Great designs don’t just appear out of thin air. You can’t wave a magic wand, stir in some Photoshop hocus pocus and voilà – a killer brochure or ad campaign appears. Yet sometimes that’s what designers are expected to do. Create something extraordinary out of nothing.
In this unsteady economy, there’s a need to work more efficiently, cut back costs and shorten turnaround time. Often, some very important steps in the design process are ignored, and we jump right to design production – skipping the thinking, the rationale, the big idea. Unfortunately, that can be a costly decision. You could end up with a design that looks great visually but doesn’t connect with your target audience. A piece that misses the mark with messaging and doesn’t evoke action. And your investment goes right down the drain.You wouldn’t go to a builder and say, “I’d like you to build my dream house. Here is the paint, the fabric and furniture. When I come back in a few weeks, I expect to be able to move in.” Sounds absurd, right? In reality, you have to first talk with the builder to choose a floor plan and structural details that meet your needs before you’d ever consider the cosmetic, finishing touches. The foundation, walls and roof of a house are essential. All of which needs to be in place before interior design can begin.
The same is true with graphic design. It needs a foundation, a plan, some structure. That all can be established by starting with a solid creative brief. Make sure the designer understands:
- the business and communications goals,
- reason to believe the messaging,
- who the target audience is,
- the tone and personality of the brand,
- the call to action, and
- success measurements.
These elements will help guide the design to be more effective and drive the results you are looking for. And – it’ll probably have more of that WOW factor that is sure to get your brand noticed in the marketplace. So before you start your next design project, Stop. Think. And then, Design.
2 Comments
Too late that I visit this blog now but very well said Chelsie. In times like today the pressure a designer takes is just more than meaningless. A client want a brand identity overnight, a brochure up and going under the sleeve of their prospective customer minutes before the breakfast. Due to the mounting pressure and lack of time these days, most people what they do not realize is the rationale behind that colour used, the font that are used, a shape that is used. There is no reason for a particular element for being there in a communication tool. I come across this similar situation. What according to you will be a great thought to overcome this time crunch?
Regards
George
I think the pressure that you feel and time crunch you’re under are common in the industry. What I find helpful is educating clients and colleagues on the design process… the actual steps that it takes to create great work… the better understanding they have when the next project comes in. Talk to them up front about the process, before design work begins. Let them know that there is time needed for ideation, layout and of course time needed for requested revisions. Using the creative brief helps as well. As you work together with the client to fill in the information, they start to see the thinking that goes into a design piece.