Don’t get me wrong, I’ve done my fair share of work with large companies where red tape can run rampant and the creative process is completely befuddled. Make no doubt about it, the end product of a well managed and efficiently run project is far more superior then that of one where the flow of communications is like rice through water. Often times these projects an be expensive and seem to go on forever. That’s why I think working with a smaller company such as mine has its benefits to the client. With a smaller firm, correspondence is more efficient and clear. If you’re like me, you have limited time to spend pouring through emails where often times 5-6 people are sending and forwarding threads of other emails, trying to say as little as possible to avoid any liabilities with the client. Also, low overhead costs translate into savings for the client, which always strikes a good chord. Of course I can’t do everything so some things must be outsourced. But, what gets outsourced is managed directly and very closely by me. Not by an account rep that is searching the internet as you try to explain the key selling points of your business to them.

Any smart business owner is passionate or at least well educated in regards to how they want to run or even brand their company. Most successful small business owners didn’t get to where they are by just listening to other people tell them what to do. But at some point, the client, just like the creative, will have to take a leap of faith and trust that we will give 100% and know that we have done our homework and are just as committed to the project as they are to running their business successfully. Either way the client must understand a very important aspect of what they are getting themselves into with us and that is the creative process. This is where it is the creative’s responsibility to enlighten those clients not versed in the creative process. The creatives and the non-creatives in life are some of the most opposite people in the world. Yet, the synergy of the 2 collaborating can take projects to new heights, well beyond what a group of creatives getting input from account managers, getting input from the client can achieve.

If you are looking for a new logo, website or you are embarking on any kind of creative project, understand the creative process before you get started. Talk to your designer or developer and develop a relationship.  A website is not just built over night. It must be well designed and planned out just like a magazine or a logo. The creative process takes time, needs input and requires consideration. The best creative products I’ve seen are products of passionate and intense collaboration. What’s the old cliche -  You get back from the universe what you put into it? Educate yourself on the project that you are considering getting into. Google has an answer for everything. Make sure there is a timeline and that the revisions process is taken into consideration. Remember, once a website is built or a magazine is printed, reprints and rebuilds are very expensive and often lead to super-extended project lengths.

A list apart had a pretty good article on the old creative process. The right brain, left brain theory is better explained here: http://www.alistapart.com/articles/creative