Stop wasting time

How many rounds of amends do you think are acceptable in a design project?

A few years ago, I talked to a potential new client about the amount of amends their design agency was doing on each job. In some cases, it was 40 rounds of amends! 4O!

I turned round to the person and said, "Well, there is a problem there; it's either you or them. I have a hunch which, but either way, something is going wrong in the communication process. We will soon find out when you start working with me." And we did. It was the agency. With me, they had 0-2 rounds of amends.

So, what was going wrong? We will probably never know for sure, but I have a hunch it was all about communication and complacency.

The agency was on a long-term retainer. The brand was huge and was 90% of their business. They had become comfortable and had stopped listening to the client. I see this all the time. With comfort comes a loss of vision, and staleness creeps in.

A lot of what graphic designers do, is applying style to marketing and sales collateral, which can be monotonous. However, it requires a sharp eye and keen attention to detail. Communication in the design process is key. In my opinion, you can't ask enough questions.

We have to be all eyes and all ears in our work, and it's not about the software tools of the trade; our tools are already built in.

Is this happening a lot with the designers you are using? If so, it may be time to find out why. If that doesn’t work, come and have a chat with me.