Sourcing good graphic and web design/developers?

[IndigoIdentity]

Hey All

I just wanted to ask, when it comes to sourcing reliable graphic and web designers / developers locally, are there any places that one should be looking for local talent?

Just made a post in the IT jobs section (shameless plug): http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthr...ind-FREELANCE-Graphic-Designer-Web-Developers

And was just thinking well, what would you do to find people if you were in my position? I assume that there are a few of you here?

When it comes to sourcing reliable graphic and web designers / developers locally, besides mybb, are there any places that one should be looking for local talent?

I've dealt with a design student in the past who have delivered some exceptional work, was surprising to me as the quality of work far exceeded that of some of the professional designers that I have dealt with in the past that charge a hefty fee. I gave him a good bonus on top of what he wanted and he was stoked but I mean, how to get in touch with people like that?

When it comes to developers specifically I mean... Am I barking up the wrong tree here by looking for freelancers, should I be outsourcing to a qualified company? I'll be dead honest in saying that I've not had the best of luck with freelance developers and the slack work that has been produced, has anyone had much luck outsourcing work to a third party developer in the past?

Any ideas or advice would be well appreciated, thanks in advance!

 

[rward]

you got pm.

 

[neo_]

Many of my colleagues have always looked for developers who's work pops out at them the most, specifically in terms of expertise relating to the project(s) on hand. Generally, it's quite easy to discard the ones wo do shoddy work from the list of potentials. (For example, discard the ones who work poorly with templates. In fact, discard the ones who work with templates at all.)

You're also generally better off with a freelancer, provided you find a good one. I find that work done by freelancers is more individualised (though, some firms fall into that category as well). Two of my regular clients came to me after working with firms, and both of them said that they didn't feel like they were part of the creative process - the firms felt like they had the upper hand in the decision making. Being involved is a crucial part of the project's success. That said, this obviously does not apply to all firms, obviously. This all boils down to knowing what you want, and knowing how to find the right firm/person for the job.

Side tip: If you have a project that needs backend and frontend work, don't settle for someone who claims to do both well. Many designers/developers claim to be able to do both, but a very tiny handful of them can do both well - this information is ommited from marketing materials. I state to potential clients that I am able to do both, but would be better in frontend, and would work with a partner to do backend.