Do you have a project that needs to be printed?

Considering print options before starting design helps inform design decisions and often can help you save money.  The printer should not be detached from the design process: the printer is an important part of the design process.

Plan for print early and get your printer involved before the design is finalized.

Here are print-related questions we typically ask our clients:

• What quantities will you be printing?
• Should your materials be designed in full color? or 1-color? or 2-color?
• Do you prefer coated or uncoated paper?
• Will you mail this piece? if so, is it a self-mailer? Or if it needs an envelope, what size envelope? (we always work backwards from the envelope size for something that will be mailed!)
• If this is a multi-page document, what is your estimated page count?

Other questions: (not specifically print questions, but the answers usually inform print decisions)

• What is the purpose for this project?
  
• Who is the audience?
• How will people use the printed materials? (will they put it in a bookcase? in their pocket? in their briefcase?)
• What kind of “shelf life” will your materials have?
• What are other people in your industry doing? (not so we can mimic your competition, but rather so we can differentiate!)

And behind the scenes we think about some of these things:

• The average age of your audience for font-size determination.
• How many items can we fit per sheet? (both to control costs and to avoid paper waste)
• How can we make print-related decisions that make your project stand out without being impractical or expensive?

What other print-related questions do you have?  Please share!

Gathering design feedback from one person is tricky.  Gathering feedback from a group can sometimes feel like herding cats.

Person A says: “I hate blue.”   Person B declares: “this is for business, so we should make everything blue.”  Person C says: “I’m just not loving it.”  Person D says: “This is perfect.”  Person E chimes in: “I showed it to my wife, and she thinks we use illustration instead of photography.”  And so on, and so on…

Try to avoid these situations by managing the feedback process.

For a new project:

• Ask who the key stakeholders are
• Determine when they will be involved
• Let them know they will be involved
• Let them know how their feedback will be used
• Gather opinions early on

Get quality feedback:

• Listen to each other: if possible, plan a meeting or schedule a conference call
• Get people to elaborate on their feedback:  “It just isn’t working for me” is not constructive feedback
• Ask people to consider their feedback after they hear each other
• Gather and batch the feedback.  Do not let it trickle in randomly as the design is being revised

Ask good questions:

• Is the design appropriate for the purpose and target audience?
• Does it match the specifications you need?
• Will this design work with your final content?
• What is working? What do you like best about each design? and why?
• What is not working? and why? (the “why” is the most crucial part)

Every design project is different, and gathering feedback is a unique process for every client.  We would love to hear your thoughts about group feedback and any tips or suggestions that you have.  Please share!