OLD POST I KNOW. I was asked about this the other day.
Firstly some of the best designers I have seen come from Malaysia and other countries.
I do agree that the market has become saturated with crap and I could rant on about IMO why that is but hey, life is short.
YOU CAN:
Visit various forums that have contest for design/banners.
Find the best of the bunch.
PM with your offer of what you are willing to pay.
Ask if they mind doing an initial run. "Most of us have heard, DO WELL AND I HAVE MORE FOR YOU..!" I delete those messages with a quickness.
So, we now have 6-10 designers we can use for various things..
Here's the deal.. Know your designers..!
Who does illustrations the best like mascotts, etc.
Who does web 2.0 logos best.
Who does whatever the best...!
Once you have the project in, since you know your designer so well, you know who to assign what to.
Plus your cost ratio. You sell logo for $150.00. Design cost at (2) designers x (6) concepts @ $25.00 per designer. $50.00 to make a hundred.. Blah, blah. Hopefully you have this thought out already.
ALSO IMPORTANT:
Get a project management system in place that you can track everything on. Don't deviate from this, learn it, use it, love it.
a. Receive job
b. Assign job
c. Track job
d. complete job.
DO NOT get caught in the vicious unorganized mess that is email.. Keep that crap in one place and you keep a good head of hair for years to come.
Hope some of that helps.
Regards,
Catfish.