Design Meeting
- Reality of working with clients.
- Presentation of your Portfolio.
- Professional marketing such as blog, business cards, e-mails etc.
What types of Clients?
Retailers, interior designers, design companies, architects, magazines and direct customers buying products for their home.
Where would you initally meet these clients?
Trade Shows, networking events, websites, recommendations from past clients, social media and marketing magazines.
You may be working with one person to a team.
Contact
- Initial contact may be through e-mails, need to be professional.
- Chats through Skype due to distances and international clients.
- Travel to places for meetings by train, drive at offices, restrauants, coffee shops: need to consider claiming this back.
Portfolio
Presentation of work at trade show.
Designs have to be extremely presentable, excellent quality, colour schemes and collections.
How do you draw people to the stand?
Show entthusia about your own brand, excellent knowledge and confidence.
Keep contact: Business cards, marketing, pricelist, brouchers, rememberable and visual.
Skype: Initially you may have sent samples, seen at Trade show etc. Have to consider language barrier.
Face to Face: Paper and fabric samples, print outs of webiste, products, moodboard examples.
Presentation of work has to be clean, simple, no pixalated images. The way work has been photograph can change the whole look, quailty and really change the chance of work being sold.
Your work has to stand out! Be proud of your work!
Exchange of business cards: Contact details, websites, logos and headers - all have to be same and professional. Need to be visual and make the client interested.
The Client
How much control will the client/designer have?
Processess used - cost, time and availability.
Length of time/deadlines
Money: How will you be paid, deposit, material costs before you begin designing?
Contracts: Royalities, licences and copyright.
They will want to know about you as a person, interests and background. The client meeting could ensure furture contracts and business.
Presentation of Yourself
Enthusiasic, confident, smart, presentable, ask questions, be assertive about demands.
They will buy into your personality.
Do not let them rip you off - If there are aspects you are unsure about anything - go away and think about all aspects before signing anything.
Tailor your portfolio dependent on each client, relate to the project and there needs/wants.
Create mockups, print off.
Making amendments
You should charge for amendments, if you have worked to the brief and then asked to change certain parts, hence spending more time on the project then you should be paid for this time.
When beginning make all the criteria CLEAR and do not give the client too much choice.
Designers that are good examples:
Surfacephilia
Rebecca Stoner
Ella Doran
Jessica Hogarth
Rachel Taylor
Esme Winter
Mini Moderns
Niami Paul
No comments:
Post a Comment