Our Design Process: Part Two - Think Creative
So you are curious what it is like to work with us at Think Creative Collective? You have come to the right place. Whether you are ready for a rebrand, a whole new website, a social media strategy, product photography, branded images or have an idea all your own we are ready to work with you.
Last week we dove into specifics on our background as a graphic designer and photographer and what the first steps are like to work with us. If you haven’t read Part 1 – Lattes & Laughter we suggest starting there.
What Sets Think Creative Collective Apart
Although our background is in graphic design and photography we work beyond just the visual aesthetic of your brand. Your voice and message are just as crucial of a component to your company as the design. By using a personalized creative brief we can really begin to uncover the roots of your company and breathe some new life into it. Let’s think creative and make ideas happen!
What’s Next
By the end of our first meeting you should have a clearer understanding of who we are and what we are about. We will also have probably quizzed you until the cows came home about your business.
If you are anything like the rest of our clients you probably left full of ideas, excited for change and maybe a little overwhelmed on where to start. We promise to ease that fear and guide you through each step of the process.
By now you have reviewed and agreed to a proposal and you are ready to press go, but you aren’t really sure what GO looks like. Whether you have worked with a designer or brand professional frequently or this is a whole new ball game you have nothing to worry about. The next step in the process is clearly defining expectations.
Your Personalized Creative Brief
Based upon our previous conversations as well as the agreed upon proposals we will put together a custom creative brief specific to your project and needs, inside you will find questions like:
Provide a brief history of your company.
Give a description of your products or services.
What are your long term goals?
What is your goal for this project?
What are we trying to achieve?
Who is the main audience utilizing this?
Although this process may seem a little long and sometimes tedious as you carefully think through your answers, we promise you will come out knowing more about what you are personally trying to achieve. It also is a great building block from the Brand Assessment we started with at the beginning of the project.
This will serve as a fact gathering tool for your project and help clearly define your needs, wants and expectations. It also allows us to see where there might be holes and how we could fill them.
So why is fact gathering such a crucial step in the design process:
We believe to build a brand you want that clearly speaks to your ideal client you must do the initial research to back it up.
We believe if we all have clear expectations upfront you will come out with a more tailored product better suited to your needs.
We believe in a partnership mentality. We are a team and we want you to play a significant role.
We believe you know more about your own business than we possibly will ever know and our job is making sure we communicate effectively on your behalf both visually and verbally.
We want to help create a business and life that you will love.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you write my content or do I have to provide it? It depends on your needs. Although we prefer to help you out from start to finish we understand the desire to want to contribute to the design. You are welcome to provide copy, however, we would love to work with you to define a clearer message. If you prefer to be hands off, content creation can definitely be something we talk more about.
How many changes can I make before it will cost me extra? We want you to be happy with what is created. No one wants to pay for something to turn around and change it in a year. Typically most projects include several initial options and two rounds of changes. If the changes go out of project scope, we will communicate with you if there are any additional charges before proceeding.
How long will my project take? This is very project specific. At the beginning of every project, we will go over expectations and discuss all necessary time lines. Project can range from a day's time to a couple weeks or several months. We know break down our timeframe for design in our package options to give you a clearer idea of what you can expect.
