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Let’s not waste any ink

If you have contacted me regarding my graphic design services: thanks, and you may find this article helpful.

The questions will basically build a brief which I can then write a proposal to. If you have a brief already, double check it based on the information below to ensure everything is covered:

This here article covers:

Budget
Deadline
Branding / Logo
Printing requirements

Do you have a budget and/or a deadline in mind?

This is very important so that both design and printing time can be planned well in advance.

Logo related:

Do you also require overall branding?

“Branding” is ‘rules’ for your design work — colours, style, supporting fonts, logo placement and abstraction rules, use of supporting graphics and photography, tone of voice etc.

Do you already have a brand and just require a logo to match?

If so you would need to supply your ‘brand guidelines’ please OK thanks bye.

Can you supply a brief / specification?

This would include your company background, and also any examples of the kind of thing you are looking for. You can find examples of different logos at www.logopond.com.

Other useful information to include in a brief would be:

Keywords to help communicate the style and ‘tone of voice’ you want
Examples of colours you would like to use — I would normally then feedback as to whether these are appropriate
Any other visual references that help communicate the kind of design you feel you are looking for

I would then feedback my own opinions of style and direction based on the above, so a plan of action can be agreed upon by both parties.

What is your intended output / use?

This could be all (or a combination of): web/screen, animated, on printed stationery, on clothing, large scale on signs and vehicles etc. You may not know for sure at this stage — web and general print is the norm to begin with.

General design and print:

What is the intended output / use for a design?

For example: poster, fly-er, in a magazine / brochure etc.

Would you require myself to organise printing?

Both in terms of costs, lead times, delivery times, specifications on products (such as sizes, paper stock, colours and special print finishes)

If you already have a printers you use / in mind, do you have their contact details and also could they supply a specification on how the design work needs to be set-up?

This would include document size, file types the printers accept, how files are supplied etc. etc. — the printers should be able to supply all the information a designer requires so that the artwork is ‘print-ready’.

OK. I think that covers it.