It’s hard finding a graphic designer for your book covers, branding, formatting or teaser designs. There are so many companies and freelancers out there, so how do you decide on one designer?

Here are five questions to ask your designer before hiring them!

  1. Ask where you can see their portfolio.

This is a great way to see the type of work your designer has done currently or in the past. You can tell a lot about a designer by their portfolio, including how many clients or projects are in that portfolio. It’s safe to say that if a designer has worked with a hundred authors on various projects, they must be doing something right.

2. Ask where you can find their references or testimonials.

Like the question above, this is a great way to get a feel for who your designer is and how the experience of working with them was for other authors and bloggers like you.

A happy client will more than likely be happyto write a testimonial on behalf of the designer.

3. Ask about their turn around time.

This is a huge thing that most clients miss. By not asking a designer’s turn around time, you as the client are leaving yourself subject to missing set deadlines and worry about when your project will be completed.

Typically a designer will have a turnaround time in place, such as 5-7 business days (Monday – Friday). This is a great way to make sure your deadlines are met when it comes to design and formatting.

4. Ask your designer about their process.

This is another extremely overlooked question by clients. Typically, a designer has a process they follow from start to finish with a design, and it’s great to know how they work, so you know what to expect during the design process.

For instance, the first few steps of my process are sending an invoice for a 50% deposit, having the client sign a contract and then having them fill out a design intake form where they will give me all of the information I need to begin their design.

5. Ask about their pricing.

This is something I’m sure everyone does, but dive a little deeper into the question. Take some time to ask your designer things like, β€œHow many mock up designs will I receive?”, β€œHow many revisions am I allowed to a design before there are additional fees?”, β€œDo you allow changes after final approval is given?”

Question such as these are a great way to avoid unexpected costs during the design process. If your designer has a contract or set of terms and conditions, make sure toΒ read them carefully, as they have more than likely laid out extra fees you can incur within these documents.

This post was proofread by Grammarly