5 Tips for Getting The Most Out of Your Design Project

For the most part, design work is fun. There’s something gratifying in creating the tangible out of the intangible, in discovering the exact combination of color, form and texture that embodies a brand ethos. It’s a process that can and should be enjoyed by both designer and client. Sometimes, however, this journey can become arduous, whether due to miscommunication, a protracted editing process or indecision.

There are a few simple things you can do to ensure that the design process is as painless and efficient as possible (particularly key when working with a designer that charges by the hour). Here are 5 tips to ensure you get the most out of your design project:

1) Know what you want. Or, alternatively, what you don’t. The more information a designer has before starting a project, the better. Take the time to consider things like your target audience, the tone you want to establish, and any colors or imagery that you would like to include. Ideally your designer will have you fill out a creative brief, or there would be an introductory meeting to discuss this type of information. If you’re struggling to verbalize what you want, look into similar projects and send your designer examples that you admire or dislike.

2) Have your materials finalized. When engaging a designer to create, say, a brochure, make sure that your content is ready to go. It’s near pointless to engage someone to design a layout without content. Content plays a huge role in influencing the final design and starting the design process before finalizing content only ensures that the designer will become frustrated and that the process will drag out unnecessarily.

3) Provide ample time. It’s frequently underestimated how much time goes into crafting design work. A logo, though traditionally simplistic, is often the result of hours upon hours of work and consideration. The more time you provide, the less stressful the process and the more time left for finessing.

4) Aggregate your edits. When refining the final design, carefully consider what you’d like adjusted. Be thorough and send all desired changes together. While it’s expected that a design will see more than one round of edits, it’s time consuming and frustrating to receive endless single edits that could have been sent simultaneously. Synthesizing your team’s edits will ensure minimal time is wasted.

5) Trust your designer. While it’s a given that the most important opinion regarding a design project is the client’s, it’s also key to understand that you hired a professional for a reason. Consider what your designer has to say before dismissing it. Their commentary comes from a place of experience, not contrariness.