Everyoneโs gotta somewhere, right? Here at Matcha Design, weโre aware of that, and weโre endlessly grateful to have gotten our start. That said, there are a lot of benefits to choosing experienced designers over newbies.
Pitfalls of โTrendy and Hipโ
Technology is always changing. Itโs important for all designers to keep learning, keep growing, and adapt to the changes in our world! But letโs not equate a growth mindset with youth.
There are plenty of older designersย who are still seeking the adventure of new information and young designers who are stuck in their ways.
Design customers tend to associate younger designers with being more trendy, hip, or cutting edge. The problem is that โtrendy and hipโ is a terrible design goal.
Many young designers fall into the trap of:
- Designing for aesthetics
- Making something that looks really cool
- Missing the mark with designs that donโt appeal to the end user
Young designers want to hear โWOW!โ when people see their designs – but great design is communicative, logical, and timeless.
Great design makes an impactย – or tells a story – to the audience it was intended for. It doesnโt appeal to everyone, and it doesnโt look like a fancy piece of artwork.
Another think to consider is time. How long does it take you to learn a new skill? To work with a piece of software youโre less than familiar with? The learning curve is huge! It takes toddlers months of falling on their butts before they can walk.
Weโre not saying that new designers are toddlers – but we are saying that weโve already fallen on our butts enough times to know how to walk.
What Are Your Project Goals?
Every project is different, so your project goals are important to consider. As we said before, the vision or goals of your project can get lost in the name of designing something cool instead of designing something thatโs relevant to the target audience.
Every project also requires different levels of expertise and therefore, different budgets. For most designers, creating a business card isnโt rocket science – but a comprehensive website redesignย might take some doing! โYou wouldnโt use a butcher knife to cut a piece of paper,โ Matcha Design founder Chris Lo says.
Is Experience Worth the Wait?
Some corporations are willing to wait months or years, just to have their favorite designer work on a project. Thatโs right – swanky restaurants arenโt the only places that have long wait lists!
What do you think – is experience worth the wait, or do they know something you donโt?
Weโre biased, but we totally think experience is worth the wait. Donโt worry – weโll tell you why in the next section!
Benefits of Hiring a Seasoned Designer
Here are some of the biggest benefits of hiring a seasoned designer:
- Impact. Designs from older or experienced designers are high-impact.
- ROI. Get a cheap design from a young designer, or get it done right the first time?
- Longevity. Trendy designs are just that – trendy. Yours should stand the test of time.
- Work ethic. Older generations tend to work harder than younger generations.
- Networks. Need a recommendation? We know someone. Younger designers havenโt developed their networks yet.
- Accessibility. Weโre thoughtful about what makes a website hard to read or navigate.
- Problem-solving. Seasoned designers had more time to develop problem-solving skills.
- Communication/listening. The older people get, the better they are at listening. Listening is an integral part of communication.
- Focus/staying on target. Experienced designers donโt let new trends distract them.
- UI. The user experience is the end goal for designers whoโve seen some stuff.
- A model of success. Older designers know what a successful project looks like.
- Dedicated and reliable. Decades-long designers have proved themselves.
- Organizational skills. With experience comes some of the not-so-fun aspects, like forgetting things. We build systems into place to keep things more organized.
- Management and mentoring skills. We want to pass our knowledge on to the next generation, and love finding passionate designers who remind us of our younger selves.
Work with an Experienced Designer
Did you know that Chris Lo, our founder, has been a designer since 1989? He worked his way up from a mail boy/junior artist in Hong Kong to become the highly sought-after award-winning designerย he is todayโฆ but it took a lot of learning, problem solving, and bumps in the road to get here.
Working with an experienced designer whoโs seen it all allows you to avoid costly mistakes and get your project done correctly the first time. Want to learn more? Book a call with usย today!
