You need to deliver quality projects to your clients, or they won't come back for more -- and they might even tell their friends to avoid using you for their projects. How can you complete projects your clients will love? Hire the right people to do the job. Romeo Marquez explains what to look for in a designer and a programmer.
In order to provide a better product to your clients, I recommend finding a good designer to help you out with your projects. This would ensure a project done by an expert on the subject. The outcome should always be better than a project done solely by an excellent programmer.
Don’t worry about hiring a designer full time. If you’re not ready to commit to paying someone’s salary, there’s still something you can do. A lot of designers do freelance work these days. You might find someone willing to work with you on a “per-project” basis. This usually is more expensive because most freelance work tends to have higher rates, but working per project will ensure that you will have the money to pay for that individual project.
When you scout for a designer, make sure you take a look at their portfolio to see their previous work on the specific area you need help with. A lot of designers are good with print work, but are not well versed with web design. Remember that web design requires a different set of skills and guidelines from the ones required for print work. You may not be aware of it, but there are a lot of different styles of web design: vectorial, minimalist, gothic, urban, retro, futurist, clean, sites with a little flash and sites with a lot of flash, etc.
So, choose the designer you like best in accordance with the direction you want to give to the company. This is very important. I’ve seen some flash work by certain web studios that can really make your jaw drop, but those same studios are not capable of making a nice clean static website. Also, keep in mind that not every project will be based on the same requirements, and that you need to be able to deliver good results to as many clients as you can.
Keep in mind that beauty lies in the eye of the beholder, so although you may consider something beautiful, it won’t matter if your clients are not fully satisfied or if they don’t share your same tastes.
