Designers Fear Nothing

Stop. You may have read that title wrong.

I’m not saying that designers don’t fear anything. They have the same fears as you and I: spiders, heights, and clowns to name a few.

But the thing graphic designers fear most of all is nothing. Lack of direction, lack of communication, and lack of insights into the project at hand.

Don’t Forget About the Designers

Project managers, please don’t forget about your design team! Designers crave guidance and insights. At a minimum, brief your design team on the highlights from the messaging and positioning, the client’s business objectives, and goals of the project so the final design matches the tone of the other marketing materials.

You wouldn’t expect a writer to craft messaging without knowing the corporate objectives. You wouldn’t expect a project manager to create a marketing plan without knowing the budget. So don’t expect a graphic designer to do their job without understanding the key elements of the marketing plan and campaign.

Great Design Doesn’t Happen By Accident

We often take designers for granted based on their track record of producing amazing work that clients love time and time again. We assume they can exist in a vacuum and continue to pump out one amazing logo, infographic, and website after another with no interaction with the team.

If you don’t brief designers on the business objectives, messaging and positioning, or project goals, you risk a disconnect between the design and the rest of the marketing materials. Sure, the designs will look great because you have a great designer. But the client and the audience may not make a full-circle connection between the marketing message and creative elements.

Keeping Design Teams Informed

Here are 4 tips for keeping your design team informed before kicking off a new project:

1. Don’t ask your design team to start a project without providing the proper background information.
2. If you’re not sure what information would be helpful to the designer, just ask! They won’t bite.
3. Every designer is different. Find out what kinds of insights each designer likes to have before kicking off a new deliverable.
4. Invite designers to client meetings. Depending on their preferences, they may like to sit in on a part of the kickoff call, status meeting, or internal discussion to gather the insights they need.

Follow these simple communication tips, so your design team can produce final materials that please clients and resonate with the audience.