Our last blog post discussed how to give good direction to your copywriter. In the same vein, here’s the information you need to share with your art director in order to get the best work from them:
1. Your Goals. It’s fairly common for graphic artists to present designs that look colorful and eye-catching, but don’t accomplish what they were intended to. You can help avoid this by being completely clear about what the goal is for whatever is being designed.
2. Good Visuals. In addition to your company logo, providing access to a good range of appropriate photographs or other visuals will make your art director’s life infinitely easier.
3. Your Look. If you have standard typefaces and colors that your company always uses, that’s great. If not, share a sampling of your current materials so that your new project will carry through a similar look and feel.
4. Hierarchy of Elements. When looking at a web page, catalog, brochure, or anything else written, people never read from beginning to end. Their eyes jump from the most dominant element in front of them, to the next most, and so on until they either digest the whole thing or lose interest.
When headlines, photographs, logos and other elements are of equal weight, readers don’t know where to look first, and you run the risk of losing them altogether.
Make sure your designer knows which elements to emphasize and which to downplay, so they can help lead your reader through your material in the manner you intend.
5. Competition. Taking a look at competitive materials always helps designers position your company in the marketplace. If competitive information contains elements that you especially like or don’t like, be sure to point them out. A good designer can digest what does and doesn’t work for you, and translate it into a powerful piece that reflects your company’s own uniqueness.
