How to work with a designer for the first time
Avoid the pitfalls designers often experience with clients who are working with a real graphic designer for the first time. Here are some helpful hints to get you started on the right foot:
Know your project
In design, this is called a “brief”. A designer is only as good as the information they’re provided. Here are some things to consider for your project:
Goals: What are you trying to achieve with this design? (e.g., increase sales, build brand awareness, inform customers).
Who’s your target audience: Who are you trying to reach? What are their demographics, preferences, and needs?
Project specifics: What are the “deliverables”? What’s your timeline and budget?
Existing brand guidelines: Provide logos, color palettes, fonts, and any other brand assets you have or want.
Key messages: What is the core message the design should convey?
If you forget to tell us something, if you get new ideas in the middle, or if you waffle back and forth, it will require more time, so the cost is going to go up because we’re working more. Save yourself some money and time by thinking ahead.
Show, don’t tell
Words like "calm," "clean," or "feminine" can mean different things to different people. Instead of using subjective terms, try using references to communicate your vision. Gather examples of logos, websites, or even art or photos that you like. Explain what you like about them: the typography/fonts, the color scheme, the overall mood, etc. This helps the designer understand your aesthetic preferences and the specific style you're aiming for, even if you don’t know how to talk about it. Talking about art can be really hard. A designer knows how to suss things out by seeing stuff and asking follow up questions.
A word about collections of things: Sometimes a group of images don’t have anything in common except that you like them.If you prefer one above the rest, let your designer know so they don’t go in the wrong direction. A good designer will take the collection into consideration, but favor your top choice and use their judgment.
Provide Constructive Feedback
When it's time to review drafts, don’t forget: positive feedback feels good for everyone. Don’t say “I hate it” casually. Your designer just spent time making ‘that’ for you. Designers are real people who stand by their work and value their job. They wouldn’t give you something they believed was mush. They’re used to making changes. They solve problems for a living.
Try to avoid vague comments. Instead, provide specific and actionable feedback if you can put it into words. Phrasing critique as problems to solve, rather than solutions, could be the missing link. For example, instead of saying, "Change the font," you could say, "The current font is difficult to read on my phone. Let’s explore options that have better legibility at smaller sizes."
Keep an open mind
While the process is collaborative, be open to the designer’s suggestions, you may be pleasantly surprised. Designers want you to love your product. If you get hung up on differing opinions, try asking them to explain their reasoning so you understand why they’re taking you in that direction. They can probably tell you exactly why they’re suggesting what they are.
Avoid Art Directing
An art director (AD) is the boss of a designer when there’s a company with a large scale operation, like a magazine. The AD tells a designer exactly what and how to make a design. We say this with love and without judgment, you are not an AD.
Try to allow your designer to use their expertise. They can guide your vision. You’ve hired them because you like the work they’ve done for others, as well as their creative skills and expertise.
A professional designer's job is not bringing what you had in your head to life. They know how to create a purposeful visual that achieves your business’s goals. They may suggest ideas you hadn't considered, and those ideas could be a better choice for your brand.
Establish Clear Expectations and Communication
Before your project begins, agree on the project details in writing. This includes:
Timelines, revisions, deadlines & the process
Number of revisions: Set expectations for how many rounds of revisions are included in the price. (Ours are on our website and in our contract).
Deliverables: Specify the file types and formats you may need (e.g., .PNG, .JPG, source files). Read more about this on our blog. Let us know if you intend to print your logo. Especially if you’ll ever need to print large scale.
Communication channels: Agree on how you will communicate (e.g., email, a project management tool) and consolidate all feedback in one place. This prevents information from getting lost.
When you’re working with us, here are our Guidelines:
Don’t text us photos or directions, they will get lost.
The best way to work on things together is via Gmail or your other email. Gmail is easier to get into Google Drive with. If you lose track of our emails, search your Inbox for “Minc Work”, with the quote marks, and you’ll find all of our threads. If you don’t know how to use technology very well, you can email things to us. We will add them to your Drive folder for you.
If you know my other emails, please don’t send things to those email addresses. Try to use design@mincwork.com for all design stuff.
Do your homework
Make sure you’re doing your tasks from the TO DO List located at the bottom of your Info Doc. Check in with me when you’ve completed things. We won’t know if you’ve uploaded a headshot into the Drive unless you tell us.
Don’t give up!
Sometimes there are bumps along the way. This is called The Artistic Process. We will get there. Try not to get overwhelmed in the middle. We know there is a lot at stake for you and your business, but this process necessitates a little flexibility. We don’t know exactly what we are making together. Until it’s made, we don’t know what it will be!
First, we throw some spaghetti at the wall and see what sticks. Then, you and I can sit back and think about what we see and make adjustments. That’s the normal flow of this process, believe it or not! Sometimes when you’re painting, you have to cover something up that you don’t like. If we don’t stick the landing like an Olympic gymnast on the first try, that’s really normal.
