While business stationery design is comparatively quick, the design of marketing and promotional pieces can often be time-intensive. It involves concept design, layout prototyping, copywriting and copy editing, photo research, photo retouching and graphic design, typographic layout, and document formatting.
Logo design and branding, by contrast, is a uniquely creative process. The time invested in developing a logo or brand can range from just a few hours to weeks of detailed work, distilling and refining a concept until it clicks.
Do you need marketing collateral, promotional materials or business stationery? Contact me here and I'll provide you with an estimate.
The visual design process typically begins with a phone conversation (or a few emails) about audience, content, and style considerations as well as the medium it's intended for (magazine ad, brochure, etc.).
We'll talk specifics: colors, fonts, photos, graphics, format, and layout. If you have examples of designs (or links to online samples) that appeal to you, these might help to give me a sense of the style and mood you're aiming for.
During this phase I'll also offer suggestions about the copy, choosing photographs and illustrations, and structuring the document.
Once we've nailed down the details I'll produce an initial concept mockup (and sometimes more than one) which I'll email to you for feedback and/or approval (ETA: 2-3 days).
For logo design and branding I initially produce up to twelve general concepts, and from these I might generate two or sometimes three additional sheets of variations and treatments as we work together to zero in on the right design.
If any corrections or alterations are needed the design mockup would be updated and emailed to you for approval again. It's rare that more than one or two major revisions is needed to finalize the design concept. However, this may sometimes be necessary and the final cost would reflect any additional time spent on concept development, or "tweaking".
It's important to address all of the design & layout issues up front because these can become considerably more difficult to alter later in the process.
It's usually best to have the copy completed before any of the design work is started. Copy layout is a time-intensive task, so it's best if the finished content is sent all at once and in its entirety, as this will help to prevent any time crunches late in development.
Ideally, your copy should be organized in the same way that it will be seen in the finished document (ie: Heading 1, paragraphs, heading 2, paragraphs, etc.). I offer copywriting and copy editing services.
The copy can be sent to me in an email or on CD as a Word document or as a simple .txt file. Tabular information can also be sent as an Excel document, PDF, or HTML file.
If you have photographs or graphics these can be emailed to me. If there are a large number of items, they can be burned to CD/DVD and sent to the address on the invoice estimate.
High resolution photographs and graphics are crucial for producing professional quality printed materials. I'll offer recommendations on these.
The time necessary for completing this phase varies according to media, photo retouching, and copy layout, but it can generally be finished within 1-5 days.
When the copy layout is complete I'll send a sample document for you to double-check for any copy errors, typos or graphic/layout issues that might need attention.
Once the document has been verified and approved I'll begin the process of formatting it for the printer.
Unless this is an advertisement for a publication, I can recommend an excellent online printing service. Otherwise, if you plan to use your own print shop I'll need either a link to their format requirements/templates, or the following:
For logo design I typically provide the file in many different formats, including 4-color, spot color, and grayscale PDFs, as well as high quality JPEG files for the web.
Most printers will provide an online "print proof" of the final document before the print job is started. I will assist with this phase. You may either add me as a CC email contact when the job is submitted to the printer, or you can forward me the email link to the online proof.
Lastly, bear in mind that coordinating and preparing the information and materials for a graphic design project is enormously time-intensive, so the deposit I request before I begin development is non-refundable. I'm a one-man show, so the deposit is also forfeited if for any reason you choose to halt the design process, or if development is stalled or is otherwise delayed by you for more than a year from the date on the invoice estimate.
I hope this information is useful to you and I look forward to working with you on your creative projects!
Last revised October 9th, 2007.
