4 characteristics that identify a good graphic designer

If you need a design agency or a graphic designer, you may be wondering:

“How do I find the perfect design agency for me?”

There are an incredible number of design agencies, and certainly not just "the one and only perfect design agency." But there are some characteristics that define a really good design agency and also a really good graphic designer.

# 1: Portfolio

The most important decision factor is, of course, the portfolio, and that also depends on your personal taste. A good design agency that has been in business for some time will have a diverse portfolio of designs created for clients from different industries. They may also have free projects that were realized voluntarily, without a paying client. In any case, the diversity of designs in the portfolio is important.

To accurately assess a portfolio, you have to be a corporate designer yourself, but you can certainly tell from your gut feeling “it looks professional or not.”

# 2: Uniqueness

A good design agency creates designs that are unique. They aren't assembled from premade templates or ready-made elements that can be downloaded for free from the internet. This uniqueness must, of course, be reflected in the portfolio.

Of course, judging this from the outside as a non-designer isn't easy. However, if you look at a portfolio in which many designs look very similar, it's easy to assume that premade elements from the internet were used. You can also tell this from the pricing. If a design agency offers rock-bottom prices, such as €100 for a logo, it's most likely not a custom design, or the quality is simply poor. In this case, you can assume that the same or similar logo designs are also being "re-used" for other clients. This undermines the core idea of a logo: a unique symbol for a company.

# 3: Briefing

You can tell whether you're dealing with a good or not-so-good design agency right from the briefing. A good design agency will ask you a ton of questions and want to get to know your company, your products, and the philosophy behind them – because all of this will later be incorporated into your branding. A good design agency will also ask you about your target audience and your competition. However, if you get the feeling the graphic designer doesn't want to know that much about you and your products, you'd better stay away.

# 4: Transparency

Transparency is also a very important criterion. Get to know the design agency and ask them how they work, what their design workflows look like, etc. Also ask how many logo designs are included in the price, if it's just logos, and how many rounds of feedback are included. These are legitimate questions, because you, the client, are paying. If a design agency is hemming and hawing, stay away. It's important that you know what you're getting for your money.