The Don’ts in Working with a Graphic Design Agency

Working with a graphic design agency can be a great investment towards your company’s accomplishment of its marketing goals. That is, if you do it right.

Here are the four all too common mistakes people make when dealing with an agency.

Not having room for creativity. In essence, enlisting the services of a graphic design agency means working with creative people. If you are used to the business side and have no inclination for the arts whatsoever, maybe the experience will be new to you. The point is by hiring them, you should be able to trust them to lend a talent and expertise that you do not have. You cannot expect to see eye-to-eye on each output, and sometimes their output might not be to your liking. However, when you signed an agreement with them, the premise is that you researched about their firm, looked at their portfolio, respect their credentials, and understand their aesthetic somehow.

Not having clear parameters. What is important is to set parameters from the beginning. If you provide the agency with a good orientation and references, especially your company guidelines as well as past materials to serve as peg, then there will be little chance that their work would be so unacceptable as to merit a complete overhaul. If something looks so new to you, maybe you just need to listen to the explanation of how it communicates your company’s message, while at the same time cater to the changing times. Another way to look at it is, if it’s something you can envision in your mind, then perhaps you need not have outsourced the job, right? The key is to meet halfway, with your preferences and their rationale clearly laid out on the table from point A.

Not getting the right person for the job. Again, it really depends on being able to define your goals and preferences. Are you looking for a graphic designer, or a web designer? What kind of images would you like to have for your print material – digital illustrations, hand-drawn/handpainted artworks, or photographs? Expectations are set this way, and they can only be met if you actually know what you want, and you looked for it in the right place. It is alright to find someone who can do all of these tasks, but know that they might not have fully honed expertise in each. It is also fine to get separate people, but expect that they might have different aesthetic, and that it could cost you more. The ideal scenario is if you get a graphic design agency that offers a complete pool of the people you need.