D is for Decisions
“Whenever you see a successful business, someone once made a courageous decision” – Peter Drucker
When you engage with a design agency, be prepared to make some big decisions. You’ll need to make clear choices during the briefing process and then throughout the design stage right through to selecting your final creative. Please don’t feel daunted – a good creative agency (like us) will offer help and advice along the way so you can make the right decision for your organisation.
Choosing an agency
Your first decision might be choosing the right agency to work with. Asking friends, family and colleagues for recommendations is a good idea. Search for an agency that can demonstrate experience in your sector and look at their online portfolio. Our own speciality is working with charities, trade bodies and public sector organisations as well as the individuals and organisations that support them. Specialities usually mean great passion for that type of work.
Design process decisions
Your agency will come back to you for direction as they go through the design process. You’ll see design options and have to decide which one to go ahead with.
Sometimes it can be difficult to visualise certain elements of the brief in one design, e.g. friendly and professional. In this case your designer might present you with two options, one more friendly and one more professional to see where your design preferences lie. This will use different colour palettes, fonts and imagery to represent your brand. First impressions count – remember how you felt the first time you saw this and feed this information back to your designer.
Avoid heart over head
Whilst your gut reaction is important, try to avoid making decisions based solely on your own personal preferences. Re-read your brief and think about which design best fulfils all the elements and outcomes. Talk through the options with your designer. They’ll be able to explain their creative and practical thought process and how each design meets your needs. In our case, we’ll use our combined experience of over 50 years (eek!) to achieve your desired results.
Helpful questions to ask when assessing creative options
- Does it fit with your brand and speak to your audience?
- Does it help you stand out from the competition?
- Is it easy to understand?
- How memorable or recognisable is it?
- Will it stand the test of time?
- Will it add value and offer return on investment?
Ask your audience
If you’re still unsure or want further evidence to support your decision, ask your audience. Show them the design options and gauge their emotional response. Did they react in the way you want them to? Try to choose people who are not directly involved with your organisation, without any preconceived ideas about what is a good fit.
The best designs come from having a good design brief and continuous two-way communication between client and agency.
Talk to us, because we’d love to talk to you!
Alison Bowett, Marketing Manager
alison@jg-creative.co.uk