2 December 2009
A 4 step guide to helping you save money when working with an hourly wage designer

If you’re looking to contract a Graphic Designer that pays by the hour, below are a few steps to help insure that your job gets done quickly and efficiently without costing you an arm and a leg in the end.

Step 1: Know what you want

Before you start looking for a Designer (of any sort) sit yourself down and plan out in your mind or on paper EXACTLY what you want. Including where (roughly) all the elements/pieces should go, what colors, fonts, graphics, photos and other items you will need to get the job done.

A Designer can help you refine your rough plan or offer new ideas with their expertise and knowledge, but having a solid idea already in your head of what you want and how you want it displayed will move the job along quicker.

Having a solid idea will also help keep design modifications of the job to a minimum. Some Designer’s charge extra (on top of their hourly wage) for modifications after a certain point and even more if the changes are outside of the original scope of the project (i.e. what you originally contract the Designer for); not to mention almost all Designers charge for any modifications needing to be made after the job is done!

Step 2: Have what you need

Once you have a solid idea in your head of what you need to make your job visually appealing, make sure you have all the content and elements on hand to give to the Designer. Things like stock photography or illustrations; information and figures for graphs and charts; copy and/or text elements; and any other information or elements needed to complete the job.

The more information you have on hand before contracting a Designer the more money you will save in the end because the less the Designer will have to create from scratch and/or obtain from another source - a third party - which could include extra expenses such as membership fees, registration fees, stock fees, equipment rentals, licensing fees and so forth.

Having all you need on hand will also help keep “back and forth” communications with the Designer to a minimum. Some Designer’s charge extra for communication expenses such as telephone charges, fax charges and even transportation charges if they have to drive/fly/etc. to meet you in person.

Step 3: Contract the right Designer for the Job

Once you have an idea and most of what you will need to complete the job, make sure you contract the right Designer for your job.
The field of Graphic Design is enormous and sub-divided into many, many, many areas of specialization! Most Designers wear many hats and specialize in many areas of Design, but generally have one area of expertise. Finding the right Designer may seem like finding a needle in a haystack, but in the end will be worth your effort and will save you time and money.

For example: it wouldn’t be wise to contract someone who is a MySpace design coding expert with umpteen years of web design experience to design your 10 page company brochure booklet with hand stitched binding and special die cut out sections. Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure they’d be able to slap it together, but it would probably take them twice as long and probably wouldn’t look as appealing as someone who specializes in designing brochures and/or corporate branding materials.

My point is: If you’re working on a web job - contract a web designer, working on a logo – contract a logo designer, working on a photo that needs touch-ups – contract a photo editor and so on. It just makes sense!

Step 4: Get it in Writing

After you’ve found a Designer for your project and before you begin any work, make sure you go over everything that you want done to the very last detail with the Designer.

Generally this is considered as your Proposal and the Designer will usually counter with a cost Estimate for the project (how much he/she thinks the project will cost based on the info you provide in your Proposal). If both sides agree on the information exchanged, sign a contract to those effects! This will insure that both parties know what’s expected of each other, the time frames in which the work is to be done, and when payments are to be met, etc.

Signing a contract with a Designer should help keep the project on track and give you a better sense of when certain elements will be completed and roughly how much it will cost you in the end. Also, you will have a written and signed agreement, which may help in any disputes or legal matters that may arise down the road.

By following these four simple steps, you should be able to help your hourly wage Designer work quickly and efficient on your job while keeping your costs down.

Keep in mind, every job and Designer is different and not all of the above steps will apply to your specific job or needs! These steps are provided as an example of what generally helps get and keep a job on track while saving some expenses along the way.