If you have never worked with a Graphic designer before, the prospect can be a bit daunting, what with all their designer terms and technicalities. But it really isn’t something you should be scared about. Most designers don’t bite (unless you tell them to “make it pop”) and their job is to deliver a professional product based on your needs.
Here are some handy tips:
- The brief. The most important part of the creative process is developing a good brief. Some designers will ask you to fill out a form to create the brief, others will ask you specific questions and have you form most of the brief. Either way, you should explain what’s going on in your head, the best you can, graphic designers cannot read minds, so if you miss something in the brief, it will be missed in the design.
Take your time over the brief, it’s your baby. Really put some time and effort into your ideas, think about what your goals are with the design, your target audience, will the idea appeal to them?
If you are unsure as to what else should go into the brief, ask your designer.
- Trust your designer. The designer is now going to work on your ideas. But they are going to compromise. A balance between your ideas, what works, and what looks good needs to be achieved. A graphic designer knows what they are doing, they have studied and worked in the field for years. They know what works, and what looks good, so trust them. It’s like when you go to a restaurant, you get your food, but you don’t enter the kitchen to tell the chef how to cook it.
- Feedback. Now that the designer has worked on the ideas based on your brief, it’s time for you to provide feedback on said designs. This is as important as the brief. Be focused, don’t just tell your designer “I don’t like them” this does not help.
Focus on what you liked and disliked for each design, be specific, explain why you liked or disliked.
If you didn’t like the colors or fonts used, then you need to say which colors you would prefer, and which font, don’t think this is you designing the logo, it’s just very important that each bit of feedback is accurate, as this will lead the designer down a specific path for version 2.
- Don’t be surprised if you don’t like the designs. There are a million and one different ways of doing things, so if the 1st draft didn’t hit the nail on the head, you need to ask why. Maybe the designer didn’t read your brief, maybe the brief produced the results and you need to go back and think about a different direction. The good thing is, everything can be tweaked, fonts can change, colors can change, layout etc. But again, you need to be specific and explain what you want. If you didn’t like the designs, it’s almost certain you have an idea in your head of what you want it to look like, you need to explain what’s going on in there.
- Value the work. I know this sounds obvious, but sometimes people think graphic designing, isn’t a real job. If the project is taking longer than quoted for, you will be charged extra. Imagine you hire a painter and decorator, you ask them to paint your house blue, you then change your mind and expect them to repaint your house at no extra cost. It isn’t going to happen. This is why both the brief and feedback are very important.
So there you have it, a couple of tips to help the creative process run a little smoother. If you have any questions, please comment below, if you have any extra suggestions, same.