Graphic design is a respected career that plays a key role in many industries, supporting company branding efforts. Sure, a degree can certainly give a designer a solid foundation, but it’s not the only factor that qualifies them for a graphic design role.

Presently, graphic design is used everywhere. A graphic designer created the logo for your favourite clothing brand. Everything you want your brand to represent visually is a task that will be handled by a graphic designer. But what makes one designer exceptional from the rest, and what should you look for when hiring the perfect graphic designer for your business?

One must look beyond a creative designer’s degree and credentials to discover someone who is highly skilled. In order to determine whether they have what a company requires, it is necessary to dig deeper and identify talents that go beyond what is learned in a classroom. Finding someone who can think critically, react quickly, and push the boundaries of creativity is more important than simply having a good portfolio or being proficient with software.

In this article, we will explore the key  skills that make a graphic designer an excellent fit for a company, beyond school qualifications and a strong portfolio. 

Skills Every Good Designer Should Have

Communication

A designer who fails to communicate properly with their client is bound to struggle because miscommunication and misunderstandings will lead to poorly executed work.

One of the primary responsibilities of a graphic designer is to interpret and translate their client’s vision, brand, or message into a visually appealing piece of work. To effectively express ideas and visions, a designer must first learn to communicate clearly. This includes asking the right questions, listening closely, and explaining their design concepts.

Good communication helps designers understand what the client wants and makes it easier to create designs that align with the client’s vision, goals, and target audience. It also plays a key role in handling feedback and making adjustments, ensuring everyone is happy with the final design.

Collaboration

Designers often work with teams such as marketing, product, or sales to ensure their designs meet the project’s goals and the company’s needs.

By working together, designers receive valuable feedback and ideas that can improve the design and make it more effective and on-theme. This teamwork also keeps everyone aligned, ensuring the design fits into the bigger picture and supports the company’s overall strategy.

Collaboration makes the process smoother and helps create designs that connect better with the target audience. Without a collaborative mindset, it’s difficult for a designer to understand everyone’s needs or ensure their designs match the team’s goals. Working well with others helps produce designs that not only look good but also serve their purpose.

Creativity

Creativity is one of the most important skills a designer needs. It’s the foundation of graphic design. Creativity allows designers to come up with unique concepts or designs that meet the client’s needs. A creative mindset helps them explore different ideas and try new styles, pushing the boundaries of what’s possible.

In graphic design, creativity isn’t just about making things look good. It’s about telling a story or delivering a message that connects with people. Designers need to come up with creative ways to produce engaging, eye-catching visuals.

Ultimately, a designer’s creativity is what sets their work apart. A designer lacking creativity is in the wrong field.

Persistence

As a graphic designer, it’s important to understand that feedback will be constant, sometimes a lot of it. There will be times when designs get cut at the last minute or need more work than expected.

Persistence is key—continuing even when things don’t go as planned. It’s all part of the process, and persistence helps designers improve, adapt, and deliver great work despite challenges.

When hiring a graphic designer, persistence is a quality that should not be overlooked.

Passion and Drive

A career in graphic design typically starts with passion. However, that passion can fade if not nurtured, which is where drive comes in—staying motivated to keep learning and growing is just as important.

The work of a designer involves many responsibilities: meeting deadlines, handling feedback, and constantly generating fresh ideas. Without passion and drive, it’s hard to stay on top of these tasks and keep pushing to improve. Passion and drive help a designer stay focused, overcome challenges, and remain inspired.

Hiring someone without passion or drive can lead to issues with commitment and engagement.

Open-mindedness

Graphic design is a field that evolves with new trends every year. There’s always something new, and not keeping an open mind to these changes can be a big mistake. Sticking to what’s familiar limits growth and creativity.

Being open to pushing the boundaries of creativity, even when it’s challenging, helps designers discover new skills and perspectives.

Project Management

A good graphic designer should also have strong project management skills, which include organisation and time management.

It’s common for designers to work on multiple projects at once, each with its own deadlines and requirements. Poor time management and lack of organisation can be problematic.

That’s why, when hiring a designer, it’s important to look for someone with solid project management skills.

Conclusion

When hiring a graphic designer, all of the skills listed above should be on your checklist to ensure you get the best out of your designer.

But why stress yourself trying to assess all this when we’re here to help? At Arwana, we help companies hire the best talent in marketing, design and admin, while helping them save up to £20,000 in hiring costs. 

Just book a discovery call with us today to get started!