I Got What I Paid For

One of my goals through this blog is to be transparent; I want aspiring creatives that are building brands to learn from my mistakes and save some time/money in the process. So brew some tea and get ready to hear about some mistakes.

This blog post has been converted to a video format and both cover similar content. Want to hear some catchy music while watching me talk about my experience? Check out the video below. Want to take your time or check out the graphic designs in more detail? Stick to the blog and check out the video later (I’ve got a couple of featured guests that you won’t want to miss)!

Here we go!

When putting together the blog post for "Hustling in Portland” I had the seemingly splendid idea of having an infographic created to make the content more sharable on social media; plus I'm just a visual person in general. After a few Google searches, I found myself on Fiverr. For those that are unaware, Fiverr is a site that connects creatives with clients that need creative services (me in this instance). Their services include but aren’t limited to voice over, video, and of course graphic design. It was only going to cost me $32 for a 24-hour turnaround time with unlimited revisions! I was ecstatic by how affordable the graphic was going to be. I provided A LOT of direction in my original submission request and the first deliverable (shown below) was bulky and really difficult to visually digest.

First Deliverable

I told myself that the initial attempt was fine and that the graphic artist offered free revisions, so I’d provide some feedback for a new and improved version. I compiled a list of ideas and provided the designer with more direction.

They got me an update in the next 12 hours - they weren’t kidding about quick turnarounds! The infographic was better overall but I was still underwhelmed, the graphic was still fairly difficult to digest (pictured below).

At this point, my graphic design knowledge is at its limit. I know that I don't like the design but I can't quantify precisely why and I definitely can’t provide much more helpful feedback for how to improve it.

Second Deliverable:

My favorite part is that I requested a location marker for Portland on the map and the star isn’t even close to representing Portland. I felt like this pretty much summed up the quality of the work that I was getting.

*ENTER MORGAN GARDUNO*

Morgan is an amazing creative and is a graphic designer at a massive international agency. She’s the one that created all of my branding guidelines/logo! Check out her epic portfolio here! I reached out and told her everything. She immediately had some stellar ideas for how to make the piece better and she truly delivered. Check it out!

The piece is modern, it’s eye catching, and it’s much easier to follow along with.

PLUS, she knows that I use Instagram and she suggested repurposing the infographic into square images that walk you through a journey of information. I loved the idea!

You get what you pay for. I initially paid $32 for some super cheap Fiverr designer (that for the record had a 4.8 rating out of 5 and nearly 2,000 reviews) and it resulted in me spending a lot of time/energy attempting to fix everything. I should have simply hired a professional like Morgan in the first place. Doing so would have cost a bit more upfront but it would have saved me a lot of time and energy. To create both the infographic and the square graphics for my Instagram channel (@JKCvideo), Morgan charged me a modest $100.

Have an idea that you want to bring to life? Don't waste your time trying to do everything on the cheap. Hire a professional well suited for the task at hand. I'm honestly embarrassed to even share this story. I literally tell companies that a small budget for video will typically do more damage than good because the company simply won't get the results they desire. Save up your money and when you want to create strong content, hire the right professional for the job.