What to expect when working with a graphic designer
So you're thinking about using a graphic designer to give your business a professional edge, but you're not sure what to expect. Whilst every design firm has slightly different procedures, all work to a logical process that is much the same from one studio to another.
Let's start with the initial consultation. The designer will sit down with you to discuss your requirements. They will ask about your business, the products and services you provide, the industry in which you work, your competitors and your target market. It is helpful if you can bring any of your existing marketing material, competitor's marketing material and samples of marketing material that you like, from any industry or profession. This helps to give the designer a clear idea of the people you are selling to, who you are up against and most importantly, who you are and what is special about the products or services you sell.
The designer will then ask for details of the proposed job, including the nature of the job (logo, business card, brochure, website, etc), the number of colours to be used in the job (single colour, spot colour, process colour), the stock or paper to be used, the number of copies to be produced and any other details relevant to the design and production. If you have not yet decided what form the piece will take, they will discuss your requirements with you and advise you of the most appropriate way to proceed. Be open with the designer about your budget. In this way they can plan to work within those limits.
To do this they may produce less concepts from which to choose, select a less expensive method of production or recommend an alternative printing process or paper stock. They may also discuss alternative options you may not have considered. If you intend to use a printing company unknown to the designer, give the designer the contact details for them now so that they can discuss printing specifications with them and plan to prepare the job around these.
Ask to see samples of the designer's work, preferably something similar to what you intend to produce. Check the quality of the work, and ask them to explain how they came up with the design. What were the specifications of the job? How do they work? What are their payment terms? Keep asking questions until you are satisfied that you have all the information you need.
After the initial consultation, at your request, the designer will provide you with a quote outlining all expected expenses. Be sure to read the fine print of the terms and conditions and if the designer doesn't call you when you within a week of receiving it, call them - and ask lots of questions. If you accept the quote, many designers will request a deposit and a signed agreement to proceed before commencing work on the project.
You will now need to provide the designer with any digital copies of your logo or livery, standards manuals for existing designs, all copy to be used in the piece and any images to be used.
Alternatively, you may request that the designer provide services such as logo recreation (if you only have a hard copy or a low quality digital copy of your logo), copywriting and image sourcing. If you require these services, be sure to tell the designer at your initial consultation so they can quote accordingly.
The first thing the designer will do once you start the project is to research your firm, your competitors and your target market. They will then produce a series of initial concept designs that are appropriate to both you and your target market as a starting point from which to work. From these, one base design will be chosen to be further developed and refined. Your input and feedback is essential to the design process. Consider each design carefully and discuss each concept with the designer in detail.
Once you have chosen your preferred design, the designer will prepare it for final production. Depending on the nature of the project, this may mean few changes from the original concept or significant additional work. For example, if you are producing a manuscript or booklet, the designer may have only given you one or two pages for each sample concept. At this point the design will be applied to the whole document and a complete layout produced. Once the layout and production has been completed, the designer will provide you with a copy for proofing. It is expected that any changes at this point will be minor and these are costed into the quote. Significant changes or changes beyond this point are classed as additional author's corrections and are usually charged by the hour in addition to quoted items.
If the work is purely digital and there are no printing requirements you will now be given digital copies of the job (usually on CD) and an invoice. If the project is to be printed, final colour proofs are now produced and must be carefully checked by the client before signing-off for final printing. Some smaller design studios request a further progress payment to offset the cost of printing.
If the designer is managing the printing process for you, they will now contact the printer for information on submitting the artwork for printing. They will advise the printer of all specifications for the job including colours, stock and quantity and will ensure all relevant pieces of the job are delivered to the printer in a format that is workable to them.
Once the job is complete, the designer will check the print quality and take delivery of the final printed product. This will then be delivered to you or distributed to your choice of location and an invoice issued. Again, smaller design studios may ask for full and final payment before releasing artwork or printed material. Once the process is completed, talk to the designer about how you felt it worked for you. Give them some feedback on their customer service as well as their design and how they might be able to improve it. Tell them what was most important to you about the process and the outcome and talk to them about areas where they may be able to help your business further. Because if a designer has done their work right, you should see a significant increase in sales and an improvement in customer perception. Worthy returns for your investment.
© mirage design. You may reproduce this article as long as you include the following information including the link:
By Jane Long of mirage design. Please visit www.miragedesign.com.au for additional articles and resources on marketing and design for small business.
Let's start with the initial consultation. The designer will sit down with you to discuss your requirements. They will ask about your business, the products and services you provide, the industry in which you work, your competitors and your target market. It is helpful if you can bring any of your existing marketing material, competitor's marketing material and samples of marketing material that you like, from any industry or profession. This helps to give the designer a clear idea of the people you are selling to, who you are up against and most importantly, who you are and what is special about the products or services you sell.
The designer will then ask for details of the proposed job, including the nature of the job (logo, business card, brochure, website, etc), the number of colours to be used in the job (single colour, spot colour, process colour), the stock or paper to be used, the number of copies to be produced and any other details relevant to the design and production. If you have not yet decided what form the piece will take, they will discuss your requirements with you and advise you of the most appropriate way to proceed. Be open with the designer about your budget. In this way they can plan to work within those limits.To do this they may produce less concepts from which to choose, select a less expensive method of production or recommend an alternative printing process or paper stock. They may also discuss alternative options you may not have considered. If you intend to use a printing company unknown to the designer, give the designer the contact details for them now so that they can discuss printing specifications with them and plan to prepare the job around these.
Ask to see samples of the designer's work, preferably something similar to what you intend to produce. Check the quality of the work, and ask them to explain how they came up with the design. What were the specifications of the job? How do they work? What are their payment terms? Keep asking questions until you are satisfied that you have all the information you need.
After the initial consultation, at your request, the designer will provide you with a quote outlining all expected expenses. Be sure to read the fine print of the terms and conditions and if the designer doesn't call you when you within a week of receiving it, call them - and ask lots of questions. If you accept the quote, many designers will request a deposit and a signed agreement to proceed before commencing work on the project.
You will now need to provide the designer with any digital copies of your logo or livery, standards manuals for existing designs, all copy to be used in the piece and any images to be used. Alternatively, you may request that the designer provide services such as logo recreation (if you only have a hard copy or a low quality digital copy of your logo), copywriting and image sourcing. If you require these services, be sure to tell the designer at your initial consultation so they can quote accordingly.
The first thing the designer will do once you start the project is to research your firm, your competitors and your target market. They will then produce a series of initial concept designs that are appropriate to both you and your target market as a starting point from which to work. From these, one base design will be chosen to be further developed and refined. Your input and feedback is essential to the design process. Consider each design carefully and discuss each concept with the designer in detail.
Once you have chosen your preferred design, the designer will prepare it for final production. Depending on the nature of the project, this may mean few changes from the original concept or significant additional work. For example, if you are producing a manuscript or booklet, the designer may have only given you one or two pages for each sample concept. At this point the design will be applied to the whole document and a complete layout produced. Once the layout and production has been completed, the designer will provide you with a copy for proofing. It is expected that any changes at this point will be minor and these are costed into the quote. Significant changes or changes beyond this point are classed as additional author's corrections and are usually charged by the hour in addition to quoted items.
If the work is purely digital and there are no printing requirements you will now be given digital copies of the job (usually on CD) and an invoice. If the project is to be printed, final colour proofs are now produced and must be carefully checked by the client before signing-off for final printing. Some smaller design studios request a further progress payment to offset the cost of printing. If the designer is managing the printing process for you, they will now contact the printer for information on submitting the artwork for printing. They will advise the printer of all specifications for the job including colours, stock and quantity and will ensure all relevant pieces of the job are delivered to the printer in a format that is workable to them.
Once the job is complete, the designer will check the print quality and take delivery of the final printed product. This will then be delivered to you or distributed to your choice of location and an invoice issued. Again, smaller design studios may ask for full and final payment before releasing artwork or printed material. Once the process is completed, talk to the designer about how you felt it worked for you. Give them some feedback on their customer service as well as their design and how they might be able to improve it. Tell them what was most important to you about the process and the outcome and talk to them about areas where they may be able to help your business further. Because if a designer has done their work right, you should see a significant increase in sales and an improvement in customer perception. Worthy returns for your investment.
© mirage design. You may reproduce this article as long as you include the following information including the link:
By Jane Long of mirage design. Please visit www.miragedesign.com.au for additional articles and resources on marketing and design for small business.
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