by Jeff Kear © 2004
Creative Director, myICON Design
In this day-and-age, ordering a product like a hammer on the Internet is pretty easy.
If you’re anything like me, you would first run a search for hammers and find the styles and models that suit your particular hammering needs. Then you would simply buy your chosen hammer at a site that looks reputable and has a more-than-reasonable price.
But it’s a different story when you’re thinking about ordering things like a logo design or Web site design online.
Besides the obvious, graphic design services are different from hammers in that:
- You can’t see the finished product before you buy because it hasn’t been created yet.
- You have to make the subjective decision about how much you are willing to pay for the services of a design firm.
- Since you are buying online and can’t meet the designers face-to-face, there’s always that little voice in your head saying, “Are these guys legitimate?”
Let’s start by tackling that last issue first. The question of legitimacy is essentially a question of trust. Do I trust this company to complete the work they promise? Will they provide me with designs I can proudly use to market my business?
These are important questions, and it is essential that you have a positive feeling (or at lease a good vibe) about the firm you choose to create designs for your company.
Reputable online design companies offer several things that can help put you at ease.
These can include:
A phone number – It seems so simple and yet is so critical. How would you feel about hiring a firm that clearly didn’t want you to call them? Probably suspicious. You should be able to talk with a real, live person at any time before you place your order, during the completion of your project and even after the job is done.
A guarantee – A design firm that does high-quality work rarely has disappointed customers and should have no qualms about offering some type of money-back guarantee. Firms that do not offer a guarantee force you to question the quality of their work and their ability to serve customers well.
Clear definition of what you will receive – A reputable firm has nothing to hide and clearly tells you how many designs you will receive, how many revisions you should expect and how the products will be delivered.
As for how much to pay, a good rule of thumb is not to select the most expensive or least expensive firms. As my dad used to say, “Pay too much and you’re overpaying. Pay too little and you get crap.” (Dad was direct, if not a little crass.) Remember that the firm you choose will be developing the image of your company and that saving a few bucks now may hurt you down the road. Your best bet is to decide on a reasonable budget at the outset and stay within it.
And as for not being able to see the designs before you buy them, you should read the article “What to look for in a design firm” (soon to come) for insights into how to judge the creative output of design firms.
Truth be told, there are a number of design firms – both online and brick-and-mortar – that are capable of creating the designs and materials that can help your business.
So if you are a “handshake” person – the kind of person that has to do business face-to-face – then ordering designs online might not be the right thing for you.
But if you are willing to venture out online, you just might find the perfect firm for completing your designs. |
