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Pretentiousness is not a good trait, Mister Artistic.

In the world, there are people. Among all of the people in the world, there are a bunch of pretentious jerks that make everything suck for everyone else. Well, I am writing this to denounce their power among the normal, friendly citizens of Earth.

As many of you may know, the fine arts seem to attract pretentious peoples more than most things. Working as a graphic designer gives me the pleasure of dealing with people like this daily. Well, fear not.

I want to assure you that you CAN find designers, illustrators, developers, and artists from all fields that will not make you feel inadequate and stupid.

Hiring a designer or freelance designer, like myself, is a hard process. You have to first research designers that do what you need, and then you have to see what they’ve done, their portfolio, and decide if they look good enough for you. Then you have to contact the designer and get pricing and decide if it works for you or your company. All of this, plus the stress of the actual project process, can be extremely overwhelming and there really is no need for an ostentatious designer who thinks they are a God-sent blessing to the design world. I would love to do your design work, but even if you choose someone else, here is a short list of attributes that I find are important in a designer (and I strive to deliver as one).

1. Competent

Its good for your designer to KNOW design. Theory, history, design styles, trends, cliches, form, process, etc. Make sure your designer IS a designer.

2. Good Listener

All designers should agree that unless you KNOW your client and their business, you can’t create excellent graphics to represent them.

3. Good Communicator

It is important for all designers to be able to clearly discuss the project scope, time-lines, payment expectations, design aspects, deliverables, and approvals. Without that clear communication, both client and designer will get upset and most likely ruin the relationship and deliver a poor product.

4. Dependable

As a designer, I would like your business, and I would love your referral! Designers should work hard and deliver what they promise ON-TIME and professionally. This will be good for the designer client, leading to more business for both and a positive design relationship. Win-win.

I could probably add ten more attributes to this list that are also important in designers, but this is the gist of it. While looking for designers, feel free to talk to the designer and see what they are like. Make sure they are a person that you can talk to and they will talk back about your project. This kind of stuff excites me and really gets me in a positive design mood! Ditch the pretentiousness and get REAL. Design is REALly important to the world and I don’t think there is time to be a jerk about it.

Filed under: Design by Nick Wichman
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