Hello beautiful people, welcome to my graphic design blog, your designated destination for all things design. We will discuss design techniques, dealing with clients, processes, and hot topics in a real, raw way.

I am writing here to connect with you through words and offer some answers to important questions you all consider when recruiting a graphic designer. As this is the first blog post, I thought I would dive straight into the most important question that I can answer for you, whether you’re a prospective client or are new to the design field: ”What’s your process?”. This is a great interview question that serious prospective clients ask to truly test if you’re legit. If you’re new to design, I suggest you come up with an answer quickly if you want to get hired.

Although some designers may tailor their process to a specific industry or alter it to fit their brand, most GOOD designers will follow the same structure. My process can be broken down into 4 stages, and I don’t even touch design software until stage 3. As the title of Pete Barry’s Advertising Concept book suggests, I Think Now, and Design Later.

Stage 1: Understanding the Problem

Graphic designers are always problem solvers first. We are trying to accomplish a goal for a company or someone who wants to connect with an audience visually. Let’s say a client comes to me and says “I want you to make me a poster for x event”. How that poster looks will depend on many factors beyond “Does it look pretty?”. I need to know the details first, is it an event, an idea, a product, or a service? That is pretty straightforward, but now we need to understand the audience. Who is it for and how do they think? This step usually involves market research including customer persona and competition analysis. When I have this information I can fully understand the problem that needs to be solved through my design. These factors will determine the decisions that I make during the next stage.

Stage 2: Concept Development

This is perhaps the most important stage of the whole process. It is time to translate the facts into a digestible and relatable concept for the chosen audience to perceive. The concept is the heart of the design, and it must be reflected in every element. The first thing I decide in the concept development stage is the message: what do I want to say? Then, I brainstorm visual choices that will reflect the message. I sketch layouts and illustrations that could potentially be used and I find symbols that help convey my message and see if I can customize them to the client’s brand. I then brainstorm colour choices. Colour is highly connected to emotion, so I usually choose colours based on which emotion I want viewers to feel about my design (I will be making an in-depth post about colour so stay tuned!). Then I think of qualities that I need in fonts. I always go for one statement font that can be decorated and represent a message for large titles and one or two basic readable fonts for body text. It’s never a good idea to exceed 3 fonts in one design because there’s no unity. The last part of concept development is to make these decisions and compile them into what we call a “mood board”, which displays all of the design choices in one document for easy access. Once I have the mood board, I can establish motifs if I am creating designs for multiple media using the established choices. Motifs can be shapes, patterns, images, layout, decoration, or anything that can be used across designs to create a cohesive brand, campaign, or project.

Before moving onto the design stage, it is important to check in with the client and make sure they are pleased with the concept and choices that you have made. This will ensure that the rest of the process will be faster for you most of the time because the client will ask for fewer revisions and will rarely ask you to scrap the entire thing and start over. This can be one of the most painful things for a designer to deal with, and it can result in the loss of valuable time and money. Once the concept and choices are approved, move on to the design stage.

Stage 3: Design

This stage is what many people think a graphic designer’s whole job is, and it’s not an unfair judgment to make as a non-designer. The design step should be the easiest step in the process because of all the work we have done in the problem, and conceptual stages. In the design phase, I finalize and perfect any sketches from the conceptual stage that I am going to use in the design. I apply colour choices, typography, and imagery to a grid system that makes sense and visually leads the viewer through the experience of the design subconsciously. I always make a design and then sleep on it or look away for a while, then come back and make changes with a fresh set of eyes. This can also be a good tool for catching errors that your eye had become blind to before. I also make sure to look at the design from decently far away to ensure that all elements are legible. I never send a design to a client unless I have looked it over first and made improvements. I used to “finish” designing and immediately send it off, which resulted in a few unwanted errors being caught by clients, do not do this!!

Before sending off the files, sometimes I will make mockups. If it is a print or advertising project, I will give the client some context as to how it would look in the appropriate setting, if the media is digital, usually no mockup is needed unless I am designing an app or website and it is being developed by someone else, then I will provide mockups. Mockups are important because designs can often look and feel different in context as opposed to a flat image. Sometimes, this part is also helpful for me to make changes to the layout and spacing to make it look better on the appropriate media.

Now we are ready to send the files off to the client and so comes the dreaded revision stage.

Stage 4: Revisions

So I’ve just sent off my first version of the design and now I must prepare to make many more versions as the client realizes elements to add or subtract. Sometimes, this stage can result in a complete restart of the entire process. If that happens, usually something was missed in the first two stages and the client didn’t address it or you didn’t check in with them. For the most part, this stage is smooth sailing: I might have a few small changes to make. I consider the project a success if I have made it out with four or fewer final versions. It is important to establish a boundary with the client about revision because you are often doing them for free. I like to include a few free revisions because I feel that clients should not have to pay for my errors or small things they find dissatisfactory. I also limit revisions when I’m doing personal designs because I can become too picky and at some point, it just has to be used. Once revisions have been approved and I can finally call my file “final” and actually mean it, the process is complete! The last thing I will do is give the client a quick experiential survey which they can choose to fill out or not. I always like to collect feedback wherever possible so I can continue to improve and grow as a designer and as a professional.

I hope that this article helps you to understand the true value you will get when you hire a graphic designer. Before you use AI or think you’ll just pop something in Canva and do whatever feels right, I encourage you to refer to this article and reflect on which option will be the most beneficial for your business. Not only will the graphic designer produce a better-looking result, but those carefully curated designs will drive up sales, ultimately costing you less in the long run. Many people believe that a designer is an unnecessary expense, but it can be extremely reasonable if you look in the right place. Yes, hiring an agency can be very costly, but a freelance designer can give you similar results for a fraction of the price. A freelance designer like myself will meet you with exceptional customer care and a personal connection. If you’ve been sitting on the fence of a project, wanting to build a brand or start a business, say hello on my contact page and we can have a real, human-to-human conversation.

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