Hiring a designer.
It’s so important to hire the right designer and it’s incredibly hard to do, especially if it’s your first time, because you don’t know what you don’t know. Hiring an architect and builder is equally important, if not more, and I’ll cover that in a later blogpost.
Hiring: Word of mouth, but still ask for references. Take the time to speak with previous clients and if you can, look at their work in-person. So much will be gleaned from being in a space that was built and designed by the person you’re considering hiring. But also, if you pickup on something negative that a reference says, believe them. In our case, we heard a theme from the references that the designer we were considering was very pushy, was unorganized, and not transparent in their budgets.We let this slide, thinking we could manage around it, but we were wrong.. and we hired wrong. If you hear something a theme, don’t ignore it! It will come back around and you’ll have to deal with it sooner or later.
Understand communication style. Make sure you’re clear on how the designer wants to be communicated with. Will they respond to your texts? Only email with a lag in response? Make sure it works with your style.
Dig into their process. Some designers will only present you with one option for everything their spec’ing, others will provide multiple options and really listen to your guidance. Some have their own agenda and push their vision onto you. This works great for some clients, but if you’re like me, you want more collaboration and optionality. Make sure you understand what type of a designer you’re working with: do they dictate or do they collaborate? Also make sure you understand the process for presentations and revisions.
Availability. Dig into how available the designer is. Will they show up and stick with you through all the tedious design work, like lighting walk throughs and cabinet shop drawings? Or do they have other projects and deadlines that they are prioritizing. Set expectations up front for the type of involvement you will need from them.
Billing. Everyone prices differently and being on the client side, I found it very hard not to feel taken advantage of. Make sure you understand their billing rates, the billing rates of their team-members, how invoices are detailed and put together, and how you should expect to be billed (and what their markup is) for any procurement.
Don’t be afraid to walk away. If it feels wrong, trust your gut. No matter how far into the process you are, you should feel free to make decisions that are best for you and the space you are building. It’s not too late, design is always salvageable and you should feel excited by the creativity. If something feels off with your designer, best to cut ties and find a new one.
