Tips for Creative Project Success
After working in the design industry for over 11 years, I have experienced many types of projects with a unique range of businesses. There is a lot to consider before moving forward with a professional designer and ensuring your creative project is a success. I created a guide to assist you in seeing things that aren’t always apparent prior to beginning a branding and website design project so you feel confident in your decision to move forward with your creative project regardless of whom you decide to work with. This blog serves as a general guide summary, which you can download at the bottom of this page.
Selecting a Designer
Every individual design professional runs their business very differently. It can be a challenge to find someone that will listen to your business needs while also ensuring the visual design is of high quality and fits your unique style. Before you begin your creative project, here are some things to look for when selecting your ideal design professional.
Experience & Background
Before hiring a designer, you should review any information about the designer and their background to fully understand their experience. Do they have a degree in design? What companies have they worked at? What were they responsible for? Are they more artistic and intuitive, or results-oriented and business-minded? What is their philosophy and approach to their work? Do you think it will fulfill your needs? It is important to learn if they possess the level of experience needed for the complexity of your project.
Aesthetic
Selecting a designer based on their aesthetic is one of the most important factors when hiring a design professional. You should dedicate a good amount of time upfront reviewing the designer’s online portfolio to see how they solve design problems and improve their client’s business and marketing objectives. The main question you should ask yourself is do you like their design work? If you don’t like what you see, I highly recommend you avoid reaching out, even if you like their philosophy and approach. You will be saving yourself time and money by figuring out what you truly want for your ideal creative project outcome prior to contacting a designer. Otherwise, the chances of reaching your creative project goals are very slim and may cost you double if you have to pay more than one designer to reach your desired outcome.
Pricing
Working in what is considered a highly subjective industry, pricing a creative project is actually a straightforward process. Pricing is typically based on the general state of the US economy, the going rate of creative services both nationally and locally, and the estimated time and resources it will take to ensure your creative project is a success. Additionally, a designer typically figures in their personal expertise based on the sum of their experience in the industry, as well as the perks they pass on to you. For example, I provide stock images from Death to Stock that are included in the project pricing, and I also cover the first year of hosting for your new Squarespace website. The benefits and cost savings of my memberships are passed down to you within the total price of the project. If you receive a proposal, make sure it is clear what is included in the scope of work and what goes into the pricing in addition to the scope of work.
Planning for Creative Project Success
In order to work with any creative professional successfully, it is good to approach your relationship as a professional partnership. The project outcome will not be successful if you don’t invest a certain amount of ownership and direction into the creative process. Allow the designer to be the guide, but don’t be a passive observer, as you’ll only hurt the process and overall project outcome.
Your Mindset
If you are of the mindset of “I’ll know it when I see it,” very few designers will be able to satisfy you. It is an admonition that you don’t want to be an active participant. If you can’t be bothered to make decisions about what you like and dislike and provide effective feedback, the project will be doomed from the start. Furthermore, if during the project you begin to lose faith that the designer will be able to provide what you want, first take a look at what your goals and preferences are and how you’ve been communicating them. Are you sure about what you’re looking for aesthetically? Do you need to do more research to be sure? Avoid blaming the designer for not creating what you want if you’re not sure yourself.
Feedback
The design process requires a handful of iterations, beginning with design presentations followed by your feedback, repeating until you’re happy with the design. This is the meat and potatoes of the creative process. Your feedback is integral to a positive project outcome and should be taken very seriously. Below you’ll find some tips and examples of how you should approach providing feedback to your designer.
- Commanding vs Collaborating: The designer is the expert during the creative process and you are there to provide the limitations of the project to ensure the final result fits your needs. As such, it is ideal to avoid giving your designer commands for specific design-related changes. Instead, ask questions and make requests to see how a change might look and if the designer even recommends it. We’ve been doing this for years so we may have some advice that positively impacts your branding and business overall.
- Provide More Detail: It is really difficult for a designer to reach a design that resonates with you if you provide simple feedback, such as “I don’t like it.” Instead, provide more detail about why you don’t like it. Are there specific colors or fonts throwing you off? What about the concept or styles don’t you like? What are some alternative styles you might like instead?
- Provide Examples: If you’re struggling to provide technical design feedback, that’s ok! It may be the overall tone of the artwork that isn’t sitting right. If that’s the case, try to find branding or website examples that you feel provide the correct visual and textual tone you’re striving to reach.
- Ideal Client Focus: It is good to remember that the designer’s main focus is on reaching your ideal clients and meeting their expectations. If you’re not sure why the designer made a choice, you can always ask their thought process as it relates to your target market and overall project goals.
Download Considerations for a Successful Creative Project
The full guide provides more in-depth information and examples of things to look for when hiring a designer, tips for a successful creative project and a detailed section on the creative project process if you work with D.Hill Design.
