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Greetings from the How Design Conference in Austin. Design Girl and I decided to take a few days off and come down here to learn about what's going on in the design world. One of the presenters (Gridiron Software) shared this video in a session on how to thrive in the down economy. I just had to share. While it's very funny, it's also very true. Enjoy!
Showing posts with label design tips. Show all posts
Showing posts with label design tips. Show all posts
Friday, June 26, 2009
Monday, April 20, 2009
Great Resource for On-line Training
I treated myself to a year subscription of on-line at Lynda.com and it has been fabulous. There is a tutorial for anything I want to do. When I'm stuck, I just log on, find the training module that addresses what I want to do, listen for a few minutes, and I'm on my way. It's great!
Monday, April 13, 2009
Great Resource: Target Marketing
I get tons of e-newsletters, most of which I didn't ever ask for. I regularly read one of them: TM Tipline for Target Marketing Magazine. I always find something in it that I can use for my clients. It's a great little read.
Friday, April 3, 2009
Need Paper?
Do you find yourself looking for just a few sheets of great paper? It seems you have to buy single sheets or thousands...and that's not quite what you need.
Jam Paper is a great resource for those quantities somewhere in between.
Jam Paper is a great resource for those quantities somewhere in between.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Tip #5 to Help You Hire the Right Design Agency: Make a Schedule
I’m now going to share with you one of the most important things you need to know about working with graphic designers. They must have deadlines. Over the years, I have worked with many designers and every single one them can only produce on deadline.
If you have specific goals for your piece, then there is probably something specific you need it for, and that thing probably has a date on the calendar. Use that to determine a project schedule and stick to it. If something changes, let your designer know so they can adjust their schedules accordingly.
Remember that if you’re hiring an outside agency, you are probably not the only client they’re working with. Most designers we know have three to ten active projects at any given time. They will always work on the piece with the most immediate deadline.
A detailed project schedule will help ensure you get your piece done when you need it. It will also help you keep your internal colleagues in the loop and accountable for their reviews and sign offs. Overall, a project schedule is a valuable tool for all.
If you have specific goals for your piece, then there is probably something specific you need it for, and that thing probably has a date on the calendar. Use that to determine a project schedule and stick to it. If something changes, let your designer know so they can adjust their schedules accordingly.
Remember that if you’re hiring an outside agency, you are probably not the only client they’re working with. Most designers we know have three to ten active projects at any given time. They will always work on the piece with the most immediate deadline.
A detailed project schedule will help ensure you get your piece done when you need it. It will also help you keep your internal colleagues in the loop and accountable for their reviews and sign offs. Overall, a project schedule is a valuable tool for all.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Tip #4 to Help You Hire the Right Design Agency: Get a proposal
The project proposal is where you’re going to see the designer’s process—how many meetings will you have, how many design comps are they going to show you, how many revisions do you get? The project proposal (or the creative brief) is a great tool for making sure you and the designer are on the same page.
In our proposals, we outline the above as well as discuss the project schedule—both our deliverables and the clients’. We include the cost as well as any situation that would incur additional charges for the client. Finally, we list all of our terms regarding payment, ownership and rights, and so on. It’s a lot of information, but it ensures we start off with the same understanding of the project as our clients have. And, if something happens, we have a reference.
Often clients who haven’t worked with an outside agency before will have questions about the process and terms. This is great—it means they’ve read the proposal! Your agency will be happy to explain everything to you, so ask if you’re curious. You can also ask me by posting a comment on this blog.
In our proposals, we outline the above as well as discuss the project schedule—both our deliverables and the clients’. We include the cost as well as any situation that would incur additional charges for the client. Finally, we list all of our terms regarding payment, ownership and rights, and so on. It’s a lot of information, but it ensures we start off with the same understanding of the project as our clients have. And, if something happens, we have a reference.
Often clients who haven’t worked with an outside agency before will have questions about the process and terms. This is great—it means they’ve read the proposal! Your agency will be happy to explain everything to you, so ask if you’re curious. You can also ask me by posting a comment on this blog.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Tip #3 to Help You Hire the Right Design Agency: Review the portfolio
There are a lot of fantastic graphic designers out there, and many that aren’t very good. And to complicate things a little more, there are designers who do beautiful logo work and designers who can make any big publication look great. How do you know you’re getting the right designer for your job?
The easiest way to assess the designer’s ability to do what you need is to look at their portfolio. If you have a 100-page catalog with more than 300 products, someone who specializes in logos is not the right person for the job (and vice versa). While large design agencies can do everything, boutique agencies usually have an area where they excel and their portfolio will reflect this.
What should you look for when you’re reviewing the portfolio?
1. Make sure the samples are similar in scope to what you need. If you’re bidding out a suite of trade show collateral, you should see some postcards, catalog/registration brochures, and other things you might need.
2. Make sure you like the designer’s style. Independent of talent and skill, every designer has their own style. While they will give you a unique product, their portfolio will give you a feel for what to expect. If you love every sample you see, you’ll love what they do for you.
3. Look for creativity. How is the designer talking about the sample and that project? Did they come up with an interesting way to meet the goals of the project? Are you impressed with their process? If so, then you’ll most likely have a good working relationship.
The portfolio review is a great way to assess the fit with your designer, and its fun to see what your peers have done with their projects. So have a good time with this step…and don’t skip it!
The easiest way to assess the designer’s ability to do what you need is to look at their portfolio. If you have a 100-page catalog with more than 300 products, someone who specializes in logos is not the right person for the job (and vice versa). While large design agencies can do everything, boutique agencies usually have an area where they excel and their portfolio will reflect this.
What should you look for when you’re reviewing the portfolio?
1. Make sure the samples are similar in scope to what you need. If you’re bidding out a suite of trade show collateral, you should see some postcards, catalog/registration brochures, and other things you might need.
2. Make sure you like the designer’s style. Independent of talent and skill, every designer has their own style. While they will give you a unique product, their portfolio will give you a feel for what to expect. If you love every sample you see, you’ll love what they do for you.
3. Look for creativity. How is the designer talking about the sample and that project? Did they come up with an interesting way to meet the goals of the project? Are you impressed with their process? If so, then you’ll most likely have a good working relationship.
The portfolio review is a great way to assess the fit with your designer, and its fun to see what your peers have done with their projects. So have a good time with this step…and don’t skip it!
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Tip #2 to Help You Hire the Right Design Agency: Share Your Budget
“Share the budget, are you nuts?” Sure, most of my prospects don’t actually say that, but that’s what they’re thinking. There are two main reasons why my prospects are reluctant to share their project budget with me:
1. They don’t know what their budget is.
2. They think if they tell me, that’s what I’ll propose…even if we could do the work for less.
I understand the desire to hold budget numbers close to the vest, but I promise you, sharing your budget up front can make the whole design process go so much better. Why? Because if the designer knows what the project goals are and the budget allocated to meet those goals, they can help you think strategically about the best way to approach the project. Often there are ways to design a piece that reduces printing and mailing costs. Most often, we can meet budget requirements by slightly changing the format of the piece. But we can’t make those recommendations if we don’t know how much you can spend. Without accurate budget information, the agency will likely propose something at the high-budget end, meaning you may not be able to hire the agency you really want because their costs are too high when, in fact, they could probably have proposed something to meet your requirements.
Many times, people don’t know what the budget is because they have no idea what to expect in terms of pricing. Most designers will be happy to have a frank conversation with you about that, sharing general project costs on similar work. This will help set your expectations for what you’ll need to budget for the piece you want.
We like to compare project budgets to cars—do you want a Mercedes, a Honda, or a Hyundai? If you want a Mercedes, do you have the budget for one? Knowing the answer to that will help the designer give you a proposal that works for your project. And if they can’t do the work you need for the price you want to pay, you can establish that before they spend the time developing a proposal for you—and you spend the time reviewing proposals that don’t really address your needs.
1. They don’t know what their budget is.
2. They think if they tell me, that’s what I’ll propose…even if we could do the work for less.
I understand the desire to hold budget numbers close to the vest, but I promise you, sharing your budget up front can make the whole design process go so much better. Why? Because if the designer knows what the project goals are and the budget allocated to meet those goals, they can help you think strategically about the best way to approach the project. Often there are ways to design a piece that reduces printing and mailing costs. Most often, we can meet budget requirements by slightly changing the format of the piece. But we can’t make those recommendations if we don’t know how much you can spend. Without accurate budget information, the agency will likely propose something at the high-budget end, meaning you may not be able to hire the agency you really want because their costs are too high when, in fact, they could probably have proposed something to meet your requirements.
Many times, people don’t know what the budget is because they have no idea what to expect in terms of pricing. Most designers will be happy to have a frank conversation with you about that, sharing general project costs on similar work. This will help set your expectations for what you’ll need to budget for the piece you want.
We like to compare project budgets to cars—do you want a Mercedes, a Honda, or a Hyundai? If you want a Mercedes, do you have the budget for one? Knowing the answer to that will help the designer give you a proposal that works for your project. And if they can’t do the work you need for the price you want to pay, you can establish that before they spend the time developing a proposal for you—and you spend the time reviewing proposals that don’t really address your needs.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Tip #1 to Help You Hire the Right Design Agency: Know your goals
For your marketing efforts to be effective, you must know what you want to accomplish. That may sound obvious, but I estimate that only 25% of my clients can answer that question when I ask it.
The answer doesn’t have to be complicated, but you do need to know whether your goal is to get people to pick up the phone and call you, to get people to go to your web site to register for an event, or something else.
Each of these outcomes requires a different design approach, and may help you decide who you should hire for the job. Discuss them with the designer during the scoping meeting. You’ll get a feeling from the discussion about their ability to design a piece that will help you meet your goals.
Knowing what you want your marketing pieces to do, and including your design team in the strategic thinking about how to accomplish it, will lead to a better finished piece and a good working relationship with your designer.
The answer doesn’t have to be complicated, but you do need to know whether your goal is to get people to pick up the phone and call you, to get people to go to your web site to register for an event, or something else.
Each of these outcomes requires a different design approach, and may help you decide who you should hire for the job. Discuss them with the designer during the scoping meeting. You’ll get a feeling from the discussion about their ability to design a piece that will help you meet your goals.
Knowing what you want your marketing pieces to do, and including your design team in the strategic thinking about how to accomplish it, will lead to a better finished piece and a good working relationship with your designer.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
5 Tips to Help You Hire the Right Design Agency
My days are filled with meeting people and learning about what kind of marketing materials they need. The meetings are interesting and I learn a lot about their organizations and missions. Then I pull out our portfolio to tell my prospects about our services. At about the time I pull out the third sample, I often notice a look of pure terror on their faces.
At first this baffled me because, frankly, I don’t think I’m a particularly frightening person. Then I realized it’s not me, but rather the notion of hiring a design agency that has them quaking in their shoes. I don’t blame them. Paying for something when you aren’t really sure what you’re buying is scary.
Unless they’ve worked in a corporate communications department, many of our clients don’t know what exactly they are buying when they hire a designer. Or, I think more accurately, they don’t know what they should expect from working with the designer.
Relax. Hiring a designer is not really complicated or scary if you know what to look for. The following five tips are guidelines that will help you choose the design agency that is right for you.
1. Know what you want to accomplish with this project and share that goal with the designer.
2. Share your project budget.
3. Look at the agency’s portfolio to make sure they do the kind of work you need.
4. Get a detailed proposal that clearly states what the design costs include, and ask for clarification if there is anything you don’t understand.
5. Map out a schedule.
In the following weeks I’ll post with more detailed explanations of each of these five tips. Feel free to comment or call with questions if you can’t wait!
At first this baffled me because, frankly, I don’t think I’m a particularly frightening person. Then I realized it’s not me, but rather the notion of hiring a design agency that has them quaking in their shoes. I don’t blame them. Paying for something when you aren’t really sure what you’re buying is scary.
Unless they’ve worked in a corporate communications department, many of our clients don’t know what exactly they are buying when they hire a designer. Or, I think more accurately, they don’t know what they should expect from working with the designer.
Relax. Hiring a designer is not really complicated or scary if you know what to look for. The following five tips are guidelines that will help you choose the design agency that is right for you.
1. Know what you want to accomplish with this project and share that goal with the designer.
2. Share your project budget.
3. Look at the agency’s portfolio to make sure they do the kind of work you need.
4. Get a detailed proposal that clearly states what the design costs include, and ask for clarification if there is anything you don’t understand.
5. Map out a schedule.
In the following weeks I’ll post with more detailed explanations of each of these five tips. Feel free to comment or call with questions if you can’t wait!
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Design Tip: Collecting Print Bids
Jar Gon and Design Girl are on a quest to help the marketing community keep design projects on budget and on time. This month, the Terrific Twosome tackle printing costs. . .
Molly Marketer doesn't understand why the three print bids she diligently collected are so different. We suspect two factors at play: the printers specialize in different kinds of jobs and they specified different paper. The paper you choose and the press the job will run on are the two biggest factors in print pricing. Don't go to a printer who specializes in letterhead if you're printing an annual report.
Molly Marketer doesn't understand why the three print bids she diligently collected are so different. We suspect two factors at play: the printers specialize in different kinds of jobs and they specified different paper. The paper you choose and the press the job will run on are the two biggest factors in print pricing. Don't go to a printer who specializes in letterhead if you're printing an annual report.
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