Scotty talks with Justin Williams of Second Gear Software about his experience in hiring and working with indie/freelance designers for user interface and icon design.

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Running Time: 38 mins 44 secs
Download Size: 30MB

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Episode 14 (Enhanced)

Show Notes

Guest: Justin Williams
Company: Second Gear Software
Blog: carpeaqua.com

Why you should hire a designer

• Programmers are usually notoriously bad at design
• Some think they are good, but I assure you they aren’t.
• Mac users are notoriously picky about having a good UX and UI so make an investment in providing a great experience

Where to find a designer

• Indie designers/Freelancers
• Larger firms
• Crowdsource solutions like 99designs.com

Evaluating Designers

• Look at their portfolio and see if their work is impressive.
• Give them a small assignment to get them started with to see if they are going to work with you.
• Make sure you have a good rapport with the person. This is probably more important than finding the best designer on earth.
• If you can’t have a decent relationship with the guy who is painting your apps canvas, you’re wasting your money.
• If you find that a designer isnt working out with you, cut your losses before you go too far down the rabbit hole and find someone else.
• Sometimes use two designers

Rates

• Vary between designer and is based on experience.
• All designers are willing to put together an estimate for free which should get you a rough idea of their costs.

Estimates

• The designer can only estimate on what you tell them, so give as much detail as you can
• Jot down a list of every icon or UI piece that you need designed as well as a bit of info on what you have in mind for each
• Rough sketches of ideas are good if you have the idea in your head.
• Like most things, grab a few estimates from other designers and see how their costs compare.