As a recently retired professional, I decided to offer my services privately through a personal consultancy firm. Since I have the approximate artistic skills of a palsied sloth, I shouted out to social media for recommendations of a good graphic designer. Out of thirty responses or so, six or seven all said “Shane Dieter.” On a personal note, I had known Shane years ago in my professional capacity, which did not in itself commend him to me. However, I trusted the opinions of those who recommended him, so I gave him a call. It was one of the best calls I ever made.
My consultancy is a niche market and I had some very specific ideas of what I wanted to see. Within a week or so, Shane presented me with his design. It exceeded expectations in its layout and effect, and the logo he designed for me was better than anything I’d been dreaming up. Still, I had some problems with it, minor details in emphasis, shading, typography, and placement. Shane was incredibly patient and responsive to my needs and went through the revision process with me three or four times, until I was completely satisfied in every minute detail. Our working relationship was productive and to me extremely enjoyable. People as artistic as a palsied sloth enjoy a collaboration with an artist of Shane’s talent, because a borrowed talent is the only way they can make vision into reality.
Shane’s services are also invaluable from a business point of view, by which I mean you’ll get more than you’ll pay for. After the design work, Shane handled the printing, package, and delivery, as well as providing me electronic images of the logo and typeface to integrate into a website. The price was competitive but the service so much better than I was offered elsewhere. Shane also offered help with website design and production which I declined, since I wanted to keep my start-up costs to the bare minimum, so Shane worked within my budget. Since website construction is also not within my particular areas of expertise, I am naturally considering hiring a designer when my cash flow allows it. If I decide to do so, I’ll call Shane. Why would I waste time calling somebody else?