Who really gets you?
This is a tricky one and possibly the most difficult decision you will encounter during the process. You will discover a deluge of information, case studies, video endorsements and references all pointing to talented designers, reliable teams and a seemingly endless choice of partners. In our experience, by all means take a look at some finished work and meet previous clients. However, there is ultimately no substitute for a beauty parade process, where the various shortlisted design teams pitch their services against a basic test brief in direct competition with one another.
This provides the acid test to establish how well they understand your business, to see the quality of their work and to experience their adherence to tight deadlines. It is important to appoint your chosen designers with a keen eye on your contractual position and how the development process is going to run.
It is advisable to take expert advice at this point to decide the appropriate level of commitment. There will be a number of variables affecting this decision, such as timescales and the best methodology for driving through competitive costs further down the line.
Key points:
- Although it is advisable to select and work with a preferred design team early on, it is common practice to introduce another stage of competition later in the process to drive out value with regard to costs.
- Be aware that finding a single talented designer that brings inspiration and confidence to the project is the objective. They will need support from a reputable business, however, this is secondary at this stage of proceedings.
- Put the pitching teams under pressure by running a beauty parade process with fixed time deadlines to assess their response and creativity in testing conditions.
Red flags
Avoid falling for an elaborate sales and marketing story or a business as a whole. A successful design process is led by and largely influenced by the lead designer and the talent that they bring to the table.
