How to Get the Most from a Graphic Designer

All right. So you’ve written a marketing brochure (or some other promotional piece). Now what? If you’re smart, you’ll make the most of what you’ve created by hiring a professional graphic designer who can help you “package” it. Without the right “look,” the words you’ve chosen so carefully may not get the attention they deserve.

Here are five tips to help you get the most out of the design process and a relationship with a graphic designer:

1. Decide what you want to achieve. Who is your target audience? What impression do you want to make? What call to action do you want to send? Articulate in writing your creative goals and give it to your designer. If it’s a struggle, select a designer who can help you define those goals.

2. Give the designer time to work. After all, great results do not happen overnight. Your project will be the best it can be if you allow your designers the time to apply all their knowledge and experience.

3. Don’t settle for concepts that are second-best. If you’ve told your designer what you want, you have the right to get it. Lay out your concerns so that the designer can make revisions that hit the mark.

4. Look at space restrictions as an opportunity. Smaller type sizes and tighter line spacing may preserve every word but they will undermine the look of your piece. Besides, rewrites often result in copy that is cleaner, tighter – often better!

5. Keep an open mind. Let designers use all of their skill and creativity. Although you may have some reservations, give their suggestions serious thought. A quality designer wants to do right by you – after all, the work reflects on him or her too!

Professional design brings marketing communications to life, which can help a business build its image and its brand. Do your best to help your designer help you and you’ll profit from the result.

Copyright © Rose Communications, Inc.

Eve B. Rose, ABC, CIMA® is a writer and editor with more than 25 years of experience in marketing and organizational communications. In addition to marketing brochures and other collateral, she writes white papers, shareholder report commentaries, newsletter and magazine articles, and management communications – among other things. To learn more about Eve and her services, visit www.everose.com