Let's say you are planning to hire a free-lance graphic designer to help reconfigure a key element relating to the brand identification of your business (Web site, logo,
letterhead, etc.). According to Noriko Hiraga, president of the design firm Atelier Noriko in New Canaan, CT, there are several areas where you need to ask tough questions
and one area where you need to expect the tough questions yourself.
Taking a byte. Hiraga strongly suggests that any interview with a potential designer focus on that individual's digital savvy.
"The most important of all concerns to me is that the designer knows how to use today's software," she says. "Software is updated practically every other year, and these days a
designer needs to be up to speed on the technical innovations of the software she or he is using."
Hiraga adds this type of knowledge is not just a question of being tech-savvy, but it also shows the designer is ahead of the curve and not behind the times in regard to basic
tools and concepts. "It is not just about learning the software," she stresses. "It is also about the life-long learning that continues as long as one is in business. I would
prefer a person who is interested in pursuing this."
Common ground. During the interview process, it is important that the graphic designer understand the nature of your business. For Hiraga, this should go beyond merely
briefing the designer on the business' ins-and-outs - she suggests seeking out designers who not only understand the business, but would also have an active interest in its
success.
"Ideally, companies need a designer who is also a common client of their business," she says. "All aspects of a designer's private life come into this input capability. For
example, does the designer invest in the markets? If you are running an investment banking business, the output from the designer who is also an investor (and a potential new
client) can help immensely."
Two-way talk. In the interview process, Hiraga recommends having the designer seek out valuable information from you.
"I tend to spend extra time with the clients just discussing what their purpose of the image is that they are searching," she says. "Listening skills are important here. I also
ask them to collect images that caught their attention. Business image has to be personal. Their taste is important to me as a designer. I conduct research to learn some elements
that are important or pleasing to one's culture and try to integrate those elements, be it a corporate culture or elements pertaining to a certain group of people."
Contact: Noriko Hiraga, [email protected].