Graphic Design & Marketing

Q. What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?

A. Be careful of cut-rate designers both in the U.S. and abroad. They often do not posses the experience and knowledge to protect your brand. This results in a weak brand and added expense from reprinting.

Q. If you were a customer, what do you wish you knew about your trade? Any inside secrets to share?

A. Higher per-hour rates don't always translate into higher costs in the end. More expensive designers are almost always much faster.

Q. What questions should a consumer ask to hire the right service professional?

A. Do you guarantee your work? Do you take ownership in the end product with regards to return on investment?

Q. What important information should buyers have thought through before seeking you out?

A. The capabilities and prices of other designers.

Q. Why does your work stand out from others who do what you do?

A. My work stands out from other designers because I'm acutely aware of my clients place in their industry and the branding and position of their clients. It's critical that a designer understand the industry they're designing for and where their clients competition is. My work is smart, clean and does its job by delivering a clear and concise message without being cute or trendy. This is especially important when working for larger, sophisticated companies like my clients.

Q. What do you wish customers knew about you or your profession?

A. I wish customers would understand that you get exactly what you pay for in this industry. Overseas designers and those just starting out are often a waste of time and money. I'm constantly asked to fix their work! Professional designers like myself cost more because of our experience with the products and services we design for. Our work has meaning besides just looking great. Also, I've seen inexperienced designers work cause problems when it goes to a printer. I know before my work goes to a printer what it will look like and I carry the liability if something goes wrong - which it NEVER does!

Q. What are the latest developments in your field? Are there any exciting things coming in the next few years or decade that will change your line of business?

A. What's exciting in this industry is the obvious shift from print to digital marketing. With all the social media sites available, impressive results and return on a client's marketing budget are easily obtainable by enhancing a website with Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, etc. A graphic designer needs to know about these tools in order to be effective. And, most recently, text message advertising has emerged as the next great tool in the digital marketing world.

Q. If you were advising someone who wanted to get into your profession, what would you suggest?

A. Obviously, a solid education in graphic design is imperative. However, with the advent of digital marketing, knowledge of programming languages such as HTML, MySQL, Perl and Java are necessary to understand the media platforms you are designing for. Gone are the days when graphic designers just designed. Also, be aware of the new CMS platforms for web development such as Word Press, Magento, Joomla, Drupal and OScommerce. Clients are asking more and more for these platforms to be used so they can administer their websites themselves.