Creative Strategy

For each new project, we need to outline a plan of action. This serves as the framework of your ultimate goal. It helps me to understand your message, your audience, what should be conveyed and with what tone. To be successful, the finished product should jive with these guiding principles. 

What does your company or organization do?

What is your company’s history? This defines where you want to place your product or service relative to the competition or a control and how you want to be perceived by the target audience. It suggests the personality of the product or service. It's background information or research pertinent to the execution of the creative.

What is the overall goal of the new design project?

What are you trying to communicate and why? Are you trying to sell more products or get awareness of your product or service? How do you differ from your competitors? Do you want to completely reinvent yourself or are you simply updating your promotional material? This is what you want me to accomplish. It's a specific communications objective.

Who is your target market?

This is a profile of the audience you're trying to reach. It's a demographic and/or psychographic portrait of the customer. These are specifics such as age, gender, income, tastes, views, attitudes, employment, geography and lifestyles.

What copy (text) and pictures are needed?

What copy needs to be included in the design? Who is providing the copy? What artwork, photographs, diagrams, etc. need to be used? Who is providing these? The copy and pictures used in a design are as crucial as the design itself and you should clearly state who is going to be providing the copy and pictures if needed. You may need to look into getting a professional copywriter or photographer.

What are the specifications?

What size is the design going to be? Where is it going to be printed or used? The web, business cards, a billboard? What other information should I know in regards to specifications? For print advertising, please provide a spec sheets from the publication.

Have you got a benchmark in mind?

Provide some examples of what you consider to be effective or relevant design even if it is from your main competitors or from another industry. Also, provide examples of things not to do, and styles that you don't like.

What is the budget?

Providing a budget prevents wasting valuable time and resources when trying to maximize your budget.

What is the deadline?

Provide a detailed schedule of the project and set a realistic deadline for the completion of the work. You should take into account the various stages of the design project such as consultation, concept development, production and delivery.