Graphic design is arguably even more important for achieving informational and aesthetic communication goals in today’s digital age. Be it a small business founder just entering the market, an established company reinventing itself online, or an organization that has to create fliers, having the correct graphic designer on your side can make or break your goals. Lately, the market demand for Graphic Design professionals in Pakistan has significantly increased not only the large number of freelancers available but there are also many agencies which provide different levels of service. 

Also Read: Our Design Can Boost Your Business

This guide will help you understand the essential steps of hiring a graphic designer in Pakistan so that you’d be all set to make the decision right for you.

1. Define your project scope and needs.

It is crucial to establish what you want before you start scouring the market for a graphic designer. 

Ask yourself the following questions:

• Do you require logo, social media, packaging or website graphics?
• What is your deadline?
• What is your budget?
• Which type of freelancer would you like to hire: you can directly hire a freelancer, a full-time designer or hire a company?

When engaging employees, a clear outline of the projects makes the applicant have a clue about what is expected from them hence working efficiently.

2. Read about Graphic Design Market of Pakistan

Pakistan has a relatively young talented pool of graphic designers for both local and international clients. There are primarily three kinds of designers in this market:

Freelancers: 

Concerning the talents, the freelancers can be more flexible and cheaper for a startup. It is ideal for businesses with small or limited construction projects or for construction projects that will be carried out only once. Some of the common places that people can find freelance graphic designers include Upwork, Fiverr, and LinkedIn.

In-house Designers: 

If your organization requires frequent design services, it may be cheaper for you to employ a design person within your company. You can advertise for jobs on job sites; for instance, Rozee.pk, Mustakbil or directly on the company’s official website.

Agencies: 

Agencies offer teamwork and generally tend to take up larger and more intricate tasks. Though they are relatively costly, they incorporate professional touch in different design fields.

3.  Review Portfolios Thoroughly

A collection of works of a designer is the single most credible source for making the evaluations. Focus on:

• Consistency: Is there a propensity of the designer towards quality services in different projects?
• Relevance: Have they worked on similar projects to the one you want to execute?
• Originality: Are their designs unique or rather standard?
• Technical Proficiency: Search for mastery in applications such as Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, or Adobe In design.

For the graphic designers from Pakistan, their work is often presented on sites like Behance, Dribbble or one’s own site. Studying these profiles should give you a feel of how they organize their work, what they can deliver and what they prefer to do.

4.  Evaluate Communication Skills

It is especially important to be able to explain what you want from a designer and have him grasp it, to be able to achieve this. Throughout your initial interactions, make sure that: 

• Requirements are well communicated and understood.
• You may want to offer advice or appropriate revision tips.
• It requires sharing the progress and the ongoing timelines in the processes.
• Fluency in the English language may be useful, especially if your project is created for an audience from different countries.

5.  Perform Interviews and Possible Questions

When you have a list of such individuals, the next thing is to have an interview process in order to determine their suitability for the project. Here are some key questions to ask:

• Could you take me through your design process?
• Have you done projects of similar nature to what I have described to you? If yes, I would like to know specific examples.
• How about feedback / revision?
• How much time do you anticipate it will take to complete/submit the deliverables below?
• Are you okay with the mode of communication and work organisation I have preferred?

All these questions will assist you in finding out their working modality and how they handle issues.

6. Consider Cultural Context

The choice of design is a huge aspect that is likely to be influenced by culture. Furthermore, a graphic designer who is from Pakistan will be better placed to identify the prevailing trends and customs in the market more than any foreign designers. It can be of especial use in projects aimed towards Pakistanis.

For example:

• Color Schemes: Perhaps some colours have some cultural significance in Pakistani context.
• Typography: Local branding may require Urdu fonts or bilingual text, from the reports of increased communication efficiency among Pakistani host communities.

Ensure that the designer takes into consideration the export market if your project is required to be exported if you are operating in this market.

7. Assess Their Skills with a Test Project

Before entering into a long term cooperation, it is recommended to offer a relatively small paid trial. It will help you to estimate their skills, individuality and time management skills by trying to avoid a high risk of averting from your plans due to poor qualification on the first stage without deep investment.

8. Set Clear Terms of Engagement

It is therefore important to develop the understanding of the terms of a project to avoid conflict later on. Your agreement should address the following aspects:

• Scope of work: Explain what still has to be done.
• Number of revisions: Specify whether there will be an option to request revisions and if so then how many times.
• Payment terms and milestones: Explain what payment plan and how frequently payments are made.
• Timelines and deadlines: Identify when the tasks referred to should be accomplished.
• Ownership of design files: State who over the ownership of the design files after it has been accomplished.

A legal framework means that the two parties have a mutual understanding of what they want to achieve in the contract hence, few compromises.

9.  Leverage Online Communities and Referrals

Pakistani graphic designers who are trustworthy recommendations through personal contacts are particularly useful. In addition, customer forums such as Facebook groups (Graphic Designers in Pakistan), design forums are good places to interact with experienced designers.

10. Stay Open to New Ideas

Apart from IT knowledge and work-related experience, remember that creativity and flexibility are equally essential. Fresh talent may come up with new ideas and approaches to your work and this is a plus.

Conclusion

The process of identifying the right graphic designer in Pakistan is always a hybrid type. It’s possible to find a good designer, who is compatible with your projects and produces high-quality work, by knowing your expectations and needs, evaluating portfolios, and emphasizing on good communication. So with a growing talent base in Pakistan, there is no dearth of talent though you may need to look a little harder for your dream designer. Give it some time, do your research well and you’ll enjoy the outcome of great memorable impacts.

Whether it’s a creative logo or an effective social media marketing campaign, the right graphic designer gives life to your ideas and effectively communicates them to audiences.