Designing toys isn’t for everyone. Toy designers often need to bring imagination and child-like curiosity into a project. The most prolific toy design professionals have a penchant for designing toys that reverberate with personality. So, whether you need cute or whimsical toy designs, 3D modeling, plush toy design ideas, or a professional to add power and pizzazz into your old techniques, there are platforms that offer the right match for your project.
Here are our quick tips for choosing the best freelance toy designer hassle-free.
Express What You are Looking for As Clearly as Humanly Possible
One way to invite the best toy designers on the platform is to create a thorough brief. A good toy design brief will include details such as the following.
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Describe what you need help in, such as concepting, prototyping,t 3D character modeling, feasibility consulting, and patent drawings.
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The nature of toy designs you need, such as architectural, auto, dolls, or plush toys.
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Specify the techniques you want for your toy designs, such as stylized, 3D rendering, realistic, and scratched models.
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Include reference images—whether you’ve drawn them yourself or a child did.
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Specific the design rights you’d want to purchase from the freelancer.
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Have an estimated budget and expected turnaround time in advance.
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Describe the type of materials you plan to use.
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Talk about shapes, colors, and other customization options. Or let applicants know if they will be providing those details based on their experience.
Clarify what you need a top freelancer to help you accomplish from the beginning. Avoid creating a vague job description. It will only serve to attract people who don’t understand your requirements. And that’s a surefire way to kill time reviewing irrelevant applications.
Browse Top Freelance Toy Designers Profiles
Instead of posting a job description and waiting for applications, you can go straight to inviting select experts you feel are a good fit for your project.
To do that, browse the freelance toy designers’ category. You’ll see over 1,200 freelancers in your industry. The platforms will let you use filters to narrow down the number to just a handful of the most suitable professionals.
Some promising signs of an experienced toy designer include:
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A complete freelancer profile, including a clear photo, background image, detailed profile description, availability, toy design rate, and portfolio items.
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A rich portfolio of licensed products for previous clients. The items explore different concept executions.
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Proof of owning several toy design patents
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Positive client testimonials.
Taking your time to browse through a freelancer’s profile can help you see if they have the experience, creative flair, and business savvy you need in your project.
Invite a Freelancer Over for a Chat
You can invite a freelance toy designer to interview for your project.
You want to get a feel of how they work, what it’s like to work with them, and what other experiences they have that their profiles may have left out.
Ask them about their creative process, how they handle additional customizations, feedback, and deadlines. Seek to find out about their knowledge of the route to market in your specific toy niche.
Chat about patent laws. Ask the freelancer if they make physical address deliveries if you’d like to connect them with a toy manufacturer.
Oh, another thing.
Their response time to your invitation can help you realize if they are busy with other projects. If they are busy, that’s a good thing. But good freelancers reply to invites within 24 hours.
Also, the best designers communicate their schedule demands before accepting an invitation to work. That helps in avoiding delays.
See What Areas They Have the Most Experience
Some designers have truckloads of animation, cartoon, or print toy design projects.
Others know a thing or two about toy designs for VR and AR applications. Yet, others have extensive video game character design and development experience. And others are experts at baby product designs, including testing and certification requirements.
All these may take an hour of your time to talk about. But consider the time as an investment in finding the right fit for your design needs.
Not only will it help you build rapport and good-faith between you two, but it will also help you gauge if you are talking to the right professional, personality, and artist for your toy project. For instance, talking to them can help you know if they have a good idea of how children actually play.
Conclusion
Once you’ve narrowed down a list of the most-suitable freelance toy designers you’d love to work with, it is time to take the next step. Familiarize yourself with the WorkRoom, payment options, and other tools that make working with freelancers a breeze.
Then set up a work contract before your freelancer can get down to work. It will help you avoid any awkward scenarios that could lead to conflicts.
But not to worry. The freelancers are always verified to ensure you are getting the right mix of professionalism and talent. You can also talk to customer service if you have any questions, suggestions, or concerns you’d like addressed.
To your success!