Questions to ask before starting any design

Wednesday’s Production Tip for Graphic Designers

You have a project in hand. Now what? For any design projects there are things you just need to know before you even think about what you are going to design.

You do want to know about the company you are designing for (what they stand for, who they are, who is their competition) as well as what this latest design is all about (who will be viewing it, what is expected to come from it, and how it will be viewed).

Here are a couple of questions to ask your client before starting to design:

1. What does the clients do? What is their company all about? What do they stand for?
2. Who are their competitors?
3. Do they have previous samples of work done?
4. Are there any samples from their competitors?
5. Are there any corporate standards already in place (fonts, visuals, custom illustrations)?
6. Who’s going to view your project? What are the demographics? Your audience?
7. What do they want their audience to feel when they look at the piece?
8. What tone is used in the piece?
9. What image or style does the client want to project?
10. What type of piece is this? Is it to inform, sell or entertain?
11. What is the purpose of the project?
12. In what formats will this piece appear in (online, printed, …)?
13. How will it be printed?
14. Any special print considerations? (Example: size, folds, spot varnish, special paper, …)
15. Will this project be a staple to be constantly reprinted or used just for this occasion?
16. Will it be used for one purpose or will it serve multiple purposes (for instance, it’s a brochure that can also be faxed)?
17. What is the budget for this project?
18. Is it a 4 color, 2 color or spot colors?
19. Are there any company colors that need to be incorporated?
20. Does the client already own artwork that needs to be included?

C O N C L U S I O N

It’s important to know a bit about the company before starting any design job. You also want to know exactly what the clients expects from the piece and what he hopes to achieve by printing it.

The more information you have before you start designing, the better and easier the design will be.

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