How to Speed Up Your Graphic Design Turnaround Time
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Designing is time-consuming. Whether it is animation, industrial design, graphic design – anything that requires putting together graphics and imagery takes a lot of team effort before they are executed. And with the inevitable revisions upon revisions, it would sometimes take days– weeks even to have the client’s approval.
Designing is a meticulous process, and the designer spearheading the project has barely any time for themselves as they soldier on and cater to the next client. It is a repetitive process that could be mentally tasking, which often leads to burnout that the designers struggle to proceed as their creative juices run short.
And with deadlines gradually piling up, how do you stay on the loop with multiple projects, all with different needs? How do you efficiently maneuver around these projects with the intention of making your designing time much shorter, and with the hopes of preventing creative fatigue?
Initial Meeting
Discuss what your clients need from you as a graphic designer. Like the design direction, format, color schemes, and elements they want to be emphasized, make sure to discuss all these in detail so you would have a solid footing on where the design is headed. It is best to list all your questions down beforehand so you have all bases covered. As you go along the conversation, set realistic timetables and walk your client through the phasing of the design.
This is actually important because not everyone knows the step by step processes of a design material– they simply assume it’s an easy process that would only take a few minutes– so it’s your job as a designer to inform them, and to ask them questions that didn’t even cross their minds in the first place. This way, everyone’s on the same page and all expectations are met.
Feeling stuck or overwhelmed with your design project?
Have a Checklist
Graphic Designers typically cater to a number of clients at the same time. All having different needs for different mediums, make sure to list them all down so as to not mix one with the other. You might be waving your hands and saying you’d only need to make a mental note, believing in the prospect that you’d remember it later on– but you won’t. With so much stuff piling on your plate it is so easy to mix the two up. Do yourself a favor and write. it. down.
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Draft
All designs start with a sketch. It is so much easier to start scribbling with a pencil than immediately fumbling with the mouse. In this process, you draft your initial sketches for the design in a candid manner where you let your creativity flow, unbounded. Consequently, different ideas branch out from these initial sketches which makes your creative process so much easier. Looking at inspiration boards for reference as you bring your ideas together would also help steer you in the right direction.
Feeling stuck or overwhelmed with your design project?
Present Multiple Options
Come up with 2-3 design proposals your clients could choose from and it would cut your designing time in half. Why? Because we won’t always get it right the first time. Unless you manage to produce the exact vision the client’s going for, then maybe providing them with a few options might help them decide on which design works best for them. This helps not only you but your clients as well since not everyone is design-savvy. This way, you are also one step closer to actually achieving your client’s vision judging from his preference.
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Concentration is Key
Do you ever pull up a Youtube video so you’d have music playing in the background, only to open Twitter and Facebook, too? It’s okay. We’ve all been there. It’s so easy to be sucked into social media channels that it makes our productivity much slower. You could start by using concentration tools that limit your screen time via phone settings, or using third party applications that prevent you from opening tabs unrelated to your work. The best way to get things done in a timely manner is to really, genuinely condition yourself in having the right discipline.
Invest on the Right Computer
Imagine having to sift through hundreds of files on your computer while using CPU-heavy applications. Your computer would surely freeze every now and then which disrupts your workflow and before you know it, you barely got anything done. The computer you are using should be able to handle all your software easily without compromising the quality of your workflow. As expensive as it is to invest in a good computer, it is bound to make your work much easier and working on multiple projects would be a breeze.