Ask HN: How do you go about finding designers?

Through the plethora of projects that I work on, there always seems to be one general question that comes up: Where in the world will I find someone to make this look good?

Asking around, it appears that this is a pretty common problem. Does anyone have any tips on ways to get involved with the designer community or specific designers?

I put an ad for graphic designers on a local job board for a short term web design contract and got plenty of applicants. I also browsed istockphoto and directly contacted designers whose work I liked.

Hey, I'm a designer. hajrice@gmail.com I had a post on HN recently. Anyway, here's a few samples of what I've done last week.

http://imgur.com/KRbNx.jpg http://imgur.com/w8S4A.jpg http://imgur.com/DlHDb.jpg http://imgur.com/qfhbv.jpg http://imgur.com/KedPg.jpg

I've tried all sorts in the past from Elance to 99designs. The problem with both is the same - communicating the idea and lack of real buy-in. Elance was difficult because of the differences in timezone and language barriers. 99designs - well, I was quite enthused by the idea to begin with - I didn't really understand the concerns of the no-spec movement. After posting 2/3 projects there I can safely say I'll never use them again. The amount of effort you need to put in responding to a bunch of people who only half get what your trying to say (if you're lucky) and who don't really share your vision or have much invested in you and the working relationship is quite overwhelming. I'd advise against spec work for these reasons, and that the quality of the work is poor in comparison to designers who listen to your vision and buy in.

I feel quite fortunate as I've since managed to find a smallish (but growing) agency not to far from where I live that I couldn't be happier with. For the past couple of projects I've met them face-to-face where we've talked over goals and ideas while they presented options and suggestions. They're not afraid to call me out when I'm being too prescriptive but they make an effort to understand. What I like most of all is the working relationship, the communication and, above all, the quality of the finished product.

I found them by searching for designers within driving distance of where I live, digging through lots of portfolios trying to get a sense of whose work I enjoyed most and whether I thought I could afford it.

If you're having difficulty coming up with a shortlist http://sortfolio.com/ by the 37signals guys might be a good starting point; you can restrict agencies by geographic location and budget.