Let the Creative Juices Flow by Jonathan Munk
Professional designers are trained to be creative and innovative. When a designer is coming up with logo or website, ideally, the process should be like brainstorming, where no ideas are put down. Sometimes a design will be outlandish and ridiculous, but in that process, incredible ideas can come out too.
It is best if a basic framework is provided for the designers to work within, and then designer is let loose to explore. The main elements of such a framework will be your timeline, budget and a few design ideas that give the designer a sense of the look and feel you are looking for. Make sure the designer knows exactly what the limitations of your framework are.
You may not like all the design ideas, but as long as the designers work within the framework you have provided, you should be able to find one you like. And sometimes the result is so good that your design will outshine the competition by leaps and bounds.