What is the graphic design process?
A good graphic design process is structured around ensuring the client gets the highest quality solution and service appropriate to their business, marketing or communication problem. There are four main steps involved between client and designer.
1. Briefing
The briefing stage may consist of either or both of the following:
- Initial informal discussions between you, the client, and your designer – covering project objectives, timing and budget.
- Formal meetings to discuss your project in detail and clarify any technical issues including budget, timetable and corporate identity guidelines.
2. Design
- The designer reviews the brief, background material and identity standards to ensure understanding of the project context and your corporate requirements.
- The designer develops the draft concepts and preliminary designs and selects the most appropriate options for further development.
- The designer presents visual solutions and explains design decisions.
- Together you will evaluate the visual presentation against the brief.
- Following your review and feedback, the designer amends the material as required and, if necessary, presents you with new design(s).
3. Artwork
- Your designer prepares the artwork files and provides a proof (email or hardcopy).
- You either approve the artwork by signing the proof, or mark-up changes you’d like to make.
- A further proof is provided if required.
- Any “author’s corrections” (client requested changes to content already provided which may include additional charges: these should be detailed in any quote conditions provided with your initial quote).
4. Production
The designer forwards the artwork to a commercial printer.
- The designer views the printer’s proof and passes the proof on to the client for approval.
- In some cases, the designer can conduct a “press check” of the printed sample while the job is running on the printing press.
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6 appreciated comments on “What is the graphic design process?”
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I am becoming pretty proficient with Objective-C, and Cocoa for programming the iOS, however I think my design skills suck to say the least. Do designers (and I mean fantastic design professionals) ever do work as a partenership or similar model?
I ask because I imagine it will be difficult to find great designers that have to take on large risk for there time.
It is hard to pay Apple, and a designer up front for an app that may or may not do really well. Is this something that iOS developers should just get use to, or is budgets with design professionals all that negotiable?
Thanks for the great post. I’m currently working on an infographic for my clients to explain the process.
I have made some simple posters for friends and the question has come up to release my process files. ie psd and ai files. is there any reason I should or should not release such files to the “client”?
Thanks
Hi Paul, I’m not sure why you wouldn’t supply the files, unless all that your friends need are the printed posters for a one-off use.
Hello,
It’s interesting to read about what a good graphic designer is actually meant to be capable of. I rolled into the graphic design world without knowing what the job actually means, because I studied something different.
Now I am working with a fellow graphic designer alongside a game developer and we both have trouble with simple things like deciding on what art style we want to use for one of our projects. What usually happens is that graphics don’t look in unison with another. We don’t have a solid structure in our working process; it always changes, our communication is very poor and difficult, we both go our separate ways most of the time. This is concerning me more now that the company is experiencing their busiest time yet and it appears that we won’t make our deadlines and that tasks are being rushed without been properly thought through or discussed. It is significant to evaluate the options even with the smallest of tasks, am I right?
Could you advise us on how to get a structurized process and is it possible to apply this while at the peak of our business?
You can change how you do business at any stage, Julie. I think what’s most important is that you standardise how you both handle the client relationship. That way, you’ll know where you are and what needs to be done. Then you can split the workload without any overlap or completely different paths.
Alina Wheeler shared a primer for her brand identity process.