Unfortunately once you've finished designing your piece,
the work is not over. There are several additional pieces
to consider when you're working out your timeline:
Other timing considerations:
- Time for other vendors' work. Writing, proofreading and
photography have to happen before the design portion of a
project can begin. Get timeline estimates from all vendors
and make sure that everyone involved in the process knows
when their deadline is. For example, if you have a writer
working on copy for a one-page sales website you'll need
that copy at least a couple of weeks before the site is
launched. This lets the designer use that copy to design
and code the site. Once the design is complete allow enough
time for printing. You'll also need time for web coding,
backend development, hosting setup and domain name
propagation. Printing is an often-overlooked time component
- and it can take quite some time to do properly! For most
projects I'd suggest allowing a minimum of one week to
print the project. Two weeks will prevent the printer from
rushing and will give all the final pieces plenty of time
to dry as well. And remember that if your printer isn't
local you'll have to allow enough time for shipping your
printed materials as well!
- Time to distribute. Once a website is launched or a
printed piece comes off the press, the process isn't over!
If you're producing a website, and not planning to market
in any other way, be sure that you allow enough time to get
noticed by the Search Engines. This can take several weeks
or even months. If you can afford to market with both a
website and some other method, you'll have a much more
effective marketing campaign in a short time frame. Some
ideas for this include promoting the website in your email
newsletter, in your partners' email newsletters, hanging or
mailing flyers, doing a postcard mailing, or distributing
an article online.
It also takes a bit of time to get printed materials out
into the world. Allow a couple of days to address, stamp
and send any mailed pieces. You'll save money if you allow
enough time to send your materials bulk rate - but that
often results in your pieces taking longer to deliver. If
you're distributing flyers or putting an ad in a magazine,
find out about the vendor's lead times for these activities
as well.
- Time for your target market to react. This is especially
important if you're producing marketing materials or a
website to promote a class or an event. You need to make
sure that all the designed materials are available to your
clients early. Do it far enough in advance for them to
consider your offer, budget for it, find out more about
your company or your offering and then make their
purchasing decision. A good rule of thumb is the more
expensive your class or event is, the more time your target
market will need to consider and justify it. It's also good
to get things out early enough for people to plan their
schedules around it. If your target is solo entrepreneurs
it might be hard for them to clear their schedule for a
full day if given 1 week notice - even if they'd really
like to come. But if you give them 3 weeks notice it might
be easier to schedule. If your event requires people to
travel you should certainly give more advance notice so
that they can book a flight at a reasonable price and find
a hotel room.
With all of these considerations, it might seem that you
need to start planning your design project many months in
advance of your event. But the truth is that a lot of these
steps can be done quickly. It still is advisable to allow
as much time as possible to address each step thoroughly
and without rushing the project. If you follow this method
your finished design will usually be better and more
effective.
----------------------------------------------------
Erin Ferree is a brand identity and marketing design
strategist who creates big visibility for small businesses.
Through her customized marketing and brand identity
packages, Erin helps her clients discover their brand
differentiators, then designs logos, business cards, and
other marketing materials and websites to reflect that
differentiation, as well as to increase credibility and
memorability. http://www.elf-design.com
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