Like any other skilled trade or profession, time is money; and that money is yours – the client. Providing concise and complete information in your graphic design brief from the start can keep costs down and ensure your project goes off without any surprises or unexpected delays to save you time and money.

Things to consider and plan for

• What is the desired outcome of the project? Is it to provide information or create awareness; support the sales process, reinforce your brand, etc. Understanding what success looks like is the basic building block of any great design.
• Who is the audience or key stakeholders?
• Do you have a budget in mind? A good designer can make recommendations to get the best bang for your buck.
• Is this creative intended for print, web or both? Knowing this upfront will help your designer address accessibility needs and general formatting, saving you time and money in the long run
• Provide fully edited and complete copy when the project starts. The amount of content and the copy will determine how a piece is designed and laid out. While changes and edits always happen along the way, minor changes will not drastically affect the flow of content, however, significant changes can mean starting the design afresh.
• Your designer should provide you with two to three design ideas from which you can decide on a direction and a time-line for deliverables. Once chosen, the designer will apply the design to the piece(s) and “flow” in text. At this point, the bulk of the work will be done, so any significant changes to the text will affect the time-line and costs. It is important for clients to ensure the approval and sign-off processes are followed as closely as possible to avoid delays.
• Try to avoid scope-creep – i.e. planning for a postcard but changing the scope to include additional items, e.g. annual report, billboard, website, etc.

Have the conversation with your designer. Most will be happy to discuss options and provide solutions to help you achieve your goals at an affordable price.