Tips for getting the most from working with your Graphic Designer in Dublin

Your company and its brand are the complete image and your visual point of contact with your clients and customers. It is extremely important that you get this right from the very start.

I am a Graphic Designer with extensive branding experience with a well rounded understanding of what works and what stands out in a design capacity.  I will assess your company and discuss its market position and ultimately get the visuals right for you to create the brand personality and communicate that to your customers.

If you haven’t worked with Graphic Designers before, you may not understand exactly the process that’s involved in dealing with us and ultimately what you should expect. You probably have ideas that you need to translate on to paper or a digital format and its our job to help you get there!

It’s a Graphic Designers role to listen to you and understand your requirements and to communicate those ideas so as to inform and inspire your customers.

What I do distinctively is logo design and translating that to brand, but also flyers, posters, books and magazine layouts, event graphics, advertising, infographic design, signage and all manner of marketing and promotional items. Below is an outline of how the design process works and how you can get the most from working with me or any Graphic Designer.

The Design Brief

When you meet your designer for the first time, it is important that you know and understand your goals for your project. If you know exactly what you want to achieve, then it is easier for you to communicate that to me.

You can do this verbally, or perhaps you have a simple sketched visual. Don’t be worried about doing this as so much can be explained by doing this. I’m a visual person and this can be a very simple tool that will kick start the design process.

You can also have some background information on your target market or what you would like the design piece to achieve. You can ask as many questions as you need as sometimes a spark of creativity will come from something you have said. This is also the time to explain any particular dislikes you have or any influences you may have seen that could clarify to your designer what you like and don’t like.

Research

Ask your designer what they might need for background information on your product or business. The more we both understand the business, the better it will be for the finished result.

Budget

Make sure that the budget is discussed and agreed before the job is done. I will always issue a quote based on our brief and any other discussions so I will never work on something unless I have the go ahead directly from you. There are no invoice surprises as we are always clear.

The Design Process

Once the brief has been delivered and we have had a conversation around this, I will work on some designs. I usually compile a series of designs and send these as pdfs via email. I usually give a few options and we can work together to get things tweaked and taken to the second design stage. This is the best time to take a look and digest the proofs and to come back with feedback and any comments. Keep any comments and suggestions coming and it is never to late to suggest something during the design process. Please know that I am a professional and you won’t be upsetting me if you don’t like something, so please tell me. Always ask questions, perhaps a font doesn’t work for you or you need to know how we arrived at a colour selection. All of these tips are great and generate great discussion.

Once we work through the process, I will send a Final Proof that I need go-head for delivery to print. You need to check through this meticulously for any missed mistakes.

Always Remember…

Your Graphic Designer is here to help you. I will always try listen to what you need and guide you. I can also advise in other areas where I have experience and will endeavour to save you time and money where I can.