design careers will not go far without further education. It is important to understand the need for formal education if you want to pursue a career in computer graphic design.

About thirty percent of those in a computer graphic design career work independently as freelancers. About have of computer graphic design career seekers who work as freelancers are also holding steady jobs in computer graphic design or other computer related careers. Freelancing is definitely a viable option for those pursuing a career in computer graphic design, as small businesses and individuals continue to have more need for computer graphic design services, but cannot afford the rates of computer graphic design firms.

Is everything making sense so far? If not, I’m sure that with just a little more reading, all the facts will fall into place.

There are many other careers in computer graphic design. You can seek a career in computer graphic design in print or audio advertising, television or film media, and book or magazine publishing. You can seek a career in computer graphic design in large or small computer graphic design firms, giving you a wider variety of work, but a steady stream of work. Or, you can seek a career in computer graphic design as a freelancer, giving you a wider variety of work, but the need to work hard to keep clients coming so that you have a steady stream of work.

If you wish to pursue a career in computer graphic design, a college degree, desire, and knowing where you want to go is not enough. You need to develop skills in computer graphic design software and other computer related skills. You will also need to develop a portfolio, which is a collection of your best computer graphic design work. These computer graphic design portfolios are often the deciding factor on who gets a job and who is still waiting to start their computer graphic design career.

Once you have completed your education and you know where you are going, the next step in your pursuit of a career in computer graphic design is to find that first, entry level job. Computer graphic design jobs can be found through online job boards, classified ads both in print and online, and through your college or universities job placement center. Freelance computer graphic design jobs can be found through online job boards, classifieds, and work for hire job boards. Work for hire job boards work much better for computer graphic design careers than other careers, because everyone understands that computer graphic design is an expensive endeavor.

Good luck in your computer graphic design career!

Of course, it’s impossible to put everything about Graphic Design into just one article. But you can’t deny that you’ve just added to your understanding about Graphic Design, and that’s time well spent.

About the Author
By Anders Eriksson, who just launched this URL Shortening Service, working exactly like TinyURL.com!

Which of the Many Graphic Design Studios is A Fit for My Firm?

Monday, March 30th, 2009

Have you ever wondered if what you know about Graphic Design is accurate? Consider the following paragraphs and compare what you know to the latest info on Graphic Design.

Your goal is to find just the right graphic design studio, so here’s a plan. Do a search for graphic design studios, and even localizing it for your area, there will the tons of responses. And, in today’s internet world, it’s not necessary for the firm to the local. That only broadens the scope of what’s available to you and increases the difficulty of making a decision.

So, how do you choose? Look first at what you need and it will be much easier.

Being clear about what you want and need, and able to clearly communicate that, will make it much easier to see which of the graphic design studios is a fit. Are you looking to focus your marketing efforts on print or the web. Do you already have a logo or do you need one? What about CD or DVD production? Make a clear list of what you want.

Who are your customers? Perspective graphic design studios will need to know all about your target audience, so be ready to answer the “who”, “what”, “where”, “why”, and “how” questions about them. Define your potential and current clients in terms of their demographics such as age range, income range, ethnicity, lifestyle, professional focus (if applicable), education, home ownership, and mobility.

What are the reasons they buy your product or services. What pains or problems do they experience and what solutions does your product or service offer? What are the inherent benefits to the customer of buying your product or service?

How does your target audience use your product or service? What were your past marketing efforts? Why did your past marketing efforts work, and why not? If you don’t know, that’s okay. Bring along your past marketing materials and ask your candidates what they think. This is another way to assess whether or not you want to work with a particular studio.

Is everything making sense so far? If not, I’m sure that with just a little more reading, all the facts will fall into place.

Knowing your product or service, your market and what it is you want is just half the equation. The other half is what you are looking for. Here are some simple questions. You can rank the candidates on each of these on a 1 to 5 scale where 1 is “not at all” and 5 is “Yes, absolutely”.

Do they have access to all the services I need? You might want to make a list of the services and then rate the graphic design studio on each one.

Does the style of their work meet my taste criteria?
Do they have experience with my product or service?

Do I think I’ll enjoy working with them? (This may not seem as important until you’re in the middle of a project. Then it will be crucial.)

Will they give me references?
Are the references happy with the work they received?

Okay, now you are armed and ready to choose from among the bounty of graphic design studios. Remember the ones that come up first in your search know how to optimize their web sites and if you are working on a web site, this may be important to you.

About the Author
By Anders Eriksson (Click on the link to learn more about me)





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