The Design Proof

What is this proof thing? What are we proving here? Proof of… what? That the artist you hired actually worked on something this week – versus drinking coffee, smoking brown cigarettes, and planning revolutions?

A proof is simply a trial. It’s a test of the final art so it can be checked for errors. You may have seen one of these before if you’ve ever ordered business cards. It’s your chance to correct stuff like misspellings or grammar (“Hey. ‘Firepants’ is one word.”). You can also let the designer know that the background color isn’t right or your phone number is not 1-800-SPANK ME.

What you should do when you get a design proof

Take your time reviewing

There’s a tendency to open an email and look at the attachment before you even read the text. I know, you’re excited. That’s awesome.

After you do that (I’m not even gonna try and pretend you won’t), go back and take a few minutes to read the email. I almost always put notes in the email when I send a proof. It saves a lot of time and headaches for both me and my client. For example, I might make some bulleted notes like this:

• The hair is green instead of brown. I think this sets off the tentacles nicely but doesn’t clash with the razor claw.
• The background is white here, but I’ll send you a transparent version when we’re done.
• The wheels are slightly different from the sketch, I included spokes to add some flair.

See? Not earth-shattering stuff, but things a client might freak out wonder about if they didn’t know beforehand. This way when we talk about the proof, we’ve already got some direction.

Now that you’ve read the email, go back and look at the proof. Unless you’re under a really tight deadline, take a day with your design. You don’t have to buy it ice cream and pretend to like Lady Gaga, just give yourself at least 12 hours before you respond. Even if you love it.

Look for stuff that needs fixing

At this stage, you should have already seen a rough layout or sketch of the artwork. So if the rough sketch was a cowboy boot and the design proof is a baby bottle, this is your chance to speak up. It’s possible the artist just sent the wrong file. It happens.

Um… Reminder Pants here. Did you check the email first? Maybe there’s a reason it’s a baby bottle.

Most people have no problem speaking up about obvious things like “wrong graphic.” However, one thing I encounter quite often with clients is a hesitancy to point out stuff they just don’t like.

In a way, this is great. It means that I’m working with a human being who has some sensitivity and appreciates the work that went into their design.

On the other hand, it’s not helpful at all.

You may be worried about hurting your designer’s feelings. If you’re worried at all, then you are definitely not anywhere near the top of the “never-work-with-this-client-again list.” We’ve heard worse. Personally, I was in the military, so there really isn’t anything you could say that I haven’t heard before (you could try, but you would fall short. Trust me).

That said, while you’re asserting yourself there’s still room for being polite. “I hate the way you formatted that text” may not go over as well as “The formatting of the text isn’t working for me. Can we adjust it?” It’s just common sense and common courtesy. Remember that you wanted to work with a nice human, so being a nice human goes a long way toward getting what you want.

Also keep in mind that although you may not understand why something looks the way it does, there could be a good explanation. A pro designer should be able to explain the “why” to any aspect of their design anyway. While it’s a good idea to point out the errors, remember that it’s an opportunity for a conversation. Think “discussion points” rather than “head ripping.”

Stuff that won’t help your budget (or win you karma points)

“Oops, I forgot to tell you.”

“Now that I see the final art, it gave me an idea for something completely different.”

“My boss says he doesn’t like that green. And he hates dogs.”

I’ve heard all of these (uhhh, you have a boss? And he has to approve this stuff?). Hey, I wouldn’t be in this business if I wasn’t prepared to deal with real, live people. But lucky you, you’re getting the inside scoop. I’m not going to pretend those things don’t create stress. Designers hate this kind of stuff. And we talk about it to each other all the time over alcoholic beverages and starchy foods.

Sure, we can charge you extra because you forgot. But it’s not always about the money.

A professional artist will research subjects, look at reference photos, and even dream about just the right configuration of zebra stripes for your thing. After all that time, if your boss’s 2-year old daughter wants leopard spots, it means all that creative energy was wasted.

That sounds kinda complainey, right? Maybe so. We’ll suck it up. But you’ll likely pay more than you budgeted for.

Moral of the story: If you’re going to change direction, do it in the conceptual phase.

I’ll have another round

Even if you only have a few reasonable changes (and we could kiss you for that), you should get another set of proofs. Review, rinse, repeat. If things are going well, it shouldn’t be long before…

I approve! Now what?

Well, that’s it. You’ll give a verbal or written sign-off (depends on the designer) and your final artwork will be prepared. If you’re getting a web site designed, hopefully you’ll soon type in your URL and see magic. If you’re getting a piece of artwork, you might expect some digital files in the mail or in an online folder (I prefer delivering files online. Save a… uhhh… what do we save when we don’t burn a DVD?).

If you had a great experience and you love the work, paying the invoice is awesome (not to mention expected). Also consider spreading the word about this fantastic person you just worked with. People love to get referred to someone you trust. It sure beats trolling the interwebs for an anonymous designer.

It works both ways. If the designer feels good about the results and loved working with you, they’ll probably shout about your thing so they can show it off. Think about that. A free, built-in promotion machine. Nice.

Before You Hire a Designer

I hope you enjoyed this series and learned what to expect when you work with a Graphic Designer, Illustrator, or Web Designer. I also created a resource for you to help you prepare for this whole design journey. It’s a short PDF that you can reference over and over again, and it’s totally free.

If it helps you or you think it will help a friend, please share it. You can get it right here.

Roughed Up

Good God, Man, who taught you how to draw? Monkeys?

I would not blame any client for thinking this after seeing the rough sketch above. Before I even consider sending a client a rough sketch, I really need to know them well enough to know they can see past the scary hack job. Also, they need to know me and my work well enough to know that the final art will be lovely and full of sparkly rainbows and happiness. Like the final art here:

But let’s back up a bit.

You and your designer have had some conversations and traded emails. You know each other now. Hopefully by this point you’ve talked concepts, too. It’s possible to overdo the concept phase and drag things out forever, but you should expect to at least hear some initial ideas before you start receiving sketches or mockups. Getting from idea to rough sketch depends on you, the artist, and the nature of the work. In my case, it sometimes happens during the conversation (helpful if we’re sitting together) and other times it can take a week.

Depending on the artist, you can expect anything from a few circles to represent basic object placement to a fully rendered drawing that you would be tempted to hang in our bathroom. Both are just fine. There’s no right or wrong here except what serves (or doesn’t serve) the project.

The point in this stage is not to impress you with the Rembrandt-like quality of the artist’s layout (see Exhibit A again).

The main purpose at this time is to give you a rough idea of how things will be laid out on a page. Some people are much better with words and have trouble visualizing images without seeing them on the page. Everyone is different, but if you need to see how something might work visually, you should ask for it. It should never be a problem for a designer to help you understand a layout.

What’s Expected of You

Expectations? Of me? But I’m the one shelling out the duckets for this thing, can’t I just sit back and enjoy the ride?

Sure you could. In fact, I work with a few clients who will hand me a basic concept and ask me to run with it. The difference is that they understand that when they see the final art, they’ve got much less sway over what can be changed without ringing up extra charges. Most of the time there are few changes, but that’s because those people are used to working with me and have a good idea of what they’ll get when we’re done.

If you rarely work with a designer, it’s a good idea to prepare yourself for reviewing roughs. The artist is expecting you to participate, to have a say. If you’re going to say anything about the layout, this is your chance. Most of the time once the final art is completed, a seemingly simple change like, “move that tree from the left to the right” can wreck the balance of the whole graphic. “Take out the third sidebar” in a web site can mean hours of coding to make everything flow nicely again.

It’s because professional artists and designers do things on purpose. Sure, we’re weird. We’re full of creative whimsy and let faeries sprinkle lollipop dust over our sugary cereals. But we plan things and pay attention to stuff like “That second l in lollipop is too close to the faerie’s foot.” Insane, but true.

So take some time reviewing the rough sketch. It’s not calculus, there are just a few things to keep in mind:

1. It’s rough. Duh, but don’t get caught up in minor details. Placeholder. Placeholder. Placeholder.
2. Ask questions. It’s your chance! “Why is the word ‘Fantasy’ smaller than ‘Demon’? Does it have to be?”
3. Make sure the rough jibes with the concept you discussed. If something’s new or different, ask. It could be a mistake. This is a good time for catching a few mistakes.

See what I mean? It’s not complicated and it mostly involves clarifying things. You don’t have to run it through a spacial analyzer, just participate in the process.

Don’t forget to have fun

Um, it’s design. It’s not a UN council discussion. Hopefully you’ve hired an artist you feel good about working with, so reviewing the work should be at least a few steps above having your wisdom teeth extracted. One can get too serious about these things. I don’t know why, but one can. Whoever one is.

Whether it’s written concepts, sketched roughs, or a wireframe, it’s all communication about your thing. Keep the lines open. Your experience and the results will be better for it.

Next up: What are you trying to prove?

Concepts and Idears

I am a big ego monkey, so I’m going to quote myself here. I could point you to the post, but then you’ll be clicking around my site all day instead of just reading.

Techniques are easy. Ideas are hard.

So you’re looking to get something created – a web site, a graphic, a bar chart for your presentation, whatever. If you search online, you’ll find scores of talented people who can produce professional work. They’ll probably use the latest techniques and all their skill to turn your concepts into a finished product.

Knowing this, how do you choose a designer out of the teeming masses?

You pick the one who can communicate ideas.

Techniques are easy. Ideas are hard. They’re also more valuable.

How do you like them apples? It sounds great in theory, but how do you know this before you hire the designer? I’m so glad you asked.

One way is to tell the designer about your project and ask them to give you some ideas so you can evaluate them and possibly hire that person.

Um, no. Leave that to the craigslist crowd. Sure, someone will bite, but that’s not who you want working on your project anyway.

Really real, no-kidding, professional artists and designers will balk at this, with good reason. You’re pretty much asking them to work for free, until you decide to actually hire them. The concern they’re feeling is that you’ll take their potentially brilliant ideas and hand them to a cheaper production artist to execute. It’s a killer deal for you, but apply the Golden Rule to this situation and you’ll see how you might react if someone asked you to coach them for free until they figure out if you’re effective. Right… that’s what I thought.

What you can do is ask the artist to give you a few examples of past projects where they’ve created concepts with successful outcomes. You should get a sense from this if they can do the same thing for you. You’ll also get a good feel for how they communicate, which is important since you’ll hopefully be doing a lot of that throughout your own project.

Mommy, where do ideas come from?

I carry around a little moleskine with me to doodle concepts. I also use my iPhone to record notes on the road. The thing is, I could be shopping for cereal and suddenly have an epiphany about a client project. So I’m working even when I’m shopping. You can’t always choose when the great concepts are going to beam down from the mothership, you know what I’m sayin’?

So this means that a designer working on your thing is working on your thing pretty much all the time. When you’re sleeping. When they’re sleeping. There aren’t any banker’s hours for ideas.

Knowing this, you should expect to not merely wait for ideas to arrive in your email, you should fuel the idea furnace early in the process. I don’t mean you should be thinking up concepts all day then nickel-and-dime an artist with your nuggets of inspiration. Please. No. I mean you need to give the designer all kinds of information about your business, your audience, and the meaning behind your project (as in “Why are you doing this?”)

You should expect to contribute to the final result by sharing information. The ideas are cooked up by the designer, but you supply the ingredients. Enjoy the process. Mmm, smells delicious.

Next: Roughed Up

Try thinking about it this way the next time you work with a creative team. Rather than dictating a set of instructions, toss them a ball with your vision on it. If they toss it back and you’re even more excited, congratulations. You’re working with the right people.