This has totally got to be my looooongest post ever (for my adult readers out there) :)

This week Motrin made headlines when they launched a controversial ad  (it’s relative) that blasted babysling wearing mom’s during get this “International Baby Wearing Week”; one of my talented and very respected designers got broadcasted by name, no less, on Twitter (not by me) because of his “inability to complete a project to a client’s satisfaction”; and this morning one of my favorite social media personalities  Chris Brogan posted about the simple genius of  Sheraton Four Points Hotel and their free water ad campaign (with clever packaging design/slogan). So being that 3 times a charm I decided today to blog about design and my experiences working with freelance designers being that BY FAR this is where the the largest part of my operations budget (probably 2/3) is invested and also it brings me the greatest returns (without a doubt).

The term ‘Creative’ is relative:

Before we get started…let’s just say what people think of great design is relative. It’s a preference. I am not a designer. I am an entrepreneur who is constantly thinking of what I think are the best ideas ever, lol. That’s the first thing. Choosing the best designer depends on a lot of variables, your personality, your culture and for some your budget.

(the photo above shows one of the favorite parts of the house- my one of a kind spiral staircase. I loved it in its raw form…and all its potential…it was actually made for outdoors. The designers thought of the clever idea to invert the treads and add wood to make it ‘warm’ and suitable for indoors and they also custom made the wooden handle which is actually one continuous piece…they accomplished the objective)

At any rate this brings me to my point- working with others in the creative space.

In Mike Michalowicz’s soon to be New York Times Bestseller, The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur he talks about 3 areas of innovation: Quality, Price and Convenience. He said from Day 1 when you start a business, you have to choose what your area of innovation will be (one thing only) and everything you do has to center around that. My area of innovation has ALWAYS BEEN Quality. In working with my teens I want them to be taken seriously by folks at the top and I know that begins with presentation so I don’t skimp on design quality. If I have to I will do something on a smaller scale first, but I will not do a more expansive project with lower quality grade. 

When I am working with my teen entrepreneurs even if that teen has not yet made any money (and doesn’t have any money) and all they have is what I consider a ‘brilliant idea’ and raw talent….they are kinda like my staircase. I got to get creative with them and help them make a commanding statement that will be immediately noticed as soon as you walk through the door. When I put their corporate presentation package together I want custom, I want phresh, I want experimental and I want something professional that reflects the potential I see in them. That makes them feel and carry themselves in a more confident way.  You have to think of your own ‘packaging’ in the same respect.  Cheap and discount are not in my vocabulary. If you look sloppily put together people are not going to take you seriously nor give you full value.   It all starts with your presentation & packaging and how you position yourself in the marketplace folks.

Regardless of whether or not I get a high recommendation from someone, I still take a lot of time in researching my designer. And here are the specific steps I take in choosing a designer and working with them on a project design:

1. I look through their portfolio and ask for their personal portfolio vs. what they designed for others.  The reason that it is important to see their personal portfolio is because clients really like to micromanage things and that takes sometimes takes away from the creative process.

2. I fill my rolodex with designers I like in all genres for when the moment hits me. Truly talented designers are usually booked and hard to come by.  So when I am peeping their portfolio and I see their design talks to me now (or may talk to me later) I put them in my file. Choose a couple of them you like so that when you have time sensitive projects you have a variety of people you can choose from. 

I have a lot of designers and creative folks I work with because I work with a lot of kids who have a variety of personalities and a lot of different approaches to design and what they are looking for plus my taste for my personal/porofessional design projects vary as well. So I have a list I am constantly building of “underground designers”, concept designers, pop designers, manga designers, classic designers, digital designers, hand artists, illustrators, digital authors, cartoonists, clay modelers, TV storyboard anime designers…and this doesn’t even include my technical creative team.

3. I am a creative person but I am not the expert.  I don’t care how creative you are…some people just don’t need to be trying to design their own stuff…let alone someone else’s. I have traveled to Europe and have seen wonderfully crafted things in Germany, in Finland, in Denmark. I have seen over the top architecture from Dubai and crazy stooopid digital authoring from Asia. Don’t tell me you are cutting edge and have no clue about the design movement overseas.

4. I’ll give them an OBJECTIVE and they’ll give me a concept. When I decide on the designer I want to use, s/he probably has some of that international flavor.  In my preferred order, one at a time I give them the loose OBJECTIVE (short & long term). No matter how brilliant I think my idea is I realize it is basic and simple. So much more can be done with it when you work with a visionary designer. My objective is what I want to accomplish. But again, I am NOT a designer. I don’t give people concepts. That is what I am paying them to do. They are supposed to ask me ??? about my brand, my company, my vision, other projects I have done, what I like and don’t like. After they have done this pre-evaluation I wait for HONEST feedback. The designer that gives me the best vision wins that project. Again, to clarify I go to each designer one by one so they are not competing against anyone but themselves. If they don’t give me a concept I like I move to the next person on my list. If at this point, I already gave him/her the objective and they explained they clearly understand if they didn’t give me a concept that gave me the warm and fuzzy then I move on otherwise one of us will feel compromised and it is never a good thing in the end. 

Note: If you would prefer to see multiple designers and concepts try: http://www.GeniusRocket.com which provides creative crowdsourcing. For example say you want a logo around this theme- you can write a little description of what you are looking for and then a bunch of freelancers will send you free concepts and you can choose the designer you want to hire who most closely aligns with your style/budget.

5. Once we agree we draft up the milestone timeline and project scope. I prefer my designers use Basecamp or some kind of Project Management System.

6. The designer presents a couple of really rough draft concepts to me on or before the 1st milestone. If the milestone is not made and they did not give me fair warning it would not be made- bye bye to them. Seldom has this been the case for me. I review the concepts and decide by their ‘energy’…while I never know exactly what I am looking for I know what I don’t like- extremely conservative & predictable design is definitively out, no stock images or cheesy photos with people smiling, no Times New Roman font But being that I have already seen their portfolio and know their work, I go on my merry way because I do not want to upset the design process and I know the finished project is going to be wild and cool beyond what I ever imagined. I don’t call every 24 hours and ask what do you have for me, I don’t email and ask when am I am going to expect my work. I know that one’s creativity and inspiration comes at different times so I let them feel the project and flow with it based on their energy and routine. It might be the day before the project is due at the 23rd hour that they come up with the genius concept and work all thru the night to put together something absolutely indescribable beyond words. 

Lessons Learned: Whether as the client or designer, drama (reservations about the project) in the beginning means always drama. And the Mastery is in the Marketing- if you want to attract clients  and advertisers that pay well and truly value your time and respect your craft, never ever ever cut corners on your marketing and design budget or try to do it yourself.