A Graphic Designer’s Guide To Success: What The Customer Wants and the Graphic Designer Needs

With over 20 years of experience as a producer and consumer of graphic designs, I have seen the best and worst of flyers

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A Graphic Designer’s Guide To Success: What The Customer Wants and the Graphic Designer Needs

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Presents

A Graphic Designer’s Guide To Success (What The Customer Wants and the Graphic Designer Needs)

TORRE A. STOCKER 1

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © RED PEN EDITS AND CONSULTING, LLC

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A Graphic Designer’s Guide To Success What The Customer Wants and the

Graphic Designer Needs

TORRE A. STOCKER

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ABOUT THIS GUIDE With over 20 years of experience as a producer and consumer of graphic designs, I have seen the best and worst of flyers, business cards, postcards, banners, and etc. From typos to grammatical errors, it is apparent to me that “haste [still] makes waste” (John Ray, 1575). The purpose of this guide is to bring to light the many items that are often overlooked during the process of creating graphical masterpieces. In this guide artist and designer will be used interchangeably. The same can be said about the use of consumer and customer while reading this guide.

Graphics designers interact with individuals on a daily basis that seek to have their vision transformed into reality. This arduous task is expected to be performed with precision and timeliness. The creative nature of a graphic designer must be held in high regard as they attempt to maintain originality in all of their work.

In most cases, customers simply want to secure a piece of propaganda that will be used to publicize their product, service or event. In the process of conveying the intended message, misinformation and misrepresentation can be the shared blame of both the customer and the graphic designer.

Seemingly, this is one of the most misconstrued obstacles in the case of productivity and the purpose of business relationships. This guide will clear blurred lines and create an environment for effective communication and an overflow of satisfied customers.

Let’s Create The Framework For This Guide!

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Here are three C’S to be considered by the graphic designer and the customer:

Communication Customers must communicate their message in order for the graphic designer to visually communicate the idea.

Consistency At the core of a customer’s brand, there is a level of consistency that must be represented in the masterpiece by the graphic designer.

Color Colors have meanings. All colors aren’t complementary of all designs. The color and theme must match the project.

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WHAT THE GRAPHIC ARTIST/DESIGNER NEEDS

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WHAT THE GRAPHIC ARTIST/DESIGNER NEEDS Graphic designers are one of the main components of the creative team that uses their intelligence to create an experience for individual and business brands. Graphic design is a form of art coupled with the practice of proper planning to effectively communicate the message of a customer. Graphic designers see life through a 4k UHD lens. In order to share this viewpoint, there are a few things that the graphic designer needs.

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WHAT THE GRAPHIC ARTIST/DESIGNER NEEDS

First and foremost, the graphic designer needs room. Do I mean office space? No! I mean breathing room, space, and opportunity. Much like a musician, the graphic designer wishes to operate outside of the box when it comes to the vision of the customer. No one likes to be locked into the same A-B-C scheme or monotonous rhythm and rhyme. Most graphic artists want to have creative freedom when building the customer’s masterpiece, but customers refuse to release the proverbial reins of innovation which will ultimately enhance their brand. This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the needs of the graphic designer.

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WHAT THE GRAPHIC ARTIST/DESIGNER NEEDS Patience Graphic designers need to be patient with customers that, in most cases, don’t know exactly what they want. Realistic Deadlines If you guarantee work within a specified amount of time, make sure to deliver within that time frame. Correct Content Graphic designers don’t do research to confirm your content. If you send incorrect information, your graphic file will have incorrect information. Project Management Skills As a graphic designer, if you don’t know how to manage the workload, hire an assistant that can manage your projects and keep you on task. Typography Skills Every flyer doesn’t need to have YOUR favorite font. That will place limits on your portfolio and audience.

Software Knowledge You can’t depend on WordArt and Shapes to accomplish highly successful graphic jobs.

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WHAT THE

CUSTOMER NEEDS

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WHAT THE CUSTOMER NEEDS

Customers are the lifeline of every business entity. Without customers, there would be no businesses. In order for a business to increase their exposure and the reach of their brand, they need to hire highly competent graphic designers that can accurately represent the applicable message with appealing graphics and colors.

Customers need to exercise patience with graphic designers. Here’s something that all customers may not know regarding graphic designers. 1. Graphic designers are not waiting idly for your email, instant message, or phone call to have something to do. 2.

You are not the only customer of the graphic designer.

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WHAT THE CUSTOMER NEEDS To be clear about the purpose and scope of their project To provide all of the relevant information for the flyer

To not expect a lot of words to be on the flyer To not expect fast service Allow the designer to tell a story graphically with accompanying verbiage

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Tips For Every Graphic Designer and Customer

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TIPS For Every Graphic Designer TO THE GRAPHIC DESIGNER Learn the art of upselling. Perform the customer’s initial request with such excellence that they immediately want to return for future work. Offer additional items such as t-shirts, mugs, and pens that will complement their event, product or service.

Remove pride from the equation when suggestions and/or critique is offered from a viewer of your product. If your customer grants final approval and a typo/grammatical is still present, just fix it.

Common errors include misspelled words, date/time discrepancies and grammatical errors.

Typography and color schemes play a huge part in the success of graphic designs.

You don’t have to fill every space, nook and cranny on the graphic grid. Leave room for the imagination.

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TIPS For Every Customer TO THE CUSTOMER Don’t use bathroom, car, or other random selfies for your promotional picture/headshot. As sentimental and photogenic as you seem to be in that picture, it is not the best representation for public viewing outside of a general post. Get professional headshots.

Make sure that you submit all of the applicable content to the graphic designer at one time.

There is an old adage that says, “a picture is worth a thousand words”. With that being said, allow the graphic designer to use graphics, pictures and symbolism to maximize the message of the flyer without using paragraphs to convey a message.

There is a difference between revisions and redo’s of work. Revisions are limited. Redo’s come with a fee.

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Let’s Work Together!

Graphic designers and customers must realize that they are on the same team. The customer has a problem and the graphic designer is in place to solve the problem. The portfolio and/or work of the graphic designer has been admired from a distance which causes the customer to reach out in solicitation of the services. Once the customer clearly defines their wants, the graphic designers are free to express themselves through the visual arts. Below is a checklist of items that are the responsibility of the graphic designer and the customer as a cohesive unit.

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Graphic Designer and Customer Checklist

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Graphic Designer and Customer Checklist Maintain Effective and Professional Communication

Clear and concise communication is essential to a positive business relationship.

Set Realistic Deadlines Rush orders warrant additional fees. It is best to set time expectations for all work.

Establish Revision Rules With Cost (If Necessary) The amount of changes to design and formatting are limited. Excessive changes come with a cost.

Proofread, Edit, Proofread Again Get a fresh set of eyes on the work before submitting to the customer for review.

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Graphic Designer and Customer Checklist Size and Dimension Specifications Projects such as flyers, bookmarks, and business cards come with dimension requirements that must be adhered.

Save Your Work Don’t cause more work than necessary. Save your work as you go.

Referrals and Testimonials Both of these tools provide residual income.

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Commonly Misspelled/Misused Words

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COMMONLY MISSPELLED/MISUSED WORDS WANT vs WON’T Want is your desire or aspiration. Won’t is something that you refute or oppose.

TO vs TOO vs TWO To is a preposition meaning “toward” and “until.” Too is an adverb meaning “also.” Two is a number.

THERE vs THEIR vs THEY’RE There is a location opposite of here. Their specifies ownership or that which belongs. They’re is a contraction commonly used for they are.

THAN vs THEN Than compares i.e. better than or older than. Then, serves as a transition i.e. something happens next.

NO vs KNOW No is the opposite of yes. Know is to be made aware or to understand.

BELIEVE vs RECEIVE These words are an example of the grammar golden rule, “i before e except after c”.

YOUR vs YOU’RE Your describes something as belonging to you. You're is the contraction of "you are".

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Sample Forms and Correspondences

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Client Name Address City, State, Zip Code To Whom It May Concern:

SAMPLE INTRODUCTORY LETTER

Thank you for considering the services of ??? Graphics. It is our hope to provide you with a seamless graphics process and create a professional job for your individual/business usage. Attached you will find an official Graphics Work Form to capture your preferred contact information, job details, and delivery expectations. Upon receipt of the Graphics Work Form and the applicable deposit/payment, we will send you a confirmation and begin working on your masterpiece. If you have any questions/concerns, feel free to email us ???@?????.??? or call us at ???-???????.

Thank You In Advance For Your Support!

??? Graphics

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GRAPHICS WORK FORM Client Name

___________________________________________________

Address

___________________________________________________

City, State, Zip

___________________________________________________

Email

___________________________________________________

Contact #

___________________________________________________

Graphic Request

___ Flyer

___ Business Card

___ Bookmark

___ Banner

___ Brochure

___ Book Cover

___ Backdrop

___ Other _______________

Project Details

SAMPLE WORK FORM

___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________

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GRAPHICS WORK FORM First proof will be delivered within 3-5 business days from successful submission of Graphics Work Form and deposit/payment.

SAMPLE WORK FORM

More than three (3) revisions will incur additional fees.

Upon final approval and payment, files will be emailed with a confirmation letter. Any updates after final approval will incur additional fees. Payment can be submitted via:

CashApp via $???

Paypal via www.payPal.me/???? or Paypal Invoicing.

Client Signature

___________________________________________________

Date

______________________

——————————————————————————————————————————

FOR OFFICE USE ONLY _________ Payment Received Date

1 2 3 Revisions

_________ Final Proof Sent

——————————————————————————————————————————

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Graphic Designer Recommendations

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Graphic Designer Recommendations The following graphic designers come highly recommended by Red Pen for exhibiting professionalism, timeliness, and creativity.

Suite 1741, LLC - Dustin Claridy [email protected] 216-544-1738 The IMPAK Agency - DeSean M. Wright [email protected] 803.260.0501 TB Visuals - Trevon Luther Bridges [email protected] 843-986-7608

KT Designs - Keshanda Taylor [email protected] 252-218-5573

TJ’s Elements, LLC - TiffanyJ [email protected] 803-380-8535

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What Is Red Pen?

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~ What Is Red Pen? ~ Red Pen Edits and Consulting, LLC is a personal and professional editing and consulting company that specializes in simplifying the writing process with effective proofreading, editing and manuscript review services. We seek to provide guidance, help and encouragement during the writer’s journey from conception to completion.

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Red Pen Services

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What Does Red Pen Offer? ~ Red Pen Services ~ BOOK WRITING/EDITING

Our team of scrupulous editors will read your manuscript in full, and give you detailed feedback on what the problems are and how to address them. Our goal is to assist you with producing the final perfect copy. Our editors are experienced in various reading genres and will perform line-by-line editing of your manuscript to improve clarity, organization, and flow. Everyone is prone to making mistakes. Some of the most prolific writers need to get their work proofread to resolve typos, spellings and punctuation errors. Upon approval of the suggested changes, we will promptly and effectively start the editing process. BUSINESS WRITING Business writing is a type of writing that seeks to elicit a business response. It’s a purposeful piece of writing that provides relevant information to help a reader know something or do something. Memorandums, reports, proposals, emails, and a variety of other business-related written materials are all forms of business writing. Our team will assist you with creating a clear and concise writing to get your message across. SOCIAL MEDIA POST MANAGEMENT Our team of social media specialist will assist you with scheduling software and the proper creation and editing of social media post. We specialize in 10-day social media campaigns to introduce and publicize products and services.

And So Much More!!! Contact Red Pen Today For More Details

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What Does Red Pen Offer? ~ Red Pen Services ~ SPEECH WRITING

A speechwriter is a person who is hired to prepare and write speeches that will be delivered by another person. Our speechwriters perform research into the business sector of the person delivering the speech and then create a masterpiece that is relevant, time-sensitive, and audience appropriate. Our team is able to create persuasive narratives using impeccable writing and editing skills for both internal and external communications; keynotes; talking points; Q&A’s; breakouts; webinars. We take full responsibility and accountability for quality of communication: overall experience, strategy, content, and contribution to communicating the corporate vision. We seek to develop great relationships with our business partners and make sure they are happy, educated, informed and ready to work with us on future initiatives. BUSINESS PROPOSALS Business proposals are prepared by an individual or team to present an idea in an effort to persuade support. Our team creates business proposals that will state facts and identify the main points of a project or business endeavor. Through the use of rhetorical appeals, logos, pathos, and ethos, our team is able to positively persuade readers. GHOST WRITING

A ghostwriter is hired to write literary or journalistic works, speeches, or other texts that are officially credited to another person as the author. Our Ghost Writing team is able to write copy like articles, speeches, books, blog posts, email newsletters, web copy, etc.

And So Much More!!!

Contact Red Pen Today For More Details

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Red Pen Special

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~ Red Pen Special Offer ~ SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS - GRAPHIC DESIGNERS AUTHORS - CORPORATIONS - SCHOOLS - CHURCHES Thank you for supporting Red Pen Edits and Consulting, LLC. As a result of your support and purchase of this book, you are entitled to: A FREE 15-minute service consultation with a Red Pen Pal AND

A discounted retainer fee for quarterly services or an editing service. Contact Red Pen Today For More Details

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@redpeneditsandconsulting

CONTACT RED PEN EDITS AND CONSULTING, LLC TODAY! VISIT: WWW.REDPENEDITSLLC.COM

EMAIL: [email protected] PHONE: 803.386.8770

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