Tips on working with a Graphic Designer

As expert graphic designers in Belfast, we have helped thousands of businesses with their creative projects. From full brand development to basic flyer design no project is too large or too small. Engaging with a graphic designer for the first time can seem daunting, but it shouldn’t be.

With our top tips below, we’ll guide you through the process from briefing to print and everything in between. And if you are looking for a graphic design studio to work with, we’re of course happy to recommend Kaizen Brand Evolution.

Our top tips on working with a graphic designer are:

Briefing a graphic designer

A clearly defined brief is the starting point for any successful graphic design project. It should include: Project Goals, brand guidelines, final copy and any assets for consideration of use in the project. We of course can get started on a project without some of these items, but using best practice will always achieve better results. When speaking to a graphic designer, tell us of projects you like and also those you dislike. They may be local design projects or international. This gives us an indication of what style you like and a starting project for the project.

Project Goals

As marketers and business owners we must always consider the end goal of a project. What is our aim and how do we hope to achieve it. Considering the end first, will help us design a project much more efficiently.

While not necessarily a consideration for the design team, it’s always prudent to consider the effect a successful campaign will have on your own internal resource. To give an example, our recent headquarter move was originally timed over the period we intended to run a national print offer on our roller banners. It was determined that the offer may put too much pressure on our production schedule with the move considered. While it will still happen at a later date, running a successful campaign could have put undue pressure on our team.

Assets Matter

When it comes to creating high quality graphic design, starting with high quality assets is key. These assets comes from a variety of sources, your own branding, previous photoshoots or from supplier image banks. We also have access to millions of high quality stock images on Adobe Stock & Shutterstock.

Content is King

When we start any design project the first thing we suggest is that our clients begin or complete the copywriting process. Even we as regular content writers underestimate the time taken in creating and finalising great content for projects. With larger projects such as websites, annual reports or magazines, this is of greater importance.

We hope you found our tips on working with a graphic designer useful and informative. If you have a project you’d like to discuss with us, we’d be glad to hear from you. Simply message us via the contact form below with some further information.

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Fully Fledged at the Institute of Designer’s in Ireland!

IDI Registration

The Institute of Designer’s Ireland is Ireland’s largest and oldest association of design professionals. Our creative team are proud to be members of the Institute as a studio collective with Senior Designers Ryan Stanfield and Lynsay Spence qualifying as Certified Registered Designers. This is as a result of their academic merits, industry award accolades, and advocacy in their field. Adorning them both with the professional suffix of MIDI. To maintain their accreditation they commit to career development and involvement in the design landscape nationally to be able to successfully secure their scoring through rigorous testing in 1 years time. This will of course start with selecting our most coveted client projects for entry into the Institute of Designers Ireland Awards. The team will also benefit from national workshops and inspirational talks from design heroes. We hope to be filling the studio mantle piece with IDI Awards!!

Slim’s Healthy Mini Kitchen – Victoria Square

Slim took on the pod in Victoria Square Belfast as a brand new venture. His plan was to turn the old Victoria square kiosk and transform it into a one-stop juice bar for shoppers. The idea was great and we created the new ‘Slims Healthy Mini Kitchen branding for the POD. Mini Slims needed a new logo with a full vinyl wrap of the entire area below the Victoria Square dome. Our approach was to create a summer festival experience for shoppers in the heart of the city. The graphics featured a field, wooden directional signage, festival lights which sit with picnic tables, teardrop flags and parasols, the full works. The till area was transformed into a wooden hut with the bright, bold colours of Slims brand surrounding the POD. Slims Healthy Mini Kitchen reinforced the brand values in the centre of Belfast’s retail sector and in tern drove more customers to the larger store beside Top shop. A great project for the Kaizen Brand Evolution team.