Design Elements

I'm a designer and the two books I always recommend to non-designers and newbies are: Design Elements: A Graphic Style Manual ( http://www.amazon.com/Design-Elements-Graphic-Style-Manual/d... ) and The other is the complementary case studies book "Design Evolution" ( http://www.amazon.com/Design-Evolution-Handbook-Principles-C... ) Also Graphically Speaking is useful if you want to know how a particular style is constructed (artistic, corporate, vintage etc.)and you need to be able to effectively communicate with other designers or clients. ( http://www.amazon.com/Graphically-Speaking-Achieving-Designe... )

…r some good designers on one of the freelance sites.. there's no shortage of choice. If you decide to go it alone, or even if you don't, I recommend picking up the book "Design Elements" by Timothy Samara. It's the best, most concise, book on the general principles of design I have yet to find. It will give you a good overview and some talking points with any designers you hire. Good luck!