Graphic design is everywhere — from the cereal box we find in our kitchen cabinets in the morning to the the MetroCard we swipe at the turnstiles and the signage system that keeps us from getting lost in the subways. It never even registers on the average person’s radar how much marketing, manufacturing, printing, fabrication, design or even thought, went into all those things around us that we see every day. Thus, when it comes to putting together a brochure for a business someone is starting or creating a presence for themselves on the web, they don’t know where to start, what’s involved or whom to hire.

This is where I come in.

Step 1: Identification of the client’s needs and goals
In abstract terms, the end result to all of this is tangible, visual form being given to a client’s verbal message, delivered via my design. I start by sitting down with a potential client and identifying what their needs are and what they want to accomplish — what they need to communicate and who they need to communicate it to. I then surmise the scope of the project and submit a proposal, budget and timeline.

Once the proposal is signed and I have received written content, I compile a creative brief. This consists of identifying the client’s target audience and the attributes they want to convey — simply put, a list of adjectives and adverbs. After the client has signed off on it, I start designing.

Step 2: The initial design exploration
How do I do this? How does one just come up with ideas out of thin air? I apply the process I learned in the design training I received while earning my Bachelor’s degree at The University of the Arts. I start by generating as many ideas as possible up front, without editing myself and without judging. Once I have exhausted my creative juices, I step back and assess. I discard the less promising sketches, and pursue the more appropriate ones. I pursue the ones that fit the creative brief signed off on by the client, and that are memorable and most visually interesting. I discard design directions that look like something that has already been done. I pursue the ones that communicate the client’s objectives in an interesting and thought-provoking way. (I don’t subscribe to the school of thought that if everyone else is doing it, it must be right. Not only is this the anithesis of creativity, but it makes your clients look like everyone else in the marketplace.)

I sometimes combine ideas from two or three different sketches to create design directions that I never could have come up with on my first pass. I generate as many variations on this second round of sketching as I can, without editing myself. Once I have exhausted my creative juices, I step back and assess again. I repeat this process of unrestrained left-brain creativity with logical right-brain criticism, until I have 3-5 viable candidates to present to my client in an initial design presentation. A great example of this “process” was the logo I designed for Excel Partner. They are a management consulting firm, based in northern NJ, with an emphasis on technology and recruiting. The logo design they chose is based on the concept of creating square pegs for square holes, since they provide complex, abstract solutions to complex, abstract problems. You can view a synopsis of the sketch process by clicking here.

Step 3: The initial design presentation
In the initial design presentation, the client will either pick a design direction, or ask for minor modifications to one or a few of the candidates I presented. If they approve one of the candidates as is, I then flesh out the rest of the design. For example, when I design a website, I only present the homepage and a typical A-level, and then design the rest of the pages, once a design direction has been approved.

Step 4: Subsequent design presentations
You might wonder “What if I’m not completely happy with what you show me? Can I ask you to make changes?” Clients often ask for modifications to what I initially present. After revisiting the creative brief that we developed and further discussing their objectives, I then go back to the drawing board and execute their requests, along with some variations I think might work better and re-present. The design process is one of give-and-take. At the end of the day, the client is the one paying the bills and they have to live with the business card, logo, website, what-have-you, that I’ve designed. Hence, I always build two rounds of design revisions into all of my proposals.

Step 5: Implementation
Once a design direction has been approved, I then move ahead with implementing it throughout the rest of the project and present it to the client for approval. For example, when I design brochures, I only show the cover and one or two spreads in the initial design presentation to demonstrate each concept.

Step 6: Production
Once the design has been completely fleshed out and signed-off on, I then start prepping the files for the vendor. I have a vast network of printers, engravers, binderies, writers, programmers and fabricators that I have hand-picked and established close relationships with over the past nine years. I supervise them every step of the way to ensure that the highest standards of quality are carried through in the execution of all of my client’s projects. As you may already know from your own experience, a great vendor can’t really improve upon a design, but a bad vendor can make a great design look terrible!

Whether it’s a website, logo, brochure or sign for a widget company, dance company or Indian chief, I utilize the same process I have described above. My work is successful and diverse, because I steer clients towards design that will further their communication objectives and business needs — rather than what they like or dislike — and avoid visual crutches and hackneyed clichés. My work makes an impact because I circumvent the status quo just far enough to be memorable, but not trendy.