What Do Designers Want You To Know?

At Mobius, we work with many freelancers, suppliers and other creative agencies to help your campaign come to life. Getting the brief right from the start can make a big difference to the end result and save everyone time and money in the long run.

In the first blog of this series, we ask some of our favourite designers what their top tips are for working with them.

Check out our second piece here.

Ciaran Walsh

I get so excited by sharing creative ideas with a client - it’s ultimately one of the many reasons that I absolutely love working as a designer. That moment where your expectations align and I know I’m making real the idea that my collaborators have in their head is thrilling. In my experience, the processes that can best deliver on this shared creative success are those that start with clearly defined structures of communication between the designer and the client. In practical terms this might mean much more time built into the process for feedback than you might expect. I always quote for a design project in "rounds" that give a client time to sit with drafts of an artwork before they give me their response and thoughts about how to move forward. I find this facilitates agency on both sides and ensures a happy working relationship that gives a solid structure in which good design can flourish.
Website www.ciwadesign.com
Instagram @_ciaran_walsh

Malcolm Reid (Dragonfly Design)

It’s hard to put a “visual feeling” into words, so making a moodboard of images that suit your mental picture is an easy way to give the designer a starting point. Doesn’t have to be fancy, just an A4 page with some screengrabs from the web.
LinkedIn Malcom Reid

Doug Kerr

There are a lot of things you can figure out together during the process, but a solid starting point before bringing a designer on board is to have a clear idea of what a successful outcome looks like to you and your audience. That doesn't mean a pre-conceived idea of what the finished design should look like (although that's not necessarily a bad thing if you are looking for something ultra-specific), but a sense of who is this for? what does it need to achieve? where and how will people encounter the design? what are your hard deadlines? A good designer will have lots of questions at the start of the project, so having a good foundation like this should help you to answer those questions and set up a solid base for working together from.
Website http://studiodoug.co/ 
LinkedIn Doug Kerr

Bryan Holdsworth

You know all about your project. As a designer, I know about visual communication. But I don't know about your project, so a comprehensive brief from you is essential - sharing as much information as you can. More is better when providing background information. Less is better when it comes to actually executing the design.
Working closely with a specialist marketing agency like Mobius is ideal for both me as a designer and for you a project organiser. Their expertise is beneficial for identifying a project's audience, developing a targeted design and providing appropriate marketing design resources.
Website https://bryanholdsworth.com/design

Eiben O'Connor

Remember that even though we seem to have superpowers, we can't read minds. So be descriptive, even if it's descriptions about what you definitely don't want to see, that is still very useful!
But descriptions and specifics about what you want - as much as it seems obvious - is the most important thing you can provide.
LinkedIn Eiben O'Conner

If you've got a project coming up that needs some new artwork, a brand refresh or even just some new formats of tried and tested designs please do get in touch. We're always keen to create connections between clients and designers. 

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