Grafia wants to help buyers of visual communication services. Good design helps customers achieve their business targets and make their communication processes more efficient. Thus, a successful choice of a designer is an important part of a company’s communication strategy and lifespan. The models presented here provide guidance on how to find a design partner. They take into account the buyer’s different timetabling and financial requirements. These recommendations use the word designer for an individual designer or a design agency and the word client for the buyer or commissioner of design services. Grafia hopes that these guidelines will help you find the best possible design partner for you!Different ways to buy design servicesDirect OrderThe most effortless way to start cooperation is to contact a designer directly and ask for a quotation and make a purchase order for the work. The client defines its own selection criteria. A designer’s work samples, a colleague’s recommendations, style, price level or interaction that works can together or on their own provide a sufficient basis for making a selection.In the public sector, possibilities are more limited. In most cases, the need for tendering arises if the costs of the commissioning exceed the level defined by the Public Procurement Act. However, even in this case, it is possible to place a direct order on “artistic grounds”. A contract must then be produced before the design and implementation process can be started.Comparing designersThere is an extensive network of designers in Finland. Exploring designers’ websites helps you get a better idea of the industry. Making comparisons requires effort: different players in the field can present themselves in very different ways to stand out. Discussions with communication professionals or flicking through the Vuoden Huiput Annuals representing the best Finnish graphic design and advertising can help you find the best designer for you.The designers’ earlier work tells a lot about their suitability for the job. Many designers are happy to send their work to facilitate the decision-making process. A work sample, such as a publication, may, however, be the only remaining copy and thus very valuable to the designer.When a suitable number of potential designers has been selected, it is a good idea to meet with each one separately. Simply considering whether you have time to meet up with 5 or 15 designers may help you limit the number. Based on these meetings, you can choose the designers who you will be asking to provide a cost estimate for the commission.Making cost estimates requires time and effort. To ensure that the designer can give a comparable estimate, you have to give an in-depth description of the design task.Public sector clients may have other demands as well, such as the result for the previous financial year and credit rating. In any case, it is important that the selection criteria and the focus of the criteria are clear. If the criteria are changed during of the process, all those involved in the cost estimation phase must be given the opportunity to respond to the revised request.Once you know the designers’ styles, your mutual interaction has been tested in your meetings and you have a good idea of the price level based on the cost estimates, it is easier to make the decision. When you have chosen your designer, you need to produce a contract before the design and implementation process can be started. It is considered good practice to give everyone who participated in the selection process a written report of the selection criteria.Design competitionsYou might choose to organise a design competition to find a designer. A well-organised competition serves the client whilst also giving a positive boost to the industry. Grafia recommends that the designer found through the competition is contracted to carry out the work.A competition tends to be more expensive and more time consuming to organise than a direct order. However, it can definitely be worth the cost; the competition may lead to an excellent solution and a design partnership that at best may turn into a lasting cooperation.Everyone participating in the competition must know who makes the final selection and based on what criteria. Clearly defined goals produce better proposals.The competition jury should include people with responsibility for the client’s decision making and communication. To ensure a high-quality result, the jury should also include an external designer of merit. Grafia can help the competition organiser to find the designer. The remuneration for the external jury member is approximately the same amount as is awarded to the winner of the third award.Even those participants that do not win the competition hold the copyright for their work. If the customer wants the copyright for a piece of work made for the competition, the matter has to be separately agreed.There are two different models for a competition: an invitation competition and an open design competition.Invitation competitionAs the name suggests, in an invitation competition, the organiser invites a few designers to produce a proposal for a creative solution. The competition organiser makes the decision on the design partner based on these proposals.When organising an invitation competition, the organiser should take into account the resources of the invited designers/design agencies in relation to the scope of the work involved. The methods described in sections I & II may be used to select those invited to the competition. It is a good idea to arrange a meeting with each participant to discuss the objectives and requirements of the competition. To ensure that the starting position is the same for everyone, all participants must be offered the same opportunities to meet the client.In an invitation competition, each participant must receive equal remuneration for the work produced. The remuneration is proportional to the task for which the designers are asked to provide a solution. Grafia is happy to help you define the prizes and remunerations. To avoid excessive costs for the client, it is advisable to commission a proposal from only around three, or at most five, designers. When you have chosen your designer, you need to produce a contract before the design and implementation process can be started.Open design competitionA design solution can also be sought by launching an open competition for the job on offer. Done well, this form of competition encourages new creative talent to participate. It is possible to limit the competition participants based on profession or education – or the competition can be open to everyone.Entry limits, the amount of the award and the composition of the jury all affect the participant numbers and the quality of the entries. Without genuine interaction between the designer and the client, the participant may end up focusing on form rather than on solutions that are strategically justified for the client. Therefore, in an open competition, it is important that the brief is thoroughly explained.There must be a cash prize in an open design competition. The amount of the prize is proportional to the work to be done. The first prize in a competition is usually the same amount as the second and third prizes combined (e.g. first prize 50%, second 35% and third 15%). When you have chosen your designer, you need to produce a contract before the design and implementation process can be started.Visual communication design procurement guideThe book Sitä saa mitä hankkii – Visuaalisen viestinnän hankintaopas published by Grafia is a guide to visual communication procurement and aims to promote the establishment of fair business practices in visual communication and to make tendering based on free design a thing of the past. The aim is to make design buyers more aware of the mechanisms of good design and, on the other hand, to make designers understand the buyer’s practices and needs. The book was written by Heikki Jokinen, illustrated by Anja Reponen and designed by Arja Karhumaa.You can order a printed version of the guide free of charge from Grafia: grafia@grafia.fi or download the electronic guide here.