Working with a creative design agency is one of the best ways to ensure innovative and effective marketing campaigns. Design agencies bring together several experts to contribute years of knowledge to your project. As a result, your campaign will benefit from a wealth of different perspectives and ideas.
If you’ve already decided to engage a creative design agency, but aren’t sure about the best practices to know, you’re in the right place. In this article, we’ll cover how to work with a creative design agency successfully.
Finding the Right Creative Design Agency
The first step to a great creative collaboration is finding the right collaborator. Do a thorough research when it comes to choosing a creative design agency to work with your business. This agency might see you through several campaigns and come to understand and represent your brand, so it’s essential they are a good fit.
You can make sure of this by looking at the work on their portfolio to see if past work reflects what you like to see. The agency’s brand itself is a good indication of whether they’ll vibe with your own brand. What impression do you get from their website and the words they use?
If you can find a creative design agency whose values overlap with your own, you are much more likely to share a vision for your next big design project or marketing campaign.
Familiarise Yourself with The Process
For smooth sailing throughout the collaboration, it’s always good to know what to expect. This will enable you to ask questions and prepare information ahead of time. If you know that you’ll want to have a say about specific colour schemes, for example, have some references and inspirations ready for when the time is right.
If you’re unsure of how your chosen agency works, ask! They can summarise the process for you so you’ll understand the timeline.
Know Your Brand and How to Communicate it
You can save your creative design agency a lot of time, and yourself a lot of miscommunication if you know your brand before the design process starts. The agency will need to learn your values and objectives and how your brand communicates before successfully creating a campaign that matches that brand. The more you can brief them on what is intended, the better.
So, before you meet with any designer, think about your brand, what it means, and what you hope to convey. If you have a brand guide already, take this along with you. If not, jot down some ideas, inspirations, and examples of what you hope your brand might look and feel like.
Leave Art Direction to The Artists
The chances are that if you’ve approached a creative design agency, you need help with the creative aspects of marketing your business. Bringing ideas and brand notes to the table is excellent, but once the process has started, let the designers handle the artistic aspect of the design. Remember, you’ve chosen a creative agency because you like their work, so try not to crowd them with too many preconceived ideas.
Provide Honest Feedback
Creative Design is a journey, and not one that is completed after just one stretch of road. When you receive the first concepts, be honest and punctual with your feedback to help the agency reach the right design.
To provide actionable and pointed feedback, highlight what is working for you and what isn’t. In which way is the current design not representing your brand? This process is made easier if you’ve previously clarified your intentions with your brand and the campaign.
Working with a Creative Design Agency is a Partnership
The best designs spring from collaborations that upheld mutual respect and communicated effectively. Treat your work with the creative design agency as a partnership. Both sides should communicate throughout the project. As a result of this, it’s crucial to take responsibility for those aspects under your control. Provide feedback on time, be honest and concise, do your research, and know what you want.
Do you have a brief that is just waiting to be brought to life? ZAK is a creative design agency that takes creative briefs from research to delivery. We build campaigns for businesses that look towards the future and are ready to embrace innovation. If those sound like your values, get in touch! We’d love to have a chat.
