If you’ve ever done business with inConcert, you know that we’re all about following a process! Whether it is a web, print, or promotional project, we have a defined process in place for every job we do. To some people this may seem unnecessary and bothersome to always have to strictly follow a plan, but to be honest, we do it for you as much as we do it for ourselves! Our processes are implemented to ensure we complete every aspect of the job (which means you will get what you paid for in your contract by the time the project is finished). We also adhere to our processes to save on time (which will save you money!) One of the documents we particularly pride ourselves on is our in depth design brief document.
When beginning a custom website design, we always start with the “Defining Phase“. We complete this phase by meeting with our client to evaluate what they are looking for as far as the overall look of the site. Some clients come to us knowing exactly what they want, right down to the exact placement of the copyright line, but some customers have no vision at all and rely on our professional artistic input. Either way, we need to know what you’re thinking! This is exactly why we’ve created this design brief document.
During our design brief meeting, our Project Manager and/or Assistant Project Manager go through a series of questions that will help us get a good idea of what you’re looking for. Our briefing helps us define:
- The background of your company, what you specialize in, and what sets you apart
- Design details such as desired color scheme, navigation preference and imagery
- Technical details such as what options are needed on your contact form, how many seconds you want your image rotator to last, and what main sections you want on your homepage.
This intensive interview lasts about an hour, sometimes a little longer if we feel it would be beneficial to continue gathering information.
Once the design brief meeting is complete, the Project Manager and Assistant Project Manager combine their notes and type up a final design brief document which summarizes all of the information that was evaluated during the meeting. This is sent to our client for them to review. Why? We want to make sure that we have all of our facts straight before accidentally heading in the wrong direction. This is why it is important that our clients carefully review and approve (or edit and resubmit) the document.
It is not until the design brief document is approved that we begin the “Design Phase“. Again, we complete this process to ensure that we deliver the product that you paid for. If we get complete cooperation and a speedy response from our clients, this design brief process will only take a couple days. However, projects are often held up because clients do not want to take the time to review and approve the design brief. Again, having our client read through and approve the document is crucial in letting us know that we will be going in the right direction when we begin the design. So to some, it might seem like an unnecessary waste of time, but to us it is a vital time saver and one of the ways that we efficiently deliver a quality product.