As designers and developers we like to make our clients happy and provide solutions to their web and graphics needs.  When we work with clients clear communication is always important.  In this series of posts we will cover a few ways to help the process go smoothly and save yourself some time and money. Today we will focus on content- the stuff that makes up your

If we are building a website, designing a business card, or creating a custom brochure we will need some input from you, the client. In most cases we will need text, links or images to help us with building and designing. Over the years we have worked with many clients and completed many projects that could have been completed more quickly and effectively had the content been given to us in a better way.  So with that in mind here are a few tips to help make sure your content is organized and ready.

Content tips

Provide content in an easy to use format

If you are providing text for a website or design make sure it is easy to copy and paste. Having to retype your content is not something I want to do and probably not something you want me to charge you for either. If you don’t have the content in a easily use-able format let us know before and maybe we can help.

Label your content

You are the expert on your content, we are not. Also we hate to admit it be we are not mind readers.  So to save time label your content, if it should go in a specific place either include that information in the file name or include a document that says what you want to go where. Without this information we may be forced to use our mind reading powers (which we hate to do).

Provide  finalized content

Content can really affect design and layout. If I design a poster to accommodate 3 lines of text and then you change the text to be four lines it could require a complete redesign. Going back to make changes to updates to content can easily delay your project’s completion.

Too much is better than too little

If you are having an event and you want to promote it make sure your content answers the 5 W’s (who, what, when, where, why). Without that information we can still design an awesome poster but don’t be surprise if not many people attend. If you provide us with too much content cutting it down to fit is easy but if we have to keep coming back asking for more information things can get delayed.

Provide all the content together (if you can)

If you are working on a tight schedule this is VERY important. If you give us all the content in an easy to use well organized format we can turn around a finished product more quickly. Having everything at the beginning of the design process makes it easier to plan things out.