How to choose a designer when you cannot see their process

A portfolio is a highlight reel, and that is fine

Everybody shows their best work, so a strong portfolio is a floor rather than a prediction. What it does tell you reliably is style and range, which is genuinely what you are choosing on.

What it cannot tell you is whether they reply, whether they deliver when they said, and whether feedback is a conversation or an argument.

Ratings only mean something with provenance

A rating from somebody who actually hired and paid the designer is evidence. A rating anybody could leave is noise, and on a small sample it is worse than none.

Look at how many people rated, not just the average. Five stars from one person tells you almost nothing.

• Check the number of ratings, not only the score
• Look for ratings tied to real projects
• Read what low ratings actually say

Read the low ratings properly

A single poor rating among many good ones usually says more about a mismatch than about competence. What matters is whether the same complaint appears repeatedly.

A designer with no low ratings at all and very few ratings overall is simply untested.

The enquiry is part of the assessment

How somebody responds to your brief is a preview of the project. Do they ask questions? Do they say what they would need? Do they decline things outside their range?

A designer who says no to the wrong job is more reliable than one who says yes to everything.

Match style before anything else

Most disappointing projects are not failures of skill; they are a client who wanted something the designer does not make. Choose somebody whose existing work already looks like what you want.

Both sides being rated changes behaviour

Where designers rate clients as well, briefs get clearer and payment gets faster, because being difficult has a cost. It is worth knowing that a designer can see how previous designers found you.

That is not a threat; it is why the good ones are available at all.

Your brief tells them as much as their portfolio tells you

The designers you most want are choosing too, and a vague brief with an impossible deadline reads exactly as it sounds. A clear one gets replies from better people.

This is not a formality. Availability is the scarce thing, and clarity is how you compete for it.

Look at what they have published, not only what they say

A designer selling commissions who also sells finished work has a public body of it you can judge. That is a stronger signal than any description, because it is the work rather than a claim about it.

If somebody has both, look at both. The published work shows range and consistency; the ratings show what they are like to hire.

How to start

Everything runs through one place. Artists sign in at the artist studio, upload work, choose which products each piece suits, and see what they have earned. Customers browse the artwork, pick a design, and choose what to put it on.

Nothing about it is exclusive. You can sell the same work elsewhere at the same time, and there is no listing fee and no minimum.

• Apply with three pieces so we can see how you work
• Choose which products each design belongs on
• Get paid by bank transfer on what sells

Common questions