Working Effectively With A Remote Graphic Designer

Learning how to work with a remote graphic designer can be daunting at the beginning. You are technically handing over your brand’s visual identity to a single person. However, if done well it can be one of the best decisions you can make for your business.

Let’s face it, it’s not easy working virtually with a team, but the benefits can be massive for your business. The key to every successful remote team is knowing how to collaborate with each other

Today we’ll get into that by sharing 7 tips to improve your collaboration with your new graphic designer.

• Figure out what you want – The first step to any successful collaboration is to figure out exactly what you want. You’ve got to have a good idea of what you want your brand and business to look visually as well as the end goal and what your audience needs. As always, you want to leave all the creative work to your remote graphic designer, but they cannot succeed without you providing an overall goal and vision for your business.
• Iron out all the details – Here it’s important to iron out the concrete details of your engagements. These include things like payment, deadlines, meetings and reports. By setting reasonable times for projects and how to measure the success of these projects, you ensure that the working relationship and collaboration start off smoothly with the right groundwork to succeed.
• Have samples of what you like – As you prepare to start working with your remote graphic designer, it’s important to show and not tell. Collect samples of all the colour schemes, logos and designs you like. It will be much easier for your designer to work with samples rather than you telling them with words. 
• Learn how to give feedback – When working with a remote graphic designer and really anyone in the creative industry, it’s important to remember that nobody gets it right the first time. Therefore, you’ve got to learn how to give feedback. So what is the best way? Try to phrase feedback as problems to be solved. So for example, you are doing a website redesign. Good feedback may sound like this. “We need a way to showcase your company’s performance over the last few years on your website.” Bad feedback sounds more like this. “Put some infographics right here at the bottom” Your designer is an expert in design, by telling them exactly what to do, not only do you ignore their expertise, but you also deter their ability to come up with even better solutions. It’s always better to point out what you need rather than give specific revisions when it comes to feedback.
• Keep an open mind – When working with any creative, it is important to always keep an open mind as you collaborate. Have a clear goal and vision of what you and your audience needs, and then leave room for your designer’s creativity to bloom. When they suggest that a new idea is better than an old one, listen and keep an open mind. Remember you are paying for their creativity and expertise so give them room to work and trust their ability. Of course, your insight is invaluable but try and blend that with those of your designer, rather than clinging to a fixed idea
• Have a creative brief – The creative brief is agreed on information and strategy of the creative part of the project. This is usually presented as the reference document which includes key details as well the overarching strategic concepts. The creative brief makes collaboration very easy since everyone is clear on what is expected and the key goals for the project. A creative brief should include – Vision and mission – what’s the aim of the project, the goal and the end result.  Audience – who the design is for and what the demographic is. The current situation and the present status of the project, Problems and solutions, brand guidelines and logistics – timeframes and deadlines and budget.
• Welcome the designer to your team – Finally, even though the engagement might just be for a short-term project, it’s important to welcome the designer into the team and make them feel like part of the group. This starts with how you talk to them, whether or not you keep them in the loop when it comes to company communications and access to files. In some cases, you might want to limit access to files in the case of freelancers or short-term engagements, but it’s important to make them feel as comfortable as possible to make the engagement and collaboration succeed

Finally, trust plays a large part in all successful collaborations, whether with a freelance graphic designer or any other employee. 

Once you’ve spent time sourcing, conducting interviews and finally selecting your candidate, you’ve got to trust your choice and allow them the space to work and create. This is the key to a successful collaboration.

At Superbhire, we help businesses hire top global talent for both short-term and long-term engagements. We take care of everything from sourcing and vetting candidates to global payroll. Get in touch with us today and we’ll help you find your next superstar remote graphic designer.