How to Find Graphic Designers That Will Be a Perfect Match for Your Brand

1. Gauge their understanding of brand personality and brand guidelines

Start by asking how they approach working within a brand’s established look and feel.

Questions to ask:

• Can you share an example of how you worked with existing brand guidelines? How did you apply them across different projects?
• How do you approach projects where the brand doesn’t have formal guidelines but has an established style?

This helps you see if they respect boundaries while still bringing fresh ideas. The best designers aren’t just following rules—they know how to extend a brand’s visual identity into new formats while keeping everything cohesive.

Look for signs that they pay attention to tone, color palettes, typography, imagery, and the emotional response these elements create. A designer who talks about these aspects is more likely to understand how to reinforce your brand’s personality—not just “make something look good.”

2. Test their ability to interpret your brand

Even if you love their portfolio, it might not reflect your style. That’s why a test project is crucial—not to see if they’re talented (you already know that), but to see if they can adapt their style to fit your brand.

Tips for an effective test:

• Keep it small—one social media post, a newsletter header, or a slide design.
• Provide limited instructions, just like you would in real life: your brand guidelines (if you have them), the target audience, and the objective of the piece.
• Pay for the test. This sets the tone for mutual respect and gives you honest results.

During the review, don’t just focus on the output. Assess how they handled the process:

• Did they ask clarifying questions?
• Did they explain their design choices?
• Did they hit the timeline?

3. Evaluate communication and feedback loops

Design isn’t just about creativity—it’s about collaboration. Your designer needs to handle feedback well, clarify expectations, and be proactive in communication.

Here’s how to test that:

• Ask for an example of a time they received critical feedback. How did they handle it? What did they learn?
• Observe their communication style in your interactions. Do they confirm details? Summarize next steps? Offer suggestions?

A designer who can communicate clearly and ask the right questions will save you countless hours in revisions.

4. Check for flexibility—without losing consistency

According to a Forbes article, consistent brand presentation across all platforms can increase revenues by up to 23%.

Many designers often work across multiple formats—social media, presentations, websites, print. And early on, especially if you’re hiring your first graphic designer, it’s helpful to find someone who can handle a little bit of everything. Versatility means you’re covered whether you need a new slide deck or an Instagram post.

So you want someone who can adjust to different mediums while keeping your brand look cohesive and consistent.

Ask:

• Have you worked across different formats?
• How do you ensure brand consistency from, say, a web banner to a print brochure or some other design asset?

Great designers think in systems, not just individual pieces. They’ll talk about templates, reusable elements, and how to maintain visual cohesion as projects scale.

Side note: As your business grows and your design needs expand, you might eventually want to hire specialists—a designer focused solely on social media or a dedicated web designer. But when you’re starting out with a single hire, finding someone adaptable across different formats helps you cover more ground without stretching your budget.

5. Look for evidence of strategic thinking

Good design isn’t just about aesthetics—it’s about solving problems.

The right designer thinks beyond colors and layouts, focusing on how visuals support your goals. Whether it’s increasing engagement, guiding a user’s attention, or reinforcing a message, their work should serve a clear purpose.

To uncover this, ask:

• Can you share a time when you helped improve a project’s outcome through your design decisions?

• Tell me about a time when a client’s initial request wasn’t the best solution. How did you guide them toward a better result?

This helps you identify whether the designer will simply follow instructions or actively contribute ideas that elevate the final product.

A strategic thinker will be comfortable explaining why they made certain choices and how those decisions connect to broader business objectives.

Why hiring a full-time designer might be more accessible than you think

It’s likely you’ve been sticking with freelancers because hiring a full-time designer in the US feels out of reach. For many startups and mid-sized businesses, bringing on a dedicated designer seems like a luxury—something reserved for companies with big budgets and large creative teams.

But there’s an option that makes this possible. Looking outside the US to hire a full-time designer can open doors you didn’t realize were available. When you expand your search beyond local talent, hiring a dedicated designer becomes more affordable—and more practical.

By hiring offshore, specifically in Latin America, you can tap into a pool of experienced designers who work during US business hours. This isn’t offshoring to distant time zones where communication lags. This is nearshoring—building a remote team with professionals in countries like Mexico, Colombia, or Argentina, where time zones align and cultural overlap is strong.

The benefits:

• Cost savings of 30–70% compared to US-based designers, thanks to lower living costs in the region.
• Real-time collaboration—your designer is online when you are, so feedback and revisions happen fast.
• High-quality talent with strong English skills and experience working with US brands.

For many companies, this makes hiring a dedicated designer not only affordable but also a strategic move for brand consistency and growth. You get the stability of a long-term creative partner without the cost barriers that often come with US-based hires.

Finding freelancers

If freelance support makes the most sense for your current needs—whether that’s a few hours a week or project-based work—there are well-established platforms where you can connect with designers.

• Platforms: Upwork, Fiverr, 99designs, Behance, Dribbble, and many more
• Pros: Huge talent pool, project flexibility, access to specialists
• Cons: You’re responsible for vetting skills, reliability, and fit. It can take dozens of interviews to find “the one.”

We cover this option more in our article on the top platforms to hire graphic designers. 

These platforms are great for project-based work, but they’re not designed to help you find long-term creative partners. Most businesses looking for a designer who’ll grow with their brand need something more robust.

Hiring full-time designers

If you’ve decided that bringing on a dedicated designer is the right move for your business, there are different paths you can take.

You can manage the process yourself—writing the job description, posting to job boards, sourcing candidates, reviewing portfolios, conducting interviews, and handling negotiations. Platforms like LinkedIn and Indeed are common choices for this approach.

It gives you full control over the process, but it also means investing time into sourcing and screening to find candidates who meet both your creative needs and your expectations for collaboration.

Alternatively, you can work with a recruitment or staffing partner who takes on the sourcing and screening for you. This can save significant time, especially if you’re not sure where to look or how to evaluate design talent effectively.

A recruitment partner brings experience in matching businesses with designers who fit their style, workflow, and expectations—helping ensure a smoother hiring process.

If you’re considering hiring outside the US, a recruitment partner with expertise in international hiring can simplify things even further. From navigating local talent markets to handling compliance, contracts, and payment logistics, a specialist partner makes hiring across borders straightforward and hassle-free.

Whether you’re hiring a freelancer or building a dedicated design relationship, knowing where to source talent—and how to assess it effectively—is key to finding a designer who will truly fit your brand.