The design process (article)

One of the problems I have with the blog format is that it's a little like reading a magazine backwards. If you're starting a new business and just beginning to think about design (a logo, brochures, stationary signage etc.), you should definitely read the earlier posts.

Here, I want to talk about the design process once you've decided that your business is going to grow. As stated in the last post (Do I need a designer?), if your business is one that is going to expand in the future rather than simply maintain an income, it's important to establish the right Corporate Identity now.

You may only have limited resources to spend on premises but, as your business grows, moving to larger premises should not, in itself pose a problem. However, if you don't establish the right Corporate Identity now, trying to change it later will present huge problems. The premises you have now need only be appropriate for the current level of your business. The design elements you introduce now must be appropriate for the level of business you plan for the future. Consequently, this actually requires more consideration than your premises.

The design process is not simply finding a designer in Yellow Pages and hoping they can sort everything out for you. I can tell you now.... they can't. You have to do quite a bit of work before you even contact a designer. The first stage of the design process begins with you.

You need to clearly identify what you want to achieve through design. You know your business better than a designer so the initial factors have to be established by you. Hopefully, market research will have been part of the process of establishing your business in the first place and you should have a certain amount of data to hand. Who are your customers? What are their likes and dislikes? What do they like to watch on TV? Where do they go on holiday? Do they like to cook or do they eat out? Even information that is not obviously directly related to your business is useful. You need a customer profile of some sort and the more detailed this can be, the better you can target them.

Whatever market research you may have done, you may have to add to. Yes, yes. I know. You've got enough on your plate without traipsing around town with a clipboard. Well, you're the boss; delegate. Identify someone within the team to take responsibility for the design process.


You need initially to know who your customers are, what they buy and why they buy it. If you are selling products or services to other businesses, you need to get to know the decision-makers.

OK. You know who your customers are. You know what they want now and you know what they're likely to want in the future. Don't put your clipboard away just yet but, for the moment, you can take a respite from market research. It's now time to establish a budget and a timescale.

You now have your customer profile, you know how much you're able to spend and you have decided upon a timescale. You now need to get together a team of key people from across the board (sales, engineering, marketing and, ideally, selected key representatives of your target customer group).

Now you're ready to pick up Yellow Pages although this is probably not the best way of selecting a designer. Just as your most effective form of advertising is word-of-mouth, this is also the most effective way of selecting a designer. Get advice from other business people on designers they have used. Don't just go for the cheapest as there are a number of factors to consider such as turnaround time, ability to understand the needs of the client, coming up with creative ideas that work, meeting deadlines and so on. Networking meetings are great for this purpose.

Don't just select one designer at this stage. You want a shortlist of two or three designers; present the brief to each of them and invite them to bid. Your selections should not be based on whether or not you like their work so much as a track record of successful projects. Set aside times and dates for each to present their pitch. After the pitch, you will be invited to put forward any questions and this is where you do your Dragon's Den bit.

You'll want to know a number of factors that relate specifically to the brief but there are also general questions you should be asking that apply in general:

If they are designing software solutions, you'll want to know if their IT systems are compatible with yours. Obvious but frequently overlooked until it's too late. You'll also want to know what they will be providing themselves and what they'll be outsourcing. Few designers have every skill that may be required in a brief and many typically outsource photography, illustration, copywriting and so on. Make sure that the designers will be bringing key skills to the table themselves. There's little point in paying someone to outsource all the main skills. You could do that yourself. Ask to see samples of work from contributers likely to be commissioned by the designer.

You also want to know their turnaround time. Experienced designers know it's unwise to be unrealistic about this even at the risk of losing a brief. Better to lose a brief than compromise a reputation for meeting deadlines. You'll want to know how many roughs they can provide and how many amendments they're prepared to accommodate.

Here, I need to make a point about roughs: You should bear in mind that you'll not only be getting roughs from the designer, whose finished work you will have seen, but you may also be getting roughs from outsourced illustrators if applicable to the brief. You'll want these roughs to be of a fairly high standard as you may not be so familiar with the standard of their finished artwork. As an illustrator, when working with a new client who may not be so familiar with my work, I tend to provide a rough to give an overall impression of the concept and one detailed section rendered to finished artwork standard. I find this helps to give the client confidence and it wouldn't hurt to ask if something along these lines could be provided.

Finally, you should consider the fact that, however good a designer is, personality also plays a part. You need to be fairly confident that your project team and the designer (who will effectively be part of your project team for the duration of the project) can work well together.

Once you've selected a designer to work with, you need to agree on a timetable for each stage of the project. You also need to agree on a payment system. For short projects, designers are sometimes happy to be paid at the end of the project. However, for long projects that are likely to span a period of months, the designer is going to want to be paid in regular increments, usually at the completion of each stage.

Although the designer will be working closely with your project team, you'll want to ensure that the direction that work is going is still in line with what your customers look for when choosing what to spend their money on. Take design samples at each stage and..... well..... Remember that clipboard? Have fun.