Depending on your city (or town, or hamlet, or whathaveyou), chances are there are a lot of locally-owned small businesses in dire need of design work. Luckily, you’re a local designer chomping at the bit to provide it to them. But how can you find these clients (without breaking the bank), and how can these clients find you? Read on for the answers to these questions: 5 cheap ways to find local design clients.

1. BE A LOCAL CONSUMER

If you want to find local design clients, the best way to do so is to be a local consumer. By that I mean: shop locally. It gets you out in your community, gets you meeting people and more – these are the cornerstones to finding local clients. Instead of ordering your new dinner table online, why not go to that small boutique furniture store down the street? If you go in there as a consumer, looking to give them business, they will be a lot more receptive when you [smoothly] let it slip that you’re a graphic designer.

In fact, that very situation happened to my wife & I when we were shopping for a dining table. We wandered into a locally-owned furniture store here in Edmonton, and walked out with a gorgeous new dining table and a web design job. How? It came up in conversation that we are designers, and she happened to need a website.

The moral: if you are a local consumer, you increase your odds of finding local design clients. It’s that easy.

2. PICK YOUR CLIENTS

There are a lot of businesses out there who need design work, and the scope is huge. From construction outfits to floral shops and everything in between, you need to ask yourself: what kind of work do I want to do? Once you have the answer to that question, you go find those clients. Do a bit of research on them, prepare your pitch, and contact them.

For example, say you were looking for clients in the publishing industry. How can you find them? I’d start by hitting up the Yellow Pages, Google, friends, family, and so on. Every possible avenue that might lead to discovering a potential new client is an avenue you want to explore. Besides, most businesses can be ‘found’ through any combination of the above-mentioned methods – if not, they REALLY need your help.

Let’s say I found Peter’s Publishing Inc thanks to a Google local business search. Venturing over to their current website, I am greeted by flashing gifs, falling hearts & various other crimes of design. It’s evident that Peter’s Publishing is in dire need of a website update – but how do I pitch that to the client short of saying that their current website almost made my eyes explode? That’s your department – you need to massage your words and make sure not to come off condescending or know-it-all-ish (like I talked about in How to Get Your Clients to Use a Design Brief). If you come off like a know-it-all jerk, they’re not going to want to work with you.

So you’ve written and rewritten your pitch a few times and have it perfected – you come off cordial, and mention that you think your design services could help in a revamp of their website that could lead to increased sales. Awesome. Now pick up the phone and call. That’s all there is to it.

As well, don’t be distressed if you get shot down. These things happen, and not everyone has a website redesign (or whatever you’re offering) in the budget right now. Be nice; keep the contact; call the next person. Because you didn’t just get Peter’s Publishing’s information, did you? No, you got lots of publishing places. It’s a numbers game – don’t forget!

3. ASK FOR REFERRALS FROM PAST LOCAL CLIENTS

I don’t know why, but some designers seem almost scared of asking past clients for referrals. Don’t be. If you did a good job, and it’s clear that your client was happy with what you did for them, ask them to pass your name on to anyone they know who might benefit from your services. They won’t get mad at you; they won’t throw you out on the street (or cyber-street, if you’re asking via email).

Remember, we’re all in the same boat here. I’m a designer local to Edmonton; a lot of Paper Leaf’s clients are small businesses in Edmonton. We all benefit from word of mouth, and sometimes it takes a little push to get that word of mouth going. For some clients, referring people they’ve worked with in the past comes naturally (we call those clients AMAZING). For others, it doesn’t – and that’s fine. It’s not like they’re out to get you. Those are the clients you need to approach and say “Hey, I really enjoyed working on your project. I was wondering, if you had a minute, if you would be willing to pass my name along to any of your contacts who might be looking for web design/logo design etc. I would really appreciate the referrals – it’s how I get most of my business”.

Chances are, they’ll be excited to help you out. People like helping other people out. People like being able to give advice (in this case, “Oh hey, I know this really handsome great graphic designer. You should give him a call!”). So use that to your advantage, and ask clients to refer you – because you’d return the favor, right?

4. USE SOCIAL MEDIA

Yes yes, we’re all sick of everyone from your ancient Aunt Agnus to CNN talking about ‘tweeting’. However, if you want to find some new local clients, it’s in your best interests to use social media. And luckily for us, we work in the best industry in the world – it’s visually interesting, and thus there are a lot of people who care about it.

Start a Facebook page for your business, and keep it up to date. When you have a killer new portfolio piece, add it to your page & change your status so people know where to find it and why you’re excited about it. Then hop over to your Twitter account and put a link up to that killer design piece. Then write a blog about your design process and post it. Then submit that blog to some blog aggregators. And so on, and so on.

See where I’m going with this? You need to spread the word about what you’re doing. Yes, Twitter & Facebook both reach much further than your local coffee shop, but you know what? I’d bet most of the people you’re friends with on Facebook are from your city, or used to be. People you met at a show, people you went to high school with and so forth. These social media tools allow us, as designers, to keep reminding people what we do. By doing that, we’re building brand awareness. And it might not immediately result in a multi-thousand dollar design job (although I wouldn’t complain about that), but down the road it could very well turn into something. Who knows? Maybe that guy who used to huck spitballs at you in Biology is friends with a guy whose uncle owns Peter’s Publishing – and through that [convoluted] chain, Peter’s Publishing saw your newly posted portfolio piece and wants to talk to you about a website redesign job.

Similar things have happened for Paper Leaf in Edmonton – so get out there and use social media. Remind people what you do – in a non-aggravating fashion – and that you’re good at it.

5. ADD YOUR BUSINESS TO THE GOOGLE LOCAL BUSINESS DIRECTORY

Search engine optimization is tough these days – there are so many sites, so many keywords etc. How can you help your web presence show up to your potential local clients? One way is to add your business to the Google Local Business Directory.

Why does this matter? Well, if a client is looking for a local graphic designer on Google, chances are he/she will search “[Your City] Graphic Design” or something similar. When a search like this is entered, the first hits that come up in Google are based off of location – Google Maps – and Google’s Local Business Directory. So even if your business is on page 47 of the keyword search “[Your City] Graphic Design”, it will have a better chance of being near the top of the Local Business Directory. This increases the chance a client will find you, as well as providing a valuable link back to your site.

As well, you can ask clients of yours to add reviews about your services on your Directory listing, which helps ease any insecurities potential clients might have about hiring an unknown designer. The only downside to this is that you have to give your address out – and if you work at home and don’t want your address floating around the internet, you’re outta luck. But let’s be honest here – it probably already is, in some form.

If you haven’t noticed, most (if not all) of these tips involve making it easy for people to know who you are. By getting out in the community, you can make face to face contacts with people who could turn into direct clients (or indirect clients, giving you referrals because you wooed them with your people skills). By making use of social media & the internet, you can provide another avenue for potential local clients to find you. You could be the greatest designer in the world, but if you just sit in your home office and seclude yourself from the world, nobody will know who you are. So don’t be afraid to tell people what you do. Don’t be afraid to get out in your community and get active. Don’t be afraid of using social media and the like to promote yourself. You’ll meet people, and the more people you meet, the better chance you have of finding local design clients.

Hope this helped – now go forth and find local design clients! If you enjoyed the article, please share and/or subscribe to the RSS feed here.

So, for those clients who need the gentle push towards the design brief – how should we do it? In my eyes, there are three main steps:

1. Educating the Client
2. Explaining the Benefits to the Client
3. Making it Easy for the Client

Remember, the design brief benefits all parties involved! With that in mind, let’s explore these steps towards getting your clients to use design briefs. 

1. EDUCATING THE CLIENT

Sometimes I hate the word “educating”. It can come off as know-it-all-ish and condescending. These are two major areas to be aware of when you’re explaining the design brief and its purpose in a project – don’t be know-it-all-ish or condescending.

But the truth is, most clients who have not heard of the term “design brief” or just do not use it do so for one main reason: they simply don’t know what it is or why it should be implemented. As the designer, it’s up to you to educate the client on the design brief. The goal here is to help the client understand exactly what a design brief is and what it accomplishes.

*used under creative commons

The design brief

• educates the designer on the client’s business
• defines the goals of the project
• outlines restrictions of the project
• brings together all the information needed for a design project into one common document

Also, don’t forget to explain your design process (which I spoke about previously in 5 Ways to be a More Efficient Designer), and explain the role that knowledge of your client’s business, business goals, and business environment plays in design.

2. BENEFITS TO THE CLIENT

So you’ve educated the client on what a design brief is. Next, you need to sell the idea of a design brief to the client. The best way to sell anything is to clearly explain the benefits of what you’re trying to sell to the client – in this case, the design brief.

What are the benefits to the client, anyway? Below are a few that I always mention. A design brief

• helps you design the best _______ possible – something that represents the client’s business and targets the proper market in the most efficient manner possible.
• increases the efficiency of a project (increased efficiency = lower cost to the client)
• holds both parties (designer/client) accountable for their roles in the project
• helps ensure a focused end product that visually reflects the client’s business while meeting the set goals.

The big two are efficiency & focus. What it all boils down to is this: if you are going through the process of educating & selling your client on a design brief, chances are it is the first time you are working with them. Clients can be nervous, and rightly so, when it comes to committing to a project with a new designer. They are paying you their hard-earned money, and while they like your portfolio, they might be unsure of how you are to work with and what they’re going to get at the end of the project. If you can communicate the benefits of a design brief clearly to them, it will alleviate these fears. It will show them that you appreciate efficiency and aren’t out to drag the project on (and thus induce budget creep). It will show them you are focused on their project and not the other 15 sitting in your inbox. It will show them you approach projects in a logical and calculated manner, and don’t just base your designs on “well, it looks cool”. It will show them you’re a professional.

3. MAKING IT EASY FOR THE CLIENT

At this point, the client knows what a design brief is and knows the benefits of a design brief to them. However, this doesn’t mean the client is going to go home and whip up a design brief immediately. I find the best way to ensure you get an actual, tangible brief is to provide them with a “template” of sorts. Paper Leaf has a generic design brief that we customize for each project and send via email to our clients (with thanks to David Airey and his post How Do You Write a Design Brief). It has the following sections, followed by white space inviting the client to fill in their information.

• Client Profile (a summary of the client’s business)
• Company Situation (what is currently happening with your client, and why is this project needed?)
• Client Competition (who is in direct competition with the client? what are they doing? where are their weaknesses?)
• Project Details (what is being commissioned? Any existing media/colors etc to be implemented? Any restrictions?)
• Project Message (what is the client trying to communicate with this project?)
• Target Market (demographic – age, income, gender etc)
• Goals/Objectives (measurable, specific to the project)
• Allocated Budget (does what the client wants and what they have budgeted make sense?)
• Schedule & Deadline

This allows the client to simply go through the document and answer the questions that are posed. There is no need for them to worry about the format of the design brief, whether they’ve included everything, and so on. The easier you make something for someone, the more likely they are to do it.

Also, please keep in mind that the above example is not the only way to format a design brief. Some projects will require additional sections; some will not. It is just a guideline to help you out in creating a template you can give to your clients. As well, some clients are well-versed in design briefs, and will already have one ready for you at the first meeting.

Anyway, there you have it! You have a client who understands design briefs, understands the benefit they pose to their business & the design process, and can easily fill out your company’s templated brief. You’re on your way to a much easier design project – one that’s clearly defined & focused. But before you go off and start yelling from the rooftops about how great design briefs are, tell me: what do you include in yours?

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Your logo is the face of your business. It needs to project the image you want for your business; it needs to attract your target market; it needs to be effective in a range of mediums. Each client is unique, and thus each client’s logo is unique. So how do you know what a great logo looks like? How can you articulate the qualities of a good logo? What goes in to a logo design process?

Those questions, and more, are what we aim to answer with this article. If you are looking into hiring a designer to create your logo, or rebrand your business, please read on. This article will tell you what to look for in a logo, and reveal to you exactly how Paper Leaf goes about creating logos for our [many, happy] clients. Hit the jump for more info!

OBJECTIVES

Of course, a project is doomed to failure without defined goals & objectives. Be sure that your designer knows the specific objectives & goals of your logo, so that your logo reflects your business!

VECTOR GRAPHICS & WHY THEY MATTER

Logos must be designed in vector format. There is no ifs, ands, or buts about it. What is a vector graphic, you ask? Well, a vector graphic is a graphic that can be resized, to any size big or small, without any loss of quality. You know how photos (commonly in .jpeg or .png format) get all pixelated and distorted-looking when you try and print them super-big, or when you resize them to a bigger size than the original? Yeah. That doesn’t happen with vector graphics, because it is a graphic based on mathematical equations which get recalculated every time you resize the graphic. The result is sharp edges, no pixelation, and a great looking graphic at any size – billboard to letterhead.

Paper Leaf designs logos strictly in vector format – if any designers propose a raster-based logo (that’s what digital photographs are – raster images), say “HAH! You can’t fool me! I DEMAND VECTOR!”. We use Adobe Illustrator, the industry-leading vector graphics program, to make your logo.

USABILITY & EFFECTIVENESS

Alright, you’re sold on vector graphics. But a vector logo is no good if its usability & effectiveness are non-existent. So what makes a usable & effective logo?

First, you need to think of your target market. Who are you targeting? If your target demographic is males between the ages of 18-25 who work in the oilfield, chances are a logo that consists of a unicorn riding a wave of rainbows won’t really hit home with them. So make sure your logo designer is designing with your target market in mind.

Second, you need to think of all the various ways your logo will be used. Website, letterhead, business card, envelope, coffee cups, pens, sure. But what about billboards? Murals? Large banners? The point I’m trying to make here is that if your logo isn’t eye-catching and viewable/readable at various sizes – from huge to small – your logo will not be effective at all of these sizes. You don’t want to have one logo for every day use, and one for large items – there goes your branding. Lesson? Make sure your logo designer designs a logo that works at all sizes on a variety of mediums.

OUR DESIGN PROCESS

So how do we go about creating a logo? Well, after initial inquiries and such, we send the client a design brief. This brief, when filled out, holds everything there is to know about the project (objectives, information about the client, project details, etc). After getting the brief back, we research the project. What is currently out there? How can we be different? What are some good sources of inspiration?

After researching & brainstorm, we go to the sketch format. We outline a variety of ideas and choose the best 3-4 to hone. Using Adobe Illustrator, we refine these ideas (in black and white, so as to focus on the idea & not the colors – yet). After we get the 3-4 drafts where we want them, we start working with color.

Once the 3-4 first drafts are completed, we compile them into a Proof Page. This is a one-page document that showcases each logo, explains the meanings & ideas behind the logos and shows the typefaces and colors used. This is sent to the client for approval & revisions.

From there, we ask our clients to choose the one logo they most prefer and to provide more input to us. It is important to note it is best if the client details any problems they have with the design, rather than any potential solutions per se. This way we can use our expertise to come up with a proper visual solution to the problem. An example of this might be to say “I find the font used to be too traditional” as opposed to saying “I want to see the logo with Comic Sans”. That being said, there are no steadfast rules & we try what our clients want to see!

Anyway, from providing the first 3-4 drafts, we go through a two-revision process (where the client has two rounds of revisions to get the logo to the approved stage). This works well – it promotes good communication and keeps the project moving efficiently. We call this the 3-Draft, 2-Revision workflow, which you can read more about in our article 5 Ways to be a More Efficient Designer.

Once we have reached the final round and everyone is happy, your logo is complete! Overall, the whole logo design process takes 8+ hours, depending on the specifics of the project.

WHAT YOU GET

To recap, we have designed an effective vector-based logo that has high usability no matter the size it’s shown at, or what it’s viewed on. We have followed a 3-Draft, 2-Revision workflow to reach an approved final logo- a process which keeps the project focused & moving smoothly. So – what exactly do you get?

When we design logos, we deliver to the client a package that ensures they can get their logo on near-any medium without having to come back to Paper Leaf (however, you’re always welcome!). Our delivered logo package consists of the following:

• a vector file containing the logo in color, black-on-white and white-on-black
• a color PNG of the logo (hi-res & web versions)
• a white-on-black PNG of the logo (hi-res & web versions)
• a black-on-white PNG of the logo (hi-res & web versions)
• plus any additional formats requested by the client

This comes in a neat little zipped file. We also keep all of these versions on our hard drives for redundancy.

So there you have it! Everything you – the client – needs to know about logos in one nice little article. Also, if you’re interested in a logo design for your business, don’t hesitate to contact us!