Client Checklist

Preparation is key to successful management of any project, and design projects are no different. The more preparation that both client and designer do right at the start, the more smoothly the work will go.

I find checklists can be very useful, so I’ve prepared a checklist of things that clients should provide their designer at the outset. To follow this list will ensure the client and designer are dealing professionally as well as creating an efficient workflow.

A budget

Knowing the client’s budget allows the designer to establish what they will be able to realistically achieve for the money, and to perhaps suggest a range of options.

A complete list of the client’s design requirements

The client must make clear at the beginning just how much design work they will require, e.g. layout for a business card, letterhead and envelopes OR logo design plus web design plus email marketing template. Occasionally unexpected new design needs emerge for the client when a job is well underway, but any “extras” which are requested after work has commenced will involve more time and money, and should be bound by a new contract.

I once had a prospective client say “We don’t know yet how many layouts we want, so can you just give us a rough quote estimate in the meantime?” How can a designer quote on an unknown quantity or scale of work? That would be like asking an architect to quote for designing your house but not telling him how many rooms you want. It’s impossible.

A clear outline of why the design work is necessary and what the client expects to achieve

Whether it’s a print campaign, posters for a conference stall or a multimedia presentation, every design job involves a goal to be fulfilled. It’s good for the client to think through precisely what that goal is when preparing to meet with the designer. Equally, it’s important for the designer to ask questions about the client’s objectives, because the designer’s job is primarily about meeting the client’s needs.

An outline of who the target market or audience is for the design work

This is very important information which will guide a designer in all aspects of the work they do. An advertisement or poster aimed at teenage boys will look vastly different to one designed to catch the attention of their parents. Look at a well-designed promotional campaign and you will easily be able to tell who it has been designed for. A client who has a detailed understanding of their target market will get the design which best suits their needs.

A deadline

Even if the work isn’t urgent, a deadline is important for effective time management. Unless the scale of the design work is small, it may be useful for the client and the designer to negotiate a series of deadlines for stages of work.

High quality images

If the client has an existing logo to be used in the design work, it should be provided in vector format. The most common vector formats are Postscript (.eps) and Illustrator (.ai). A vector format allows the logo to be made bigger or smaller without losing image quality and clarity. A .jpg file is not a vector format and may not represent a client’s logo at its best, depending on its size.

Any photographs provided by the client should have a high resolution. The best resolution for photographs is 300dpi (dots per inch). I always recommend this to my clients even if the photographs will go on the web. Although the final photo will be published on the web at the lower resolution of 72dpi, I prefer a higher resolution to begin with. This enables me to better optimise any photographs (where necessary) and there is greater scope for resizing.

Images and text in their final form

Any text, photographs, illustrations or other material provided by the client should be given to the designer before work commences. It can be a drain on time and resources if a designer is left waiting for these things halfway through a project. All materials provided by the client should be in their final form with no future revisions necessary. Any changes which have to be made after the design work has been done will cost time and money.

Ownership info for third party images and text

When the client is providing images or text sourced from someone else, it’s crucial to also provide information on the legal permissions which have been obtained for the use of the material (if any are required). If attribution is required, the details should be provided to the designer before any work commences. This also applies for any other material (e.g. music or video) obtained from a third party.

Samples of previous design work (where applicable)

If a client has a seasonal marketing campaign, or their corporate identity needs to be revised, it will help to provide past design samples to the current designer. It’s useful to discuss what worked or didn’t work for the client last time, particularly in terms of customer/audience response or the direction which the client and/or their organisation wishes to take in future.

This may seem like an extensive list but all of the above can easily be covered during the first meeting to discuss the design brief.

Research for Designers

Proper research provides the basis for superior presentations and is a necessary part of branding and design process. The research process is made of these stages:

• Planning
• Source identification
• Assessment
• Note taking
• Making sense of the data

Planning. Good research requires planning, otherwise you might end up collecting a lot of irrelevant data. Brainstorm for five minutes, and jot down the questions you need answered. Refer to your list as you research to stay on track.

Source identification. With your questions in hand, consider what your sources may be. The internet should not be your only source. Consider primary research (data you collect) and secondary research (data other people have collected).

Assessment. As you research, assess the credibility of your sources. Does the newspaper or book have an agenda that would influence their point of view? Commercials promoting milk as a healthy product may be less persuasive when you consider the Dairy Farmers Association paid for the ads. Be critical of the research you review.

Note taking. Record information about your sources, so that you have the research and can find it again if necessary. Take notes of when and where you found the information (include all publication dates and information), relavant statistics, names, ideas, etcetra. Quotations, with the person’s name, title, and affiliations, where the person quoted is famous or would add credibility/validity to the research.

Make sense of the data. It’s nice that you’ve got all this research, but it’s of no use unless you must make meaningful sense of it. Compare the information to your original questions. Ask yourself:

• Have my original questions been answered?
• What new questions have cropped up in my research?
• What surprising information have I found?
• What significant themes and points run through my findings?
• How can I present my findings most effectively?

Research Sources

Libraries. Public libraries contain reference sections, with catalogs, indexes, and other references that anyone can access, and reference librarians can help you find what you’re looking for. If your local library doesn’t have the magazine, journal, or book you want, they may be able to transfer it from another branch, or access it online. College libraries also have reference sections, and keep trade journals and other references on hand. If you’re not a student, you should still be able to access them in person.

Bookstores and publishers. You may was to check web-based bookstores like Amazon, or college bookstores for industry-specific books and journals, if you are specializing in those industries. Check the publishing houses – they may have other relevant publications specific to that industry.

The internet. Of course, you know this. Here are a few resources you might not know about: www.adage.com; www.bigbook.com; www.marketingpower.com; www.allonesearch.com; www.inform.com

Got any more research sources? Let me know in the comments.

The Creative Brief – Essential to a Good Campaign

Behind every successful design is a good creative brief. With a creative brief, both client and designer (or photographer, or creative director, etc.) should understand the company’s background and the purpose of the project, and share expectations about the creative direction.

Although it may seem tedious, writing a clear brief ensures that the client has a united clear sense of purpose, and helps the designer achieve desired results sooner. Writing a good brief helps a marketing team agree on what they want from a project, and may help them realize that a different approach is required; a creative brief can reflect any weaknesses in a marketing strategy.

I have provided our brief template for download. Please use it for any projects you may be considering. (more…)

United Way Brochure Design

United Way of the Lower Mainland, a non-profit organization, required materials for their Seniors’ Issues Forum. I designed the look of the campaign, and created web banners, signs, posters, and a brochure that was distributed to all attendees, and sent out in information packages. The brochure is still being used today.

Highlights:

• Sections are color coded to match Table of Contents
• Generous use of imagery, graphics and white space 
• Printed on 80 lb matte stock, suitable to the rich colours
• Layout can be easily modified for future campaigns

Click image for full view in a new window.

Success By Six DVD Brochure Design

Success By Six, a non-profit community program, published a DVD and wanted a brochure to accompany the DVD. The design of the guide needed to match the DVD envelope, and be suitable for laser printing to reduce costs.

Click for full view.

New Desktop Wallpapers

We now have a page for free, high-quality desktop wallpapers.

Currently, available resolutions are only 1680 x 1050, so let us know what other screen resolution you prefer and we’ll make them available. Lots more will be available in the future. Enjoy!

BCIT Ad Campaign – Direct Mailer

BCIT’s appeal is that it offers many programs that can be completed part-time. It’s a good vocational school for people who can’t commit to a full-time program. When asked to design a new direct mail campaign, Steve Tan and I decided to pair an interesting visual with a clear, intriguing slogan.

Our headline ”You were not born to do this” skewers cliched taglines by other local schools and websites. BCIT offers practical training for job placement, rather than selling “dream job” visions, so our concept targets people who are seeking practical training to escape dead-end jobs. We were careful to highlight BCIT’s core feature: practical studies you can complete when it suits you.

Here’s the “paper shredder” postcard design:

Oreo Special Edition Box Design

Kraft didn’t ask me to do this, but I had this concept in my head and couldn’t sleep until I made a comp. I wanted a simple and recognizable design that uses elements from the iconic cookie as part of the packaging. Viewed from the side, the box has the same sandwiched colors the cookie made famous.

The front of the package contains the cookie’s motif in a varnish, further drawing the eye as shoppers as pass by the shelf.

BK United dodgeball team logo design

BK United, a dodgeball team competing in Las Vegas at the 2009 NDL Nationals, were looking for a new logo for their uniforms. BK originally stood for Boogie Knights, so I created a shield graphic and settled on a royal blue and gold colour scheme. A simpler version would adorn alternate golf shirts.

By using only a single color, I kept printing costs low and simplified any future colour scheme changes. The dodgeball-clutching griffon is my favourite part, since I’ll probably never have another chance at drawing one.

Photoshop Cage Match – April 2009

Although I use Photoshop on a regular basis, I don’t often have the chance to do whatever I want, showing off my skills. Fortunately, iStockPhoto hosts Photoshop “Cage Matches” where you battle another Photoshop veteran, using their previous design as the starting point for your own. Extra points are awarded for interesting transitions, and reusing elements from the previous round in new ways. There is a time limit of 36 hours between rounds.

Here was my entry from the third round, which uses over 50 layers and the same face and hand position from a photo in the second round. I ’shopped in a picture of a monk, three space photos, and created the lightsaber from scratch. The temple arches are from an old woodcut illustration, with added texture:

My opponent kept the arches and added a torrent of fire, plus a character jumping out of the building. Too cool him down, I plunged him into the sea in the fourth round. To add a sense of depth, I used several sea life photos at various sizes and blurred things accordingly, for the illusion of depth of field. Variations in lighting and saturation add to the effect.

Opponent replied by putting a portion of my design in an aquarium, in a museum scene. For my fifth and final round, I chose a more specific theme around feminism. Lincoln would get the head of a woman from the fourth round. To ensure the concept was not lost on anyone, I added some classic feminist posters and distressed them slightly to fit in with the scene. The added engraving is translated “where no man has gone before”.

Still awaiting my opponent’s reply and judging, but I enjoyed putting my Photoshop skills to the test.