View http://waxman.me/the-secret-to-hiring-a-designer
This is nice advice for startups, and something I’d hope (y)our future clients take into consideration. Many times when you want creative work done but aren’t capable or willing to do it yourself, you’ve already got a bias about how you want it to look. You’re biased either by arbitrary personal preference, your competitors, or a weird combination of the two. The trouble is: no one identifies their bias, it’s just there. That bias makes the life of the designer you hire more difficult, so it’s important to talk with potential clients about their vision as early as possible so as to audit the potential project and see if it’s a good fit.
Money blinds people. It blinds clients because they want the best for the cheapest, and it blinds us because we see big dollar signs regardless of what the project actually involves. Try to not let that happen, and actively determine effective ways to evaluate your gut reactions.