Design Method
AGENCY LIFE. A GOOD BRIEF.
Being in the creative industry for over 20 years there is not a lot I haven’t seen. Much has changed in this time, the internet is all powerful, my mac is now contained in just a simple screen casing and i have a touch screen pad that seems to run my life! Do I sound old yet?
One thing that has stayed exactly the same in all that time though is a good brief – or a bad one.
As a designer, there is nothing worse than a bad brief. It can be the undoing of the best intensions and the easiest going clients
Think about it, you would not just leave a painter and decorator to do as they wish in your house with no direction or instructions of what colours to use or what wall paper goes where so why would you let a designer loose on your website, brochure, or branding?
No, I don’t know either!
Knowing simple things can make our job so much easier, such as images, whether you have any or need your design agency to source, the target audience, or in my opinion the most important detail – competitors. Your company needs to be different and stand out against the crowd, and we can only help do this if we understand the market and what competition our clients face.
A good brief can also put an end to any disagreements, such as ‘I thought the logo design was included… or’ I definitely said the 15th’ and help your project get delivered as you expected, and on time!
Pelling have created a simple brief sheet that helps structure your design project – We quite often fill this out on behalf of clients after meetings or telephone conversations so if they look a little daunting you need not worry!
This brief sheet can be downloaded here.
This, along with our unique design process allows us to work in such away that we can structure any project, big or small and maintain a consistent line of communication and drive any design or development project along.
Our design process is based around the 3 C’s – Concepts / Collaboration / Communication
Through collaboration, we create amazing design concepts and help you, our client, communicate these ideas effectively to ultimately sell your product or service.
Our design process covers 12 steps as outlined very colourfully below. From creating a brief with our client, quoting costs and timelines, through to concepts and ideas, execution, roll out and delivery.
Whilst there is nothing ground breakingly different here, it is how we work within this design process that is so effective
So, if you what to give us a brief, good or bad, download and fill out one or both of the brief sheets and send them through – or be old fashioned and pick up the phone!
