Q. What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?
A. Quality. Not only look at the providers overall portfolio for design, but make sure the person who is working on your project is actually the one who's work is being promoted. Many companies will take the best work of previous employees and display it in their portfolio, while the actual person working on your project may have only been there a week. At dpi, all the work we display has been created by the same artists who will work on your projects.
Q. If you were a customer, what do you wish you knew about your trade? Any inside secrets to share?
A. As with any trade, quality and experience are important, but experience doesn't always mean better quality. Look at the work of the person who will be doing your project. It doesn't matter if they have been in the industry for 20 years or 20 days, if the quality is not to your standard, move on to someone else. dpi has been in the business for over 12 years and has the quality to back that up. Also, keep in mind that in design, the customer has the last say, so while some of the projects they have done for other clients may not be your style, keep in mind that specific project had a lot of input from that client, just like your project will have a lot of input from you. A good artist can take their style and incorporate it into what you, as the client, has envisioned for your project.
Q. What questions should a consumer ask to hire the right service professional?
A. Who is doing my work? Is it the same artist that has done the work in the portfolio? How long will my project take and what will the final pieces be provided as? If you are simply ordering a set of business cards, that answer is obvious; you will be getting printed cards. But if you are ordering a new logo design, make sure that logo belongs to you and that all the appropriate file formats are provided so you can use your logo for anything you want.