Design for start-ups

If you decide you want to use a professional designer or consultant, it is important to make the right choice and to include them in your project from the earliest stage.

How a designer can help you

A designer can offer you a range of useful skills and knowledge. For example, they can:

• be specialists in an area such as website design, marketing or product research
• be a consultant with an overview of your business sector or market
• maximise your team's potential to use good design - read about setting up a design team
• free your time to work on other aspects of your business
• provide an outsider's overview - you may be too close to see the best way forward

Finding the right designer

You can find designers from a variety of sources, including:

• word of mouth
• inspirational case studies - eg from the Design Council 
• help from a business adviser - find your local Enterprise Agency

Once you find and shortlist possible designers, ask them:

• for a summary of their credentials
• to explain briefly how they would approach your project

You may want to commission your preferred agencies to do some preliminary creative work for a fee. You can evaluate that before selecting your final agency.

When making your final choice, consider the designers':

• track record
• evidence of success in solving business problems
• personality and ethos - you need to develop a good working relationship with them

After you choose the design agency you want to commission, you need to work with them to write a design brief. The brief should cover your project's key objectives and your business' strategic goals. See how to write an effective design brief and find more tips to help you choose and work with a designer.