Creative brochure designers vary considerably in both competency and professionalism across the industry. To make sure you get what your business needs with the minimum of hassle, you need to find a great designer who knows how to work effectively with you to produce the best possible brochure for your business in a timely, cost-effective and stress-free way.
So, how do you spot a good brochure designer? We explain some of the key things to look out for when choosing creative brochure designers.
Previous work
This is an obvious one, but something you really can’t overlook. The simplest way to judge the quality of a designers work is with examples and if they don’t have plenty to hand to show you, that should be a huge warning sign.
When looking at a designer’s previous work, ask to see their most recent projects as this will be a good indication of the kind of work they are currently producing. Many designers will be tempted to only show you the very best work they have done, but if this is a few years old it might involve work by people who are no longer part of their team. It’s important to check you are seeing work by the people who will actually be working on your brochure before making a decision.
You should also ask to see work for similar clients with the same kind of budget you are aiming for and whose products sell at a similar price point. This will give you a good idea of the quality of work they can produce for your budget and how well they can match the feel of your brand and expectations of your customers.
For example, if you sell commercial kitchen supplies, your brochure will need to have a very different style and look to that of a company selling luxury kitchenware to homeowners. You need to be sure the designer knows how to tailor their designs to your needs.
References
Again, another obvious one, but something people often tend not to bother with. The best way to judge what working with a designer will be like is to speak to other people they have worked with. Unfortunately, many people never get round to checking references, which can be a big mistake as the way people behave when they are selling you something is often very different to how they act once they have won you as a client!
Try to speak to more than one of a brochure designer’s previous clients and you should be able to build a realistic picture of what working with them will be like. Things to ask include how good they were at communicating and how responsive they were to making changes, as chances are you will need to go through a few different versions of the design to get to something that is exactly right.
Questions they ask you
A good way to judge how well a brochure designer knows their business is to see what questions they ask you. This will give you a good sense of how well they understand the brochure design process and the needs and priorities of your business.
Good, creative brochure designers will ask highly focused questions about your business, products, customers and competition. They should also ask questions about how you want the design process to work, who their main point of contact will be, who needs to sign off on the final design etc. This shows that they have a clear process in place and are therefore more likely to produce the goods in a fast, straightforward and hassle-free way.
Do they know how to sell?
It doesn’t matter how nice a brochure looks, it ultimately has to help you sell your business and products or it is a waste of money. Your creative brochure designers need to understand this and know how to incorporate selling into every aspect of their design.
They should quickly be able to identify strategies for highlighting the benefits of your products as it is generally true that customers buy based on benefits not features of a product. When looking at a brochure designer’s previous work, get them to explain how they highlighted the benefits of their other client’s products and what impact this had.
They also need to know how to effectively introduce Call to Actions (CTAs) into their design i.e. guiding customers towards whatever action you need them to take e.g. picking up the phone, going online or coming to your premises to make a purchase. An effective brochure design will cleverly incorporate and draw attention to your CTAs to have a direct impact on sales.
Finally, don’t be afraid to ask for hard data on how their previous brochures have impacted sales for their other clients. If they can tell you exactly how much they managed to boost sales for previous clients, that is a pretty solid indication of the quality of their work and this should make choosing the best brochure designer for you much more straightforward.
Work with creative brochure designers who’ll help you stand out
Palmiero Design offer visually stunning brochure designs that will make your business stand out from the crowd and help sell your products more effectively. Our dedicated and highly talented team of creative brochure designers know what it takes to create both print and digital designs which help you achieve your sales goals.
We pride ourselves on the strength of the communications we have with our clients, enabling us to create exactly what you need in a smooth, stress-free design process. We make sure we know exactly what you want, then deliver it on time and on budget.
Looking for a way to make sure your designer knows exactly what you need from your brochure? Download our free guide for step-by-step tips and advice on creating the perfect brief for your designer.
Want to find out more about the services we offer at Palmiero Design? Feel free to get in touch or request a quote. We look forward to hearing from you!
