Hiring designers is one of the most difficult tasks for non-technical business people to do. Many companies need help improving their website or designing marketing and sales collateral — making this a critical task if you want to hire the best designers you can.
So how do you effectively select designers for your projects?
Here are 7 qualities to look for in design portfolios to ensure you’re hiring the best designer for the job.
PORTFOLIO EXECUTION
Evaluating the design of a portfolio is just as important as evaluating the work samples it includes. When first reviewing a designer’s portfolio, you should pay attention to the overall aesthetic and execution of the portfolio.
Take notice of the portfolio’s colors, typography, layout consistencies, spelling and grammar, image quality, contact details, and navigation. Also consider the portfolio’s usability and load time. You should be able to load the pages quickly and still see large, high-quality images, not small, pixelated work.
SIMPLICITY
A strong design portfolio should be well-curated.
It should be clear that the projects included are the best of the best and contain concise language to describe them. As a general rule, the designer should showcase 6 to 12 items of their best, most recent work. If you’re interested in seeing more work by the designer, then you can always ask to see more during an initial interview.
Think of the selection of work included in the designer’s portfolio as a strong indicator of their judgment and self-awareness.
ABILITY TO SOLVE REAL-WORLD PROBLEMS
It can be easy to get swept away by sharp images or an interesting color scheme, however, those aren’t the only metrics you should use to evaluate a designer’s portfolio.
One of the best ways to assess a designer’s contributions to projects is by looking at the case studies included in the portfolio. Case studies don’t just show a designer’s work, they indicate the process used and the problem that was solved.
Not all designers include case studies, but they should at a minimum describe the projects and the problems solved. If they don’t, make sure to drill-down in these areas during the interview. Here is an example of a top case study for reference: http://bradfrost.com/blog/post/entertainment-weekly/.
COLLABORATION
Design is a collaborative activity. It often takes a team of designers, developers, and project managers to complete complex projects. When hiring one or more designers for your team, you must assess how the project roles played by the designers under consideration fit into your company’s needs.
In the portfolio, look for project briefs that describe the designer’s role in group projects and what ideas they came up with and how they impacted the project. How did they work in a team setting and communicate with other team members?
The designer should have a good understanding of the problems they specifically worked on, and be able to articulate them. Also, look for accompanying text that explains how their contribution made the project a success and even credits other designers and team members when appropriate.
VISUAL DESIGN
An incredible design portfolio is an essential part of evaluating a designer, but it’s meaningless if they don’t have good work samples featured inside it.
When you evaluate the designer’s work samples, pay attention to the combination of typography, layout, and photography. This trio is the cornerstone of great design and will give you a sense of the designer’s ability.
Next, look for details in the design, colors, consistency and the use of positive and negative space. These work samples are a great way to judge the designer’s skill level and versatility.
Pro Tip: How is the designer effectively using typography to convey a specific message, brand, or aesthetic? If a designer can demonstrate a keen sense of typography, then they can design almost anything.
STRATEGIC THINKING
Not only should you evaluate the visual aspect of a design portfolio, but you should also evaluate the strategic decisions behind the work.
Most designers will include an explanation of their work that details why they made certain decisions. They don’t need to go into their thought process behind every little thing that they do, but they should explain how they made the big decisions. Look for portfolios that include why and how the designer reached a design decision and how those choices helped to shape the project.
For example, do they explain the decision behind the flow for on-boarding new users? And do they provide an explanation for how they reached the decision; spent time sketching out various versions, extensive research or a whiteboard?
Pro tip: Look for a designer who details the results of the project and why it was or wasn’t successful. What was the outcome? Did the work receive any awards, client praise, increased sales, better engagement? A designer who is interested in the results of the project will have a more thorough and methodical process to help achieve success.
RELEVANCY
It’s important that design portfolios have a wide variety of work samples, but it’s also important to evaluate the work samples that are most relevant to what you’re looking for in a candidate.
For example, if you’re looking for a graphic designer to create online brochures and website images, and a candidate only has experience working on print projects and banners, then you might want to move on to the next portfolio.
Work samples in the portfolio should be recent. You should look for samples that are less than four years old. If a candidate only includes work from 6 or 7 years ago it is a red flag. Most designers improve their skills over time and a large time gap in work samples could mean they haven’t evolved or had much experience in a while.
Great design makes a huge impact on your business and contributes to sales leads. Use these tips to help identify a top designer to start contributing to your company today.
If you’re still not confident in your ability to judge a portfolio, consider reaching out to an expert for help. Contact Creative Compass today to hire a top designer for your team.
WHAT DO YOU LOOK FOR WHEN REVIEWING PORTFOLIOS?
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