When you need to create a web or print promotional piece or product, how can you ensure optimum results? Do you hire one at a time? Which comes first? If you hire them together, how best to take advantage of their separate creative powers? I asked freelancers, entrepreneurs, and business owners on LinkedIn about the best practices for bringing content and design together on a project.
Ideas are best applied when there are more of them in a room together.
Of course, allowing writers and designers to work together is ideal. Mike Klassen of Magalog Guy designs magalogs for his clients. His experience is among the ideal. The copywriter he works with give him “the exact amount of copy needed because she actually does a rough layout herself and knows where everything should go… [although sometimes] I explain why something won’t work.”
Bob Kalsey creates business and documentary film scripts for his clients at Bravura Films. He goes a step further by noting that collaboration should result in true innovation–not just accommodation–of ideas. “What comes first in all marketing communication… is the Idea … Unfortunately, one seldom sees distinctive, compelling Ideas on the Web—and I think that’s largely due to a widespread procedural disconnect between the members of Web creative teams. Perhaps because much of the work is so technical, individuals typically work in silos and sequentially, rather than together and interactively.”
So ideas work best when there are more of them in a room together. But in cases where collaboration just isn’t possible, what should be formulated first: content or design?
“Form follows function.”
As a writer I’ll admit I believed design should come first. I’m always able to “nail” the content’s mood, tone, and volume if I get a look at a mock-up or at least a layout. But I changed my mind when I read the response sent by Jared Fabac, e-marketing advisor and web designer at his industrial marketing agency. “…if [your site] is going to have a product focus, you need to know how many products will be highlighted and how to design around that content to drive visitors deeper into the site. If you’re dealing with a strictly informational site, then consideration needs to be given to … how to drive visitors to … lead generating platforms, rather than fit them into a design.”
The key to understanding his response, I realized, is the fact that content is fluid. It can go anywhere, be included in all media, elaborated, summarized, and excerpted. It can be a focal point or one of many similar elements. When making decisions on content, you should be working with the content professional to create the proper framework for presenting it. Attempting to do the opposite, as Farzad Wafapoor, Director of AdvanTech Media commented, “is like fixing your hand around a glove.”
The bottom line
When hiring two creative professionals, set them loose on each other. You’ll find that, when it comes to minds, one plus one equals many more than just two sets of fabulous, feasible ideas. And if you must hire one at a time, you’ll save time and money by preparing your content strategy before moving on to design.
Enter your email to get random special notes from me about marketing copy, language, and grammar you can put to work as soon as you read them. It’s not a newsletter–it’s your chance to pull me aside for answers to your own questions, too!
Hiring Out Content & Design: Who’s First Can Save Money & Time
Posted by Shakirah Dawud in Marketing & Business
When you need to create a web or print promotional piece or product, how can you ensure optimum results? Do you hire one at a time? Which comes first? If you hire them together, how best to take advantage of their separate creative powers? I asked freelancers, entrepreneurs, and business owners on LinkedIn about the best practices for bringing content and design together on a project.
Ideas are best applied when there are more of them in a room together.
Of course, allowing writers and designers to work together is ideal. Mike Klassen of Magalog Guy designs magalogs for his clients. His experience is among the ideal. The copywriter he works with give him “the exact amount of copy needed because she actually does a rough layout herself and knows where everything should go… [although sometimes] I explain why something won’t work.”
Bob Kalsey creates business and documentary film scripts for his clients at Bravura Films. He goes a step further by noting that collaboration should result in true innovation–not just accommodation–of ideas. “What comes first in all marketing communication… is the Idea … Unfortunately, one seldom sees distinctive, compelling Ideas on the Web—and I think that’s largely due to a widespread procedural disconnect between the members of Web creative teams. Perhaps because much of the work is so technical, individuals typically work in silos and sequentially, rather than together and interactively.”
So ideas work best when there are more of them in a room together. But in cases where collaboration just isn’t possible, what should be formulated first: content or design?
“Form follows function.”
As a writer I’ll admit I believed design should come first. I’m always able to “nail” the content’s mood, tone, and volume if I get a look at a mock-up or at least a layout. But I changed my mind when I read the response sent by Jared Fabac, e-marketing advisor and web designer at his industrial marketing agency. “…if [your site] is going to have a product focus, you need to know how many products will be highlighted and how to design around that content to drive visitors deeper into the site. If you’re dealing with a strictly informational site, then consideration needs to be given to … how to drive visitors to … lead generating platforms, rather than fit them into a design.”
The key to understanding his response, I realized, is the fact that content is fluid. It can go anywhere, be included in all media, elaborated, summarized, and excerpted. It can be a focal point or one of many similar elements. When making decisions on content, you should be working with the content professional to create the proper framework for presenting it. Attempting to do the opposite, as Farzad Wafapoor, Director of AdvanTech Media commented, “is like fixing your hand around a glove.”
The bottom line
When hiring two creative professionals, set them loose on each other. You’ll find that, when it comes to minds, one plus one equals many more than just two sets of fabulous, feasible ideas. And if you must hire one at a time, you’ll save time and money by preparing your content strategy before moving on to design.
Enter your email to get random special notes from me about marketing copy, language, and grammar you can put to work as soon as you read them. It’s not a newsletter–it’s your chance to pull me aside for answers to your own questions, too!