When you are hiring a graphic designer, it is easy to get drawn in by the most impressive portfolios, the ones with flashy visuals and cool animations. You pick the one that catches your eye. But then you realize their style has nothing to do with your actual brand or your business goals. It is a tough lesson that a pretty picture is not the same as a powerful brand.
To make the right hire, you need to evaluate a portfolio for something deeper: strategic thinking. You are looking for a brand partner, not just an artist. At Truss, we help companies find these strategic creative professionals in the high-skill talent markets of Central Asia.
Look Beyond Aesthetics for a Brand Partner
Think of design as a business tool, not just decoration. A great graphic designer knows this. They do not just create attractive visuals. They use design to solve problems, communicate a message, and build a consistent brand experience that makes you different from your competitors. When you look at a portfolio, that is the real skill you should be looking for.
Read More: Why Your Next UI/UX Hire Needs Rapid Iteration Skills
What to Look For in a Designer’s Portfolio
To find a designer who can truly elevate your brand, you need to know what to look for. Here are three key things to evaluate beyond the surface-level appeal:
- Brand Consistency – Does the portfolio showcase projects where the designer built a complete brand system and applied it across many different items? Look for a cohesive feel between a logo, a website, and social media graphics. This proves they can create and maintain a strong, recognizable brand identity.
- Strategic Problem-Solving – A strong portfolio should provide context. The designer should be able to explain the why behind their work. What business problem was this design meant to solve? Who was the target audience? A designer who can answer these questions is a strategic thinker.
- Technical Fundamentals – Look past the “wow” factor and check the details. Is the text actually easy to read? Do your eyes naturally go to the most important information? That sense of order is called visual hierarchy. A true professional nails the fundamentals like typography and layout. That is how you know they can create work that is both beautiful and effective.
Find & Hire Full-Time Remote Graphic Designers
Why Strategic Designers Are Hard to Find
It is hard to find a designer who is both a great artist and a smart business partner. In the US and Western Europe, they are in high demand and very expensive to hire. It is a common and costly mistake for companies to hire based on a pretty portfolio, only to find the designer lacks the strategic skills they need.
Truss simplifies this process. As an Employer of Record (EOR) with deep experience in Central Asia, we have a specialized process for vetting creative talent. We look beyond the portfolio to find designers who have demonstrated their ability to think strategically and contribute to real business goals. We handle all the payroll, compliance, and HR, so you can focus on building your brand with a top-tier creative partner.
Ready to build a brand that gets noticed? Contact Truss today to learn how we can help you hire a world-class graphic designer.
