A Closer Look at Your Designer

First and foremost, design is meant to solve a problem. Your Designer is someone who ideally has the skillset to address your problem using their creative expertise. In this article, I'll tell you a little about myself, my design career, and some key qualities to look out for when choosing a designer for your website.

My name is Jon Carlo Stubblefield (JonCarlo or JC for short), and I have been working as a UX Designer for over 13 years. One of the most important aspects of my design career has been aligning with the right clients to deliver the best results on each project. So, what makes a project the "right" fit for a designer? Let's discuss.

Communication is Key

In my career, whether working as a collaborator on a project, designing for an Agency, or leading a team of designers, or managing my own design clients, the one tool that has been most useful to me is effective communication. Understanding what a client is looking for and truly understanding the problem they need you to solve are two very different concepts

Compatibility of Skills & Experience

Every designer is different, from their skillset to their individual personality and communication styles, your experience will vary depending on the designer you choose to work with on your project. This is why the earlier point about communication being key is so important. Your project will have specific requirements needed for success, and knowing whether or not the designer you chose can meet these requirements will determine the success of your project as well as your budget and timeline.

Some designers may specialize in visual design while others may be considered "full-stack", meaning they can execute your project from concept to completion, including the development and coding of your visual design. The ability of your designer to meet the needs of your project will be evaluated during the introduction phase of the process of building a website. Most importantly, you'll want to know whether or not the designer you are working with has completed projects with similar requirements before, and details around the process of how they approached the project that will relate to your needs.

The Designer's Portfolio

From my experience, I cannot stress enough how important it is for a client to thoroughly examine the portfolio of the designer you are considering working with. Your designer's portfolio is a direct reflection of their ability to match the design requirements you need for your project. When working with my clients, I often refer to past projects which have similar requirements to their own to demonstrate that I am compatible with the client's project requirements, further validating that I am the right choice for their service provider.

Your designer's portfolio acts as an additional form of validation of their skillset and their ability to meet your specific needs. You can view a portfolio of my past projects as an example of a professional portfolio.

A key part of understanding whether or not the designer you are considering can meet the needs of your project will be asking questions related to their past projects you see in their portfolio. In some cases, you may not see a project that is identical to your own, but being open and honest with your designer, and asking questions will help you decide if they are the right fit for your project.

Your Decision

The designer you decide to work with will determine the success of your project from a visual lens, but the success of the overall project will be a combination of your designer's skillset and the communication between the two of you. If there is one key factor that contributes to the success of a project, in most cases, it will be the effectiveness of communication between you and your designer to uncover and address your project needs accurately.