Project management #

In this chapter we will talk about designer's or design team's working process. Usually each team follows their own workflow, but let's go through the main, most common steps here.

Client's brief #

Usually we start a new project with client's need to improve existing or develop brand new products and services. Client has to introduce their problem to you and this process is named briefing. It may be a meeting or in written form.

The first and crucial step is to understand the problem. It is particulary important when we work with a new client.

But it may happen, that even your client doesn't always exactly know, what the problem is or how to communicate it.

Here are some key points that may help us to ask the right questions to analyze the problem and start to work towards finding a solution. We have to be sure, that we have the competence/time/resources to achieve client's goals. If this is not sure from the initial brief, then we should ask them.

❓ Questions to ask #

• what is the problem we are solving - can we put it in one sentence?
  • also ask yourselves, do you know or do you think what the problem is
• what are our goals - what should be different after this project?
• target audience
• what have been done before - branding, previous projects, research etc
• competitors - what others are doing
• the budget
• deadline
• other (partners, law (copyright), restrictions, cultural and other possibly important aspects)

That was just a short list, more thorough articles can be found here:

• Questions UX Designers must ask when starting on a project
• 9 Questions to Ask Businesses Before Taking on a Project
• 20 questions to ask your client before any design project

Design proposal #

Sometimes you have to compete for the job and then you have to deliver a design proposal. Here is an article, about how to write one.

Pricing #

This is often the hardest part, because both - your client and yourself - should be happy at the end of the project. How to achieve this?

Again - there is no one set of clear rules that applies for every case here. It all depends on project type or size/length, your previous relations/experience with the client, different cultures may have different traditions and so on.

Estimating #

The key question here is - how to estimate your work, because often you have to agree on the price before the project starts. At least in big scale. It may be easier if you have more experience, but until then let's find out, what those with more experience have said about this topic:

• How to estimate design work - 👈 here is a good article about that

Hidden costs #

Also, we have to make sure, what are the "hidden costs" in our project.

Do we have to pay for some extra images or illustrations? Who pays for hosting services? What if the amout of Google Map API queries exceeds the free plan? And all those 360° slow-motion drone videos...

The Futur #

📺There is a great Youtube channel The Futur about project management and business topics for creative teams. But they have more than just that.