This is ridiculous. In my experience, graphic designers are not primarily, nor should be, concerned with revenue, ROI, sales, etc. Much less copywriting.
Instead, the client is. Once the client has established his or her goals, and worked with marketing/sales/engineering/architects to determine what pages will be built with what functionality, then you hire a graphic designer to produce a "look" that achieves those objectives in the visual realm.
And depending on what kind of objectives you have, you may want a "clean" style or not -- maybe a "grunge" style instead, depending on your market. You may want "modern", or you may want "retro".
And when the author says "...are not actually designers at all. They are artists." Yes, that's the point. And artists are extremely important in seamlessly merging your brand together with your website's functionality.
But if the author is talking about "web designers" in general, then there's barely anything to talk about at all, because it's become such a vague term that nowadays it's practically useless. There are graphic designers, interface designers, information architects, and so on...
This isn't an article about how to choose a web designer, it's a list of designer stereotypes that business people believe in.
To "actually choose a web designer" you need to have a clear idea of what your objectives are for the project and then interview with an open mind. Find somebody intelligent with a strong portfolio. No silly checklist is going to outperform you as a thoughtful decision maker. Litmus tests are used because they are easy, not accurate.
This is a very odd perspective. Why is it a web design portfolio's job to convince you to care about good copywriting?
If your primary objective in hiring a website designer is something like SEO, improving conversions, or otherwise directly generating more revenue, obviously language like "ROI" and "Generate more business" can be a sign that a firm is focused on those aspects of design for the web. If I was looking for a firm that specialized in that area, I would prefer case studies that demonstrate concrete improvements to just an argument or mentioning certain buzzwords.
But lots of web design firms help their clients meet objectives besides immediately increasing business. For some companies, branding doesn't matter at all. But, for some companies, like say a fashion label, branding is extremely important. If they hired a designer who was focused on "ROI" and so forth, they would likely not only get a terrible product that doesn't match their needs, but see very little in the way of new business.
The "secret" of hiring a web designer is just being clear about what you want your new design to do, what your goals are for the design. Whatever those goals are, you should select a few designers whose work looks like it speaks to your goals, and tell them directly about what would constitute a successful design. Ask for examples of times they've successfully reached similar goals for a client in the past.
The funny thing about this article is that its very existence points out the fact that many web designers are very much aware of the concepts of "business objectives", "return on investment (ROI)", "lead generation", "increase sales". Designers' websites are clearly crafted with the sole purpose of procuring clients, and they presumably work given that many such designers are still in business!
I think that in many cases (and I'm not a behavioural psychologist or anything), consumers make irrational decisions when shopping... usually based on an emotional response. Personally, I would much rather hire a designer who has experience making "beautiful", "modern", "clean", and "usable" websites than one who claims they will somehow magically pump out a website that immediately provides a high ROI.
Web design is an iterative process that starts from a nice, clean base and improves through A/B testing and similar experiments.
My website exists to sell product. My job is to improve traffic and conversion. Anyone who isn't going to directly contribute to that effort is at best deadweight, at worst pulling in the wrong direction.
I'll give a potential hire the benefit of the doubt based on their website, but if we exchange more than two e-mails and he isn't talking about traffic and conversion, he isn't getting hired.
I'd require very little persuading to hire OP, based purely on him referencing Drayton Bird. The converse is also true - I wouldn't consider ever hiring someone who can't quote chapter and verse on Commonsense Direct Marketing.
A few years ago I worked at a small ad agency doing web work. The owner required every employee (all 4 of us) to read Ogilvy on Advertising. That book has really stuck with me. I would recommend it to anyone who has a product to sell.
"Branding" isn't a puff word if you're serious about marketing -- and not only is a "return on an investment" but an actual part of your product. Without a brand your can of sugar water isn't Coca Cola. And in terms of tech if you look at the work of Paul Rand he put IBM on the map. And branding isn't just for the big guys, if you're a small startup picking the right name for your web domain (and investing in it) can be make or break when taking those first steps.
While the author suggests some points about creating value that at face are silly to disagree with, I would warn away readers and suggest that as a whole, this post contains some very bad advice. It's a "the enemy of your enemy is not necessarily your friend" scenario; he's not wrong, but he's also totally full of shit.
Look at a site like Vimeo and tell me that beauty and passion aren't critical aspects of this design. Then head on over to AirBnB or Kickstarter or Etsy and tell me that they didn't put a huge amount of design thinking into making a clean, modern site that makes the visitor feel like they are making a difference by participating in a consumer revolution.
Good design extends far beyond logos and colour swatches. To have good design means that you've thought through every interaction path so that you can manipulate how your visitor feels when they use your site or product. You need to connect with their limbic brains first, and only then are you in the best position to really understand how to maximize their ROI.
TL:DR; this is bad advice. Don't hire a designer that only cares about “business objectives”, “return on investment (ROI)”, “your revenue goals”, “lead generation”, “increase sales" because chances are they are also busy with real estate and network marketing. The author knows who not to hire, not who to hire.
For an article about 'how to choose a web designer', I'd say that's a pretty important thing to get right. Business wise or otherwise. And you are right. It was a massive fail in that department.
I'll add that during your first conversation the designer should dive right into understanding your business, and understanding your objectives, before any discussion of solutions.
If the conversation flows in the opposite direction, you have a problem.
I would much rather choose a designer with a history of work I like the style of than someone that can spout buzzwords like ROI.
It's not like you hand everything over to a designer and say "achieve my business goals", it's a collaborative process where you make sure your business goals are met.
The problem here is I think that the style 'you like' may not be what you actually need. If it was that easy, there would be no need to articles telling you how to find a good designers. I agree that buzzword are not the best metric ever, it's easy to fake, but as an engineer I wouldn't trust my own taste either. By the way, I didn't like the design of site in the OP, but I guess the author is a good designer.
"You can be sure anyone who advertises his services in this way understands nothing of importance about marketing or business."
I think this statement is almost backwards. The reason "designers" use buzzwords is because it gets small business owners on board with them. Advertising your design services in a cookie cutter, predictable way is OK if you have the portfolio, skills, and actual marketing knowledge to provide business value. I don't care how great your copy or copywriter is, the text and UI has to be seamlessly integrated into the experience so there is NO distraction and the message can be properly conveyed. This takes an artist...
I genuinely thought this article was a joke -- I thought he was going to say something about you should add up the ticks in the 'good' and 'bad' columns and if the total number was greater than zero you should find a different designer :)
I think this guy is just wrong. A designer's job is to design. It's not his/her job to use buzzwords like "business objective" or "ROI" - it's his job to create a functional, relevant and aesthetically-pleasing website. And, frankly, I think words like 'clean' and 'modern' are GOOD.
As a web consumer, I know I think higher of companies with clean, functional, modern websites. It means they have a clue.
When choosing to work with anyone you should look for skills which complement your own / your current teams. Generally when looking to recruit a designer, it would be their design skills your after; not their legal advice or ability to write in marketing jargon. Look for people whose designs you like, preferably who have produced something similar to the look you're after before. Find someone you can build a relationship with, where they can talk you through their subject in your language. If you're a small business with no technical skills, your "web designer" should be someone who describes the whole process of getting a site on-line up front, and who offers ways for you to maintain that site yourself, without having to pay them each time you want a few lines of text added. If you're a larger business, or a developer who lacks graphics skills, you'll probably be focussed on just the design side, and will want someone who uses technologies compatible with what's in your toolkit, people who have experience working alongside programmers, and perhaps those who understand how to optimise their designs for performance.
Everyone's requirements are different, so the designer they're after will also be different. Look at what these designers have done before, and look at their customers' feedback, and pay particular attention to those customers who seem to be the most similar to yourself.
Well, duh. Design is not art. Art is about beauty primarily. Design is about leading user where he wants to, be it content, product, or a graphic. Design is communication.
What this means to business-people/developers: you can have all the functionality and low prices in the world, but if no one can get what they want in time, it's all useless. There are no sales if the user can't get to the "Sell" button. There are no ad views if the content is hidden somewhere in .html files or is unreadable.
Actually art is not really about beauty. Serious art is a lot like business, but with one important difference: art is about attracting a very select, discerning audience (while ignoring or even actively repelling the non-discerning audience). The way art works is that this very select, discerning audience will be willing to pay money to establish that very fact. In other words, art is about extracting money in exchange for exclusivity. Most businesses, of course, work in an entirely different mode: they extract money in exchange for service.
This article makes some interesting points, however I believe the author fails to differentiate the devices of which a web designer aims to market to potential clients versus what they are entirely capable of.
As a professional entrepreneur running my own company my career began with freelancing and instructing in web/print design. I won't claim to speak on my years of experience at that time of specific "business" knowledge as the author mentions (ROI, revenue goals, etc), nonetheless I never felt it appropriate to market my business skills on my design resumes and portfolios. While I agree wholeheartedly with the importance of understanding business models and revenue goals, I also feel it's not in the web designer's best interest to include these skills on a design portfolio.
All in all - it should be apparent that just because a web designer includes "buzzwords" such as "clean" and "modern" it certainly doesn't mean they don't grasp concepts such as ROI or revenue goals.
Tennant's point about the use of these words, "branding”, “beautiful”, “passion”, “making a difference”, “modern”, “clean”, is totally valid. These are qualities that web designers either want to achieve on a professional level or have seen mentioned most design blogs and rockstar designer portfolios.
These are qualities that any web designer worth their salt will have demonstrated in their portfolio. They will show, not tell, how good they are.
As for the rest of the article, I think it demonstrates the author's skill more as an online marketer rather than a graphic designer. He did get to the front page of HN after all.
Interesting, as a web designer I did not understand I was supposed to be a web marketer as well. So, if I study up on the books mentioned in the comments does that mean I can now command two paychecks? If I spread out into copy writing as well does that now mean three paychecks?
I don't know about his world but in mine the marketer worries over conversions and ROI and WORKS WITH the web designer to achieve those goals. Somewhere in there a copywriter is involved. In my office we refer to this as a "web team". Is this a new concept? Can I patent it?
I don't think it's possible to come up with universally valid selection criteria.
Some projects are purely design-driven, the site just needs to look great (say, for a fuzzy image campaign), and that's simply the job that the client needs to get done.
Other projects (and I like to believe the majority of launches) are clearly business driven and the site needs to accomplish specific goals to meet strategic objectives. In that case, OPs approach makes a lot of sense.
Unless you are acquiring generic services or commodities, hiring anyone starts with a conversation, not with looking at the website. The only useful information you can get from a designers (or any kind of bespoke service) website is a) is their style what you are looking for (if you even have a preference), b) do they have relevant experience, and c) how can I get in touch.
Everything else is human interaction, not browsing through a catalog.
[+] [-] crazygringo|14 years ago|reply
Instead, the client is. Once the client has established his or her goals, and worked with marketing/sales/engineering/architects to determine what pages will be built with what functionality, then you hire a graphic designer to produce a "look" that achieves those objectives in the visual realm.
And depending on what kind of objectives you have, you may want a "clean" style or not -- maybe a "grunge" style instead, depending on your market. You may want "modern", or you may want "retro".
And when the author says "...are not actually designers at all. They are artists." Yes, that's the point. And artists are extremely important in seamlessly merging your brand together with your website's functionality.
But if the author is talking about "web designers" in general, then there's barely anything to talk about at all, because it's become such a vague term that nowadays it's practically useless. There are graphic designers, interface designers, information architects, and so on...
[+] [-] paulnelligan|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] bzupnick2|14 years ago|reply
[deleted]
[+] [-] JoelSutherland|14 years ago|reply
To "actually choose a web designer" you need to have a clear idea of what your objectives are for the project and then interview with an open mind. Find somebody intelligent with a strong portfolio. No silly checklist is going to outperform you as a thoughtful decision maker. Litmus tests are used because they are easy, not accurate.
[+] [-] kitsune_|14 years ago|reply
rolling eyes
[+] [-] cstross|14 years ago|reply
It's about copywriting.
[+] [-] mattgreenrocks|14 years ago|reply
Meta: wait, I guess that's every blogger and comment on the Internet ever, isn't it?
[+] [-] ForrestN|14 years ago|reply
If your primary objective in hiring a website designer is something like SEO, improving conversions, or otherwise directly generating more revenue, obviously language like "ROI" and "Generate more business" can be a sign that a firm is focused on those aspects of design for the web. If I was looking for a firm that specialized in that area, I would prefer case studies that demonstrate concrete improvements to just an argument or mentioning certain buzzwords.
But lots of web design firms help their clients meet objectives besides immediately increasing business. For some companies, branding doesn't matter at all. But, for some companies, like say a fashion label, branding is extremely important. If they hired a designer who was focused on "ROI" and so forth, they would likely not only get a terrible product that doesn't match their needs, but see very little in the way of new business.
The "secret" of hiring a web designer is just being clear about what you want your new design to do, what your goals are for the design. Whatever those goals are, you should select a few designers whose work looks like it speaks to your goals, and tell them directly about what would constitute a successful design. Ask for examples of times they've successfully reached similar goals for a client in the past.
[+] [-] davecap1|14 years ago|reply
I think that in many cases (and I'm not a behavioural psychologist or anything), consumers make irrational decisions when shopping... usually based on an emotional response. Personally, I would much rather hire a designer who has experience making "beautiful", "modern", "clean", and "usable" websites than one who claims they will somehow magically pump out a website that immediately provides a high ROI.
Web design is an iterative process that starts from a nice, clean base and improves through A/B testing and similar experiments.
[+] [-] jdietrich|14 years ago|reply
My website exists to sell product. My job is to improve traffic and conversion. Anyone who isn't going to directly contribute to that effort is at best deadweight, at worst pulling in the wrong direction.
I'll give a potential hire the benefit of the doubt based on their website, but if we exchange more than two e-mails and he isn't talking about traffic and conversion, he isn't getting hired.
I'd require very little persuading to hire OP, based purely on him referencing Drayton Bird. The converse is also true - I wouldn't consider ever hiring someone who can't quote chapter and verse on Commonsense Direct Marketing.
[+] [-] mkr-hn|14 years ago|reply
Do you believe someone can't be a competent marketer without having read that specific book?
[+] [-] doctoboggan|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] michaelpinto|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] peteforde|14 years ago|reply
Look at a site like Vimeo and tell me that beauty and passion aren't critical aspects of this design. Then head on over to AirBnB or Kickstarter or Etsy and tell me that they didn't put a huge amount of design thinking into making a clean, modern site that makes the visitor feel like they are making a difference by participating in a consumer revolution.
Good design extends far beyond logos and colour swatches. To have good design means that you've thought through every interaction path so that you can manipulate how your visitor feels when they use your site or product. You need to connect with their limbic brains first, and only then are you in the best position to really understand how to maximize their ROI.
TL:DR; this is bad advice. Don't hire a designer that only cares about “business objectives”, “return on investment (ROI)”, “your revenue goals”, “lead generation”, “increase sales" because chances are they are also busy with real estate and network marketing. The author knows who not to hire, not who to hire.
[+] [-] AJ007|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] utunga|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] treo|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] phillco|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] trafnar|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] talmand|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] feverishaaron|14 years ago|reply
If the conversation flows in the opposite direction, you have a problem.
[+] [-] redguava|14 years ago|reply
It's not like you hand everything over to a designer and say "achieve my business goals", it's a collaborative process where you make sure your business goals are met.
[+] [-] rednum|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] mikeg8|14 years ago|reply
I think this statement is almost backwards. The reason "designers" use buzzwords is because it gets small business owners on board with them. Advertising your design services in a cookie cutter, predictable way is OK if you have the portfolio, skills, and actual marketing knowledge to provide business value. I don't care how great your copy or copywriter is, the text and UI has to be seamlessly integrated into the experience so there is NO distraction and the message can be properly conveyed. This takes an artist...
Bottom line- this guys is missing it
[+] [-] nlh|14 years ago|reply
I think this guy is just wrong. A designer's job is to design. It's not his/her job to use buzzwords like "business objective" or "ROI" - it's his job to create a functional, relevant and aesthetically-pleasing website. And, frankly, I think words like 'clean' and 'modern' are GOOD.
As a web consumer, I know I think higher of companies with clean, functional, modern websites. It means they have a clue.
[+] [-] JohnLBevan|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] mannicken|14 years ago|reply
What this means to business-people/developers: you can have all the functionality and low prices in the world, but if no one can get what they want in time, it's all useless. There are no sales if the user can't get to the "Sell" button. There are no ad views if the content is hidden somewhere in .html files or is unreadable.
[+] [-] bluekeybox|14 years ago|reply
Actually art is not really about beauty. Serious art is a lot like business, but with one important difference: art is about attracting a very select, discerning audience (while ignoring or even actively repelling the non-discerning audience). The way art works is that this very select, discerning audience will be willing to pay money to establish that very fact. In other words, art is about extracting money in exchange for exclusivity. Most businesses, of course, work in an entirely different mode: they extract money in exchange for service.
[+] [-] adamjohn|14 years ago|reply
As a professional entrepreneur running my own company my career began with freelancing and instructing in web/print design. I won't claim to speak on my years of experience at that time of specific "business" knowledge as the author mentions (ROI, revenue goals, etc), nonetheless I never felt it appropriate to market my business skills on my design resumes and portfolios. While I agree wholeheartedly with the importance of understanding business models and revenue goals, I also feel it's not in the web designer's best interest to include these skills on a design portfolio.
All in all - it should be apparent that just because a web designer includes "buzzwords" such as "clean" and "modern" it certainly doesn't mean they don't grasp concepts such as ROI or revenue goals.
[+] [-] PeterMcCanney|14 years ago|reply
These are qualities that any web designer worth their salt will have demonstrated in their portfolio. They will show, not tell, how good they are.
As for the rest of the article, I think it demonstrates the author's skill more as an online marketer rather than a graphic designer. He did get to the front page of HN after all.
[+] [-] talmand|14 years ago|reply
I don't know about his world but in mine the marketer worries over conversions and ROI and WORKS WITH the web designer to achieve those goals. Somewhere in there a copywriter is involved. In my office we refer to this as a "web team". Is this a new concept? Can I patent it?
[+] [-] hussong|14 years ago|reply
Some projects are purely design-driven, the site just needs to look great (say, for a fuzzy image campaign), and that's simply the job that the client needs to get done.
Other projects (and I like to believe the majority of launches) are clearly business driven and the site needs to accomplish specific goals to meet strategic objectives. In that case, OPs approach makes a lot of sense.
[+] [-] rickmb|14 years ago|reply
Everything else is human interaction, not browsing through a catalog.