Hire the Top 3% of Freelance Visual Designers

Visual designers are interdisciplinary experts; their expertise covers both digital and print environments. Their work focuses on details, and their final goal is impeccable visual communication. A cohesion of function and form is achieved through carefully understanding and dissecting briefs and goals from clients, as well as colleagues like copywriters, strategists, and creative directors.

Whether they work freelance or full time, visual designers can develop brand identity, create campaigns, lead design teams, provide quality art and creative direction, create social media graphics, and design apps, websites, and on-site digital experiences.

Visual design is about more than simply appearances: Function and form should be prioritized during all stages of the design process. In-depth knowledge of typography, iconography, color, space, and texture is essential for creating great visual experiences that inspire, engage, and excite the target audience.

Design is subjective; therefore, when being interviewed, designers need to show insight, courage, and their thought process. The reasoning behind their decisions and processes is sometimes more important than the result itself.

In a visual designer’s portfolio, the context and ideation behind their design projects should be clearly shown and explained. Reviewing a portfolio is just the first step of the screening process and helps determine a designer’s approach.

What Attributes Distinguish Quality Visual Designers from Others?

Visual design is the process of visual communication and creative problem-solving through the use of type, space, image, shape, line, texture, color, and material. A great visual designer is capable of creating a meaningful, effective, high-quality visual representation of ideas and messages. The design process doesn’t only rely on form and a given problem or brief; careful study of the problem, plus research and analysis, will yield a design solution and shape the project.

Visual designers work closely with UX and UI designers, graphic designers, web designers, product designers, copywriters, strategists, and clients. They have a variety of design skills and can translate insights, briefs, and data into cohesive, straightforward visual communication that adds value.

A good visual designer will be an expert in:

Branding:

• Designing a corporate identity
• Crafting logo design
• Creating a style guide
• Ensuring consistency across design platforms

Visual Design:

• Applying branding across visual content
• Collaborating with UI designers to ensure consistent brand application
• Guiding visual identity throughout a company and product

Execution and Analytics:

• Coordination with UI/UX designers
• Coordination with developers
• Coordination with copywriters
• Coordination with art and creative directors
• Tracking goals and integration
• Analysis and iteration
• Print management
• Digital tool management

These skills can be translated into various mediums with deliverables including:

Concept:

• Strategy
• Naming
• Copywriting
• Photography
• Development

Design:

• Logos
• Visual identity
• Web design
• Illustration
• Editorial (books, magazines, brochures, etc.)
• Packaging
• Signage and wayfinding
• Type design and lettering
• Information design and visualization
• Infographics

Of course, not every designer will cover all fields, but exceptional designers are distinguished by their understanding of these particular fields and their ability to direct and guide the design process.

What Are the Most Important Visual Designer Interview Questions?

Specialization among designers is common. Their work can be driven by illustrations, or they can use a more organic and free approach to design problems, solving them as they emerge. This is why it is vital to examine a designer’s thought process.

When interviewing visual designers, it is also important to evaluate their soft skills and their design process. Your job description should also include the specific skills and attributes you’re seeking for the role.

Can you tell us more about your design background?

The designer should tell you which school they attended, past/current work positions, design experience, problems faced and overcome, and details about completed projects.

Why did you become a designer?

When answering this question, the energy and imagination behind the responses will give you an idea of the designer’s professional motivation and career goals.

What is your design process?

The design process is essential to discerning how design candidates develop and create their work. Insights into the way they work can help you distinguish quality candidates. As they discuss their design process, listen for elaboration on and details about their approach and workflow.

The design process is often limited by budget and time, and a useful insight would be how they have handled various situations under these constraints in the past.

How would you describe your approach to design research?

Discussing design research is an excellent opportunity to learn about all the methods the candidate understands. You should ask them to explain the reasoning behind why they use a particular technique, tool, or methodology to achieve a result.

What software do you use, and when?

Standard tools for visual designers include Adobe Photoshop and Sketch, but additional software proficiencies and skills help a designer stand out. Look for illustration, animation, video, and art design skills that bring extra value to specific clients and projects.

What industries and design specializations do you work in?

This question helps you uncover the candidate’s interests and preferences to see if they align with your business’s needs. Designers may specialize in digital, print, or 360 solutions, and they may have worked in industries ranging from social causes to luxury goods. Discuss their professional goals, ideal projects, and growth aspirations.

What do you think of [insert specific] project?

Suggest a few proposed projects, or ask the designer to select one and then dissect it. Listen for answers that explain context, goals, references, influences, and pure aesthetics, as well as responses that identify problems, solutions, and outcomes of the chosen direction. If the candidate can elaborate with quick solutions to a set of specific problems, that’s even better.

What areas of your work life or professional development are you hoping to explore further?

Discuss areas of professional development, with emphasis on visual design. The designer should be able to speak to branching out into different areas and gaining expertise across the design spectrum.

How would you describe your work and your influences?

Look for elaborate and intriguing stories, and listen for a passion for design and design thinking. The candidate’s references to history, design history, art, culture, music, and architecture are instructive when describing choices, intentions, and solutions.

Please explain the three best projects from your portfolio.

The candidate should explain the entire design process, including the decisions, ideation, context, why’s, and do’s and don’ts, by describing the production and execution of a specific project. Question the designer’s decisions to discover details of projects and the reasoning behind these decisions. Ask how the designer would have made those projects even better in retrospect.