get good graphic design

by Linda Coe

A professional graphic designer can contribute to the success of any company or organization, but only if the client integrates graphic design into its planning and knows how to communicate effectively with the design firm.

Unlike many professions, where there is clearly a right way or wrong way to perform a task, the designer's success depends on a unique interpretation of how graphic design will contribute to a company's long-term objectives. It's not just a mechanical task you can dump on a design firm after all the rest of the planning is completed.

The design strategy you settle on will convey a message about your business that words alone cannot express. A design professional can help you select type, colour and images that will be incorporated into your advertising, correspondence, packaging and event exhibits.

The most effective relationships develop when the client includes the designer in the team of support professionals, such as accountants and lawyers, that contributes to any organization's success.

The designer has to have a comprehensive understanding of the client's needs, which means that clients have to be able to convey clearly their long- and short-term goals. Remember that design is a long-term strategy.

An effective design firm will understand its client's needs and will manage people, projects, paper, time and money, while executing a design strategy tailored to those needs.

No matter how great the creative potential, a client and a designer should not risk disaster by avoiding business issues. Design is a communication vehicle and it begins with a frank, detailed discussion of all the creative and financial expectations between the client and the designer.

If you require design services, review the work of several professional design firms. Look for a record of satisfied customers and check qualifications and training.

"With the declining cost of computer hardware and software, many individuals believe that equipment can compensate for three to five years of training and that they can be designers," said Brock Piper, 2002 president of the Society of Graphic Designers of Canada, B.C. chapter. "True professionals are communication strategists who combine esthetic judgment with project management."

If the selection process is to be a competitive one, it is best to:

 Evaluate firms through interviews. Meet and evaluate potential contenders; review samples of past work.

 Check references to evaluate the firm's reputation and existing client relationships. A quality professional design firm will have a good rapport and long-term relationships with its clients.

 Select only those firms in which you are seriously interested. Do not waste your time and the firm's time just because you have to fulfill a bid quota.

 Limit the competition to three to five firms. It is both time-consuming and unrealistic to interview more than five firms.

 Prepare a thorough and detailed outline of the project and adequately brief the contending firms. The more detail you provide in the briefing, the more thorough and realistic the proposal will be. To properly assess the proposals submitted after the briefing, you must be sure that the contenders are quoting on the same project.

 Pay a reasonable honorarium to each firm to cover the costs of its presentation. A professional designer does not work on speculative commercial projects. It is acceptable for the designer to work for charitable organizations on a pro-bono basis or for lower remuneration.

When assessing the success of a design project, consider the following points:

 Did design solutions meet communication objectives? Were the design strategies appropriate to the project objectives, its parameters and the target audience? The design solutions should not contain any plagiarism and the content must not be demeaning to any person or group.

 Was it on budget and on time? Did the design proposal clearly detail the costs and disbursements for the project? Did both parties clearly understand how customer alterations would be billed? Were both parties willing and able to meet all the stages outlined in the critical path? Did the proposal outline copyright issues specific to the project, including who owns what, limitations of use and archiving of electronic arts?

Contributed by Linda Coe, director of ethics and professional practices for the Society of Graphic Designers of Canada, B.C. chapter.

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