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3 Tips to Kickoff a Successful Design Project

3 Tips to Kickoff a Successful Design Project

Tuesday, August 18, 2020


Everyone’s creative process is wildly different and people visualize things in different ways. So how do you explain your vision to others? And how do you interpret a vision when others explain it to you?

The success of your project can hinge on the very first line of communication. Let’s say you’ve hired a design team to help you solve a problem in your business, and naturally, you’re looking for expertise from them on what you should do. So far so good, right?


Okay, now you’re talking with the designers and they ask for design direction.


Cue the crickets…

If you don’t have any clues on what you like/don’t like, this consultation can get messy and often results in more revisions than you’d hope for.

Here are a few tips to reduce the number of revisions, get a clearer vision in your kickoff discussion, and create an overall more successful project. 


Tip #1: If you have a vision in mind, try to be as specific as possible

Grab some examples or even find ways to visually explain it with a simple sketch in Microsoft Paint or PowerPoint — no judgement here! The more you can “show” what you mean, the better.


Tip #2: Do a little research about your ask

Look at your competitors and prepare to show a few things you like or don’t like. This is going to help your design team see what your preferences are on different functions. If your designers don’t offer this upfront, ask your design team to conduct some research into your competitive market as well — this will go a long way in the success of your project before jumping right into the design process.


Tip #3: Show the ugly stuff

I can’t stress this one enough!! You may not want to show the old designs out of fear that it will stifle creativity. You also may be afraid that if you show the old designs, your designers won’t produce something different. From personal experience, this couldn’t be further from the truth! It’s incredibly helpful to have previous designs because then your designers know what you don’t want and that can be just as important as what you do want.

Overall, preparing a few things will go a long way in the success of your project. It can also get you mentally ready to visually communicate what you’re looking to see. And as designers, it’s our job to take the thoughts and potential solutions in a kickoff discussion as a jumping off point. A great design team will take your initial thoughts, challenge them, and come up with different designs so that you can choose the one that works best for your businesses.


So remember, in your next introductory call get ready to brainstorm a lot, share your ideas, and make some very ugly (buthelpful) sketches in Microsoft Paint!

Interested in chatting more about design? Contact us at info@irisdesigncollborative.com.

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Tuesday, August 18, 2020

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