It's Not Art Graphic Arts

Working Together

A lot of my clients have questions about what will be our workflow and the relationship we'll have. I've outlined a typical process here, but let me emphasize that I do not work 'typically." We're working on making your business more profitable; a heady task that isn't always fun-n-games, but I strive to make the process as painless as possible and still finish up with outstanding results.

My Charges

Like all service organizations my invoices are based on the time I invest in a project. I always provide a detailed proposal and estimate for approval before starting. I adhere to my estimates unless project specifications change. In these cases, all changes and re-evaluated estimates will need written approval.

Getting Comfy

The first thing I do after being assigned a project is schedule information-gathering meetings between any sub-contractor resources that may be needed and your key staff. I am interested not only in scheduling, budget and job specifications, but also in your preferences, target audience, and objectives. And, of course, I'll will want to know all the user features and benefits of the product.

Although this process is somewhat time-consuming (I promise to make it as fast and fun as possible), it is also crucially important. It will help you sharpen your focus and objectives, and it will help me ensure that what I produce is not only creatively excellent, but strategically targeted.

Finding The Answers

Despite popular misconceptions, good creative work doesn’t often come in a flash of inspiration; usually it comes from lots of trial and error. This is why I also need to take the time to consider several approaches (concepts), work them through, try them out. Then revise them. In addition, there are usually some practical and functional ends I need to tie up before submitting my ideas— sub-contractor availability, printing estimates, scheduling requirements, et cetera. All this, plus the need to schedule my workflow in a businesslike fashion, means that I normally ask for up to two weeks, depending on the job’s complexity, before I submit my rough approaches (concepts) for your review. Of course, if you have a rush project or deadline pressure I adjust my workflow and timing accordingly.

It is my experience that it is best if I first present my rough concepts to your project manager and just one or two others. This ensures that we all stay focused on the problem and are not distracted by too many personal opinions. We will review and I will ask for comments. The more objective and specific you can be, the better I will be able to respond. Comments are my input for revising the rough concepts into a finished one. Input from second review meeting further minor refinements are made as necessary.

Wrapping It Up

I recommend the finished work be routed to the appropriate decision makers for fact and detail checking only, reserving stylistic and subjective decisions to your project manager. To avoid costly confusion, it is also important that all communication with me come from the project manager. During the course of the project I will keep your project manager informed of project progress.

Activities that will affect the schedule or budget are identified in writing. My goal is to keep your project moving ahead quickly, smoothly, and cost-effectively; to make sure that we produce results that exceed your expectations.