Actually, they have. Freelancing isn't everyone's cup of tea, and sure, when you can grab 100k+ for a project, you don't need to be listed on a website, but we have quite a few really stellar individuals.
A client-services model isn't a good fit for a startup, due to the iterative nature of a product in search of a business model. The entire article implies a waterfall approach where a designer goes into a cave, does some work and presents it for "review".
Instead, a good "startup designer" will be an empathetic generalist (UI/IA/Front-end) with good market sense. It's important that they're comfortable skipping a lot of "design process" and rapidly iterating with engineering (their "familiarity with flat design" notwithstanding).
Also, many great designers don't have portfolios. That's because they're busy doing real work. Ask to see real work.
Despite the linked article, if you're early stage you should go unicorn hunting. It's critical to hire from the A-list for the inaugural team.
By portfolio, I mean a fancy, well-manicured site that shows static mocks. I'd rather see a real product. Coincidentally, the two people I've given offers to in the past month were the only two we interviewed who didn't have portfolio sites.
If they are trained designers, they'll have portfolios with some amount of intermediate work, not just static websites, but maybe wireframes, graphic design output, storyboards, and so on.
"the best designers wouldn’t dare having anything less than a gorgeous site."
LOL!!
This is the type of advice you get when you have marketers writing articles about how to hire "top" designers.
Most of the successful guys I know are WAY too busy to worry about having a gorgeous website. Some of the best designers I know use a Tumblr blog. One busy friend of mine hasn't even bothered to change his default wordpress theme.
There are many amazing designers that get their work purely through word of mouth. Websites are only really useful if you need work.
This is great advice for finding a decorator — someone who slaps a coat of paint on a wireframe or draws a pretty logo.
Startups should hire a Product Designer. A generalist who can execute on product vision, interactions, and aesthetics. Someone who can hold the whole picture in their head and help mould it into something great.
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[ 2.8 ms ] story [ 31.7 ms ] threadDon't hate, appreciate.
A client-services model isn't a good fit for a startup, due to the iterative nature of a product in search of a business model. The entire article implies a waterfall approach where a designer goes into a cave, does some work and presents it for "review".
Instead, a good "startup designer" will be an empathetic generalist (UI/IA/Front-end) with good market sense. It's important that they're comfortable skipping a lot of "design process" and rapidly iterating with engineering (their "familiarity with flat design" notwithstanding).
Also, many great designers don't have portfolios. That's because they're busy doing real work. Ask to see real work.
Despite the linked article, if you're early stage you should go unicorn hunting. It's critical to hire from the A-list for the inaugural team.
A great designer will always have a portfolio...its essentially their CV. Asking to see real work is quite difficult if that work is proprietary.
LOL!!
This is the type of advice you get when you have marketers writing articles about how to hire "top" designers.
Most of the successful guys I know are WAY too busy to worry about having a gorgeous website. Some of the best designers I know use a Tumblr blog. One busy friend of mine hasn't even bothered to change his default wordpress theme.
There are many amazing designers that get their work purely through word of mouth. Websites are only really useful if you need work.
Startups should hire a Product Designer. A generalist who can execute on product vision, interactions, and aesthetics. Someone who can hold the whole picture in their head and help mould it into something great.