When searching for app designers, limiting yourself is the worst you can do. There is such ease right now in finding the best talents around the world. The pandemic drove working from home at the forefront. Businesses hire remote workers as they move their operations online and utilize distributed teams. This way, they can get any designer from any part of the world, even at lesser onboarding costs.
So, geographical limitations aside, how do you find a good designer? What must you look for in a designer to take into your company?
Table of Contents
3 Things to Consider When Hiring an App Designer
Define Your Business Needs
Before you start looking for app designers, you need to determine what specific business challenge hiring an app designer solves.
Do you want to train your designers, or do you want experienced professionals through an outsourcing firm? Some businesses prefer to hire app designers already experienced, so they do not have to spend time and many training costs.
On the other hand, some businesses prefer fresh, young talents who may not be as good or experienced, but highly trainable. Employers see more chance of nurturing loyalty and the company’s values among younger, lesser-experienced designers, given that other conditions in your company are also favorable.
In-house app designers also help streamline your business processes. In-house employees have a deeper understanding of the product, business, and corporate culture.
However, you will have to pay your in-house team whether they have tasks or not. You may also have to provide benefits like paid holidays and sick leaves, medical coverage, and the like.
Determine Your App Designer’s Location
Location is a critical factor to consider before hiring your app designer. Yes, you could employ any talent from anywhere in the world, but would you need your app designer to report to the office every once in a while? Then you would have to hire work from home designers within your locality or region.
The most significant advantage of recruiting a local person is that you don’t have to think about cultural differences, language gaps, or different time zones. You speak the same language, and all that matters is that you can find common ground with that person.
On the other hand, if there are more than 12 million app developers globally, why restrict yourself? North America accounts for more than half of the world’s IT specialists, while the U.S. has the largest developers.
However, according to Appfutura.com, the top three countries in which you can find the best app developers are China, Russia, and Poland. Quora responses also show that you’ll find great app designers from India, Ukraine, and the Czech Republic.
If you are not particular about seeing your app developer or designer in person, please choose app designers outside your region. Some companies sponsor their remote workers a trip to the base office once a year or so or send a representative to the country where most remote workers can convene.
Since the pandemic, global travel has been significantly limited. You can still connect with your team through video conferencing and productivity tools, which effectively brings teams together and up to date with tasks and goals.
Do not settle for the first developer you find. Explore your choices before settling on one.
Make a List of Potential Hirees and Analyze Them
After you’ve found various app designers it is time to scrutinize your list of candidates. This list may vary depending on your business objectives and the type of project you are working on.
Here are some of the most critical questions that will help you find trustworthy and talented app designers.
- What do past clients say about them and their work?
Applicants have probably researched as much as they can about you and your company before applying. You need to do your research as well. Require on their resumes a list of B2B or B2C companiesthey have worked with in the past.
Also ask for a copy or link of any feedback, comprehensive reviews, or ratings they have from other companies.
You can also ask for testimonials from customers of the app or apps they are responsible for. You will also see here if an app designer is open and trustworthy if they are willing to share this information with you freely. It means they are proud of their work and have done a good job in those past projects.
- What is their field of expertise?
To help you narrow your choices into the most suitable applicants, check what market or niche does the app designer usually work on. If their expertise matches your market and the nature of your app, then you will be assured whoever you hire will know the pulse of that market, what design styles work, and what is the best UI/UX design that boosts leads and conversions.
- What digital tools and technologies is the app designer using?
It is important to hire an app designer who knows the tools of the trade. For instance, if your app is heavily-reliant on AI (artificial intelligence) technologies and tools, it is best to hire a designer with experience and expertise on AI technology.
If your app will be using cloud-based solutions and storage, then your app designer must be well-versed on how the app must be constructed to avoid glitches, breaches, and hacking.
You also need to hire app designers that have knowledge with your backend and frontend tools so there will be little to no learning curve.
During the application process, provide programming tasks so you can best gauge their level and speed of expertise, and see the actual methods they use for every project.
- Will the app designer plagiarise your app’s concept?
In the IT industry, plagiarism and infringement is one of the top security concerns. Intellectual Property (IP) is of foremost importance. It is where hiring a legitimate IT company with its pool of app designers and developers is better than hiring freelancers.
Hiring an IT company, complete with signed contracts and all, eliminates or at least minimizes the risk of copyright infringement.
The risk may still be present, like remote teams stealing ideas, code, customers, and the like, so be cautious every step of the way. Whether you hire an IT team or hire a freelance designer, better ask them to sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) before sharing specifics of your app and your marketing ideas.
- Determine the SDLC (Software Development Life Cycle)
A good company should have a specified SDLC adapting to the needs of its clients, ensuring continuity and consistency throughout the app development process.
Besides a well-structured SDLC, reputable app development teams use project management systems and strategies to optimize the development process.
The most common methodologies and frameworks are Agile, Scrum, and Waterfall. The right framework determines how quickly the team will react to changes while delivering apps on time.
- How will accountability be observed?
Communication is key to accountability. How will you interact with your app designers to check on intermediate results? A good app designer or app designer team can provide a kick-off meeting, calls upon request, demonstrations, and reports.
Most teams use project management tools like Jira so everyone in the team can see the progress of the project. If an app design agency only lets you access the manager, it shows they are not trusting and open to you as a client.
To ensure that you can get your ideas and opinions directly to the design team, ask for demonstrations where you and your team, as well as the app designers team are all present. It is just much more efficient and accurate to do it this way than always having to deal with a manager/mediator.
Conclusion: Compatibility is Key
Finding an app developer is a major task. But as long as you thoroughly vet your candidates and organize your search, it should be fairly straightforward.
A good app designer is not just about skill or experience, but also about trustworthiness and accountability. You also need to consider how compatible an app designer or app designer team is to your company. Sometimes, you will find that even the best app designers are not the best fit for your company, your team, and your brand.
So before you pick who is the best candidate, conduct interviews, more than one if possible, and even some more during the on-boarding process. You ensure a smoother working relationship with your app designer if you show your best foot forward from beginning to end.
AUTHOR BIO
MAYLEEN MEÑEZ
Mayleen Meñez worked for seven years in TV and Radio production, and also as a Graphic Artist/Editor. Finding her true passion, she devoted 15 years in NGO and community development work, where she experienced being a coordinator and teacher, travelling both in the Philippines and countries in Asia. She homeschools her three kids and reinvents Filipino dishes in her spare time. Writing has always been a hobby and pursuit, and she recently added content writing with Softvire Australia and Softvire New Zealand up her sleeve, while preparing for her next adventure in the nations.
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