Indie Graphic Design Graphic Design Workflow Process

Transcription

1 Indie Graphic Design Graphic Design Workflow Process INITIATE General Inquiry Design Manager takes in clients asking about services, abilities, pricing. Usually comes through one of the following means: personal facebook page Indie Graphic Design Page Direct Contact form submission Word of mouth Phone call Design Manager will respond back requesting them for full information provided in the print brief or web brief form. Design Manager will enter their information into the IGD Project Tracking Spreadsheet, including assigning a project ID#. Letʼs Talk Client fills out the web/print brief and sends it to the Design Manager. This provides a specific idea of project goals, schedule, tasks, design needs and requirements through the print or web brief. The Design Manager will clarify and get needed specifics goals, needs, and timeline in order to get an accurate scope of the project. IGD Costs Gathered The Design Manager will pass the print/web brief onto the Designer and receive their cost and expenses proposal. Send proposal and agreement of terms for the project to Design Manager (nadine@indiegraphicdesign.com) Proposal to Client The Design Manager will decide on clientʼs price and provide a proposal/estimate to the client including: Project Description Production Schedule Client Tasks & Responsibilities Breakdown of expenses Payment Schedule Terms, Copyright info, and contact person for project

2 Letʼs go! Client agrees to invoice, pays a percentage upfront, provides necessary content (images, text, links, etc.) and the design phase begins! On the IGD Project Tracking sheet move the information from IGD_Potential tab to the IGD_Active Tab. DESIGN PROCESS Payment Received The designer will receive a percentage of their total quoted estimate, and will begin work on the project. All questions will be directed to the Design Manager (nadine@indiegraphicdesign.com) Setup Folders Create a home for all files related to this project. (This is the structure we have used in the past, which we highly recommend) Project Name Content includes print brief, raw images, client-provided content) Inspiration ideas and images from Material Survey) Templates output ready templates) In Progress files in native program which are in progress) For Review low-res images or screen shots of work for review) Rejects ideas and work that client has rejected, good to keep for future projects Finals both in the native program and the desired output format, ultimately will be zipped and sent to client) Exploration The Design Manager will create a list of ideas (relevant words and phrases) that relate to the project and pass it by the client. The approved list will then be provided to the Designer (some are abstract and loose, some are concrete and tightly related). This list will provide the designer a broadened perspective of the project and uncover additional ideas and concepts which werenʼt so obvious at the outset. The Designer will use this list to help focus the concept, but is not restricted solely to items listed here. It is meant primarily as a guide and an aid. Focus the Concept Before diving right into a project, get a clear idea of the message and design the client wants by reviewing the print brief and asking the Design Manager any follow up questions. Gather Ideas The Designer will now search for any material and inspiration that will provide you with a more concrete style for the project. Save all research (images and notes) in the Inspiration folder for the project.

3 Types of material to review: Print Brief Clientʼs website (if applicable) Provided content Listen to music (if music related) Videos within the same genre Google image searches on words from the list of ideas It is important that the purpose and artistic direction of the project is clear and shared between the design manager, designer, and client. Establish Unique Style for Project Typography Typography is a crucial element in setting the personality of a design. Evocations of different typefaces are subliminal to most people, but as a designer you need to go to great lengths to ensure the selection and construction of type complements the mood of the piece. Gather typefaces for display type, headings, and copy. The easiest way to examine the effect of different typefaces is to set each of these categories for type in multiple fonts and review them with the client. Imagery Selectively chosen photography or illustration creates enormous visual impact for a design, adding dimension, implication, and a deeper level of understanding far beyond a well-written headline or paragraph of text. Research imagery which could be used for Background texture Supporting images Focal images The lists you created earlier in the Exploration phase will provide direction and spawn additional ideas. Ideas for Image sources: Own stockpiles of digital photos and artwork Free stock photography and illustration sites Raw art to be scanned or otherwise digitally captured Royalty-free images Even potentially hiring a photographer, illustrator, or commissioning an artist 1) Send a zip file of all the inspiration to Design Manager at nadinegressett@gmail.com 2) Make a list and add it to the print brief of Doʼs and Donʼts for the project. Make sure to consider all elements of design. Include links wherever necessary to show examples. Colors

4 Layouts Fonts Styles Imagery Pace Words that communicate to them (if applicable) Cultural references and landmarks to establish a common frame of reference (Optional) Thumbnail Sketching Now that you have your concept, style, typography, and imagery brewing in your mind, itʼs time to create thumbnails of your work. Thumbnails are small sketches which can literally be as small as your thumbnail, or as big as a couple inches in width and/or height. Thumbnails are intended to capture the basic ideas for page composition, without allowing the temptation to focus on small details too early in the process. Grab a real piece of paper and an actual pen or pencil and begin scribbling, doodling, and sketching. Quickly sketch them to allow for rapid idea generation. Donʼt worry about getting it right or being perfect. Youʼre dumping your ethereal thoughts onto material paper. Look at what youʼve just drawn, then draw the inverse. Rotate the paper upside down and look at it from the bottom, up. Look at it from the side, and at an angle. Draw differing variations. Donʼt stop until youʼre feel you exhausted every idea and variation there of. Whatever you do, donʼt stop to critique. (Optional) Develop Some Sketches

5 You are starting to put the puzzle pieces together, seeing how the unique style, imagery and typefaces will strongly convey your concept. Now itʼs time to take four or five of the best thumbnails and make some larger sketches from them. Make them the size of a note card or a full sheet of paper. But limit yourself to just the top few. This step is about exploring the thumbnails of your thoughts in a larger format, roughing out some more detail in order to get a feel for the overall balance and visual appeal of the layout. This is the point were you can start designating some colors and values to the ideas. Save the real details for the next step as youʼre still blasting through lots of ideas. (Required) Composition (Produce the Mockups) In this stage, take your best two or three sketches and initial choices for typeface and imagery and begin combining them into developed digital sketches. The design is pushed closer and closer to itʼs final mocked-up state. recreating them in a digital form. You can scan in your sketches with a scanner or put the artwork under the tracing plastic on a graphics tablet, whatever helps you to create life-size mockups. The mockups need color, real photos, straight lines and actual drop shadows and highlights. Effectively integrating imagery into a design requires an awareness of balance and tension. Compact areas of motion and activity, countered with spaces for the eye to rest and relax. Make sure that your survey of materials and your determined style is reflected in these mockups. Send the three or four initial concepts to Design Manager for review and to choose an official direction. Design & Budgeting In the design stage, you will go back and forth with the Design Manager to make revisions, to correct any mistakes and achieve the final outcome. Respond to all s by Design Manager within as quickly as possible, strive for within 24 hours, but no longer than 48 hours. Produce new round of work by next stated deadline (usually around a week). PROOF Design Production Review

6 When all edits and revisions have been made, provide the Design Manager a zip file of all of the pieces of the design. The Design Manager will pass it to the client, who will give the final approval. Client reviews & signs off on final proofs DELIVER Output a Final The Design Manager will pay the Designer the remaining percentage for their work and in turn the Designer will deliver the original, high-resolution files in the necessary formats for the project. (Optional) Prepress Pieces submitted to printer Followup Designer and Design Manager will remain available for additional questions. Design Manager will request testimonial. Testimonial will be available for us by both designer and Indie Graphic Design as a whole.