When it comes to creating visually appealing and effective marketing materials, working with a graphic design agency can be a great way to get the job done properly.
Whether you are a small business owner or a large corporation, collaborating with a graphic design agency will help you create stunning marketing materials that will help you achieve your business goals.
In this blog post, we will discuss the key things to consider when working with a graphic designer - without using the phrase ‘make it pop!’
Contents
Goals & Expectations
Before you start working with a designer, it's important to have a clear understanding of your goals and expectations.
- What do you want the design to achieve?
- Who is your target audience?
- What kind of budget do you have?
This is also the perfect opportunity to look at the long-term vision for your design.
- Will this project be for one-off use (i.e. a specific promo) or will it be used regularly as part of your brand strategy (i.e. a brand identity or logo)
- Could this design be rolled out to other areas of the business? Considering scalability of the project at the outset saves time and budget down the line and ensures a cohesive approach.
Once you have a clear understanding of your goals, you can start to build your graphic design brief and communicate your needs with the agency’s designers.
Communication & Collaboration
Communication is key to working with a designer effectively, so be clear and concise when discussing your vision. Any good agency will have a briefing template to guide and allow you to articulate your goals.
Explain your expectations in detail and provide any relevant information that they may need, such as brand guidelines, tone of voice or messaging that has already been agreed.
If you have an idea in your head of what you would like it to look like, try attempt to show it to your designer.
It doesn’t have to be a masterpiece, but even a simple sketch can help them see what you have in mind.
This also allows the designer to provide feedback on your vision to manage expectations and collaborate with you to create the best possible outcome.
Be open to feedback, willing to compromise and respect the expertise of the designer’s judgment when it comes to aesthetic choices.
They may have some great ideas that you hadn’t thought of, or that you didn’t know was possible, so be willing to listen to their suggestions and open to change.
Feedback
Once the designer has created some initial concepts, the next stage is giving feedback.
This should be done promptly to keep the project moving.
If there are multiple people feeding into the feedback, ensure this is all collated and sent over as one round of amends.
This again keeps the project moving and prevents wasting the designer’s time with ‘small’ amends that may not be quick fixes.
Be specific about what you do and don't like and offer suggestions for improvement.
It is important to remember that the designer may not be able to incorporate all of your feedback, but they will be happy to work with you to achieve the best final product possible.
Conclusion
Working with a design agency can be a great way to create visually appealing and effective marketing materials, from traditional printed assets to digital graphics for web and social media.
Appreciating the hard work and skills of your designer can foster an effective working relationship and by following these tips, you can ensure that you get the most from your graphic design agency.
If you're looking for a designer to help you with your next project, contact the tigerbond team where our dedicated designers will work with you to create visual magic.