If you run your own business, chances are sooner or later you'll be working with a professional designer. Be it for a one-off project to get your logo sorted out, a longer term website rebrand, or an ongoing relationship for all your marketing material, ensuring you make the most of that relationship can only work in your favor.

Of course, successful business relationships are a two-way street, but there are a few things you can do to guarantee your designer will love you.

So if you're ready to become a gold star client, make sure to follow these five tips.

Give them direction

When creating a contest brief, make sure you explain what your requirements are as best you can. Given designers are highly visual creatures, adding examples of what you like, some doodles you've made, or even color swatches that appeal to you can be a great way to communicate your vision effectively.

Don't just focus on what your design should look like, consider and explain other factors - Who are you trying to appeal to? What are you trying to say? Who are you and what is important to you or your brand? Giving this type of information can really help your designer create something that will be both meaningful and effective.

Give them artistic freedom

This might sound contradictory to what we just told you about direction, but remember designers are creative spirits as well as experts in their field, so giving them too many constraints can seriously inhibit the quality of work you'll receive. Think about it like hiring an electrician – you'd tell them where you want your lights to work, but you wouldn't tell them how to fix the wiring, right?

Often enough, just talking about what you want your design to do, rather than what it should look like, will really help designers create extraordinary and unique concepts.

Only specify design elements that are absolutely essential to your vision.

Give them all the information you can

The first step to every successful design is plenty of research, and any good designer will want to spend some considerable time getting to know your company and your industry before putting pen to paper.

If you've already compiled a list of your key competitors, and better yet, made a list of what you do and don't like about their branding, your designer will seriously love you for it.

Be ready to answer any questions your designer may have. If you already have documents like a demographic breakdown or business mission statement handy, go ahead and pass them on before they even think about asking for it.

You never know what tidbit will inspire some great work, and the more background your designer has access to, the better placed they'll be to give you something relevant.

Remember - great design takes time

Make sure you are upfront about your expectations, and negotiate timelines in advance. Many designers can be frustrated by last-minute requests for changes or unreasonable deadlines which force them to cut corners.

To get the best work from your designer, make sure they have the time they need to do it.

If you're in a hurry, you can help expedite the process by supplying all the information you can upfront and making sure you are quick to answer any queries or give feedback on new drafts.

Every hour spent waiting for feedback could be another hour polishing their work.

Be honest but specific

Remember your designer wants to deliver a product you're truly thrilled with, so coddling them with disingenuous praise will get you both nowhere. If you don't like a design, say so, but be specific.

Outright dismissal is not only discouraging, it's also not helpful – the better you are able to communicate what isn't right, the easier it will be for your designer to fix the problem.

Even saying "it doesn't feel right" is better than "it's bad", but narrowing down if it's the shape, the color choice or the entire concept that bothers you will get you a lot closer to something that makes you happy.

Building a good rapport with your designer will inspire them to do the best they can to deliver an outstanding product.

Fostering the partnership can even be the basis of a long and happy business relationship that provides you with countless projects custom-made by someone who truly understands and cares about your brand. Trust us when we say that's worth going the extra mile for.

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Written by Divya Abe on Tuesday, December 1, 2015

Divya Abe is an expert graphic designer ready to share her knowledge with the crowd. Besides spending quality time on the internet she enjoys anything to do with cats. Get in touch via Google+.