Guide to briefing...

It’s important to me that we can build a good relationship when we work together. So I think it will be helpful to explain a few things that sometimes confuse people.

What’s your project?

If you haven’t used an illustrator/designer before you may not know what’s involved in producing the work you want. It’s important that we talk about it up front. My experience is there to help you achieve the best result, within the time and budget available.

How to decide what you want

Having a clear idea of what you want your illustrations to look like can be helpful. But working together to produce a unique result for you can also be very rewarding for both of us. It’s important that you give me an outline brief, before I quote for your project.

Changing your mind part way through the project can be costly for you as any change in the brief I accept will mean extra charges for you and we want to avoid that.

Looking at my past work

I provide examples of my work on line because:

You can check it out instantly.

We can have a chat about the type of work you need while looking at the on screen images.

Sending out a physical portfolio can be time consuming and costly for you because generally you’d be asked to pay delivery costs to return the work to me.

However if you don’t have access to a computer then it’s not a problem for me to send you my work and I’ll allow extra time in my time plan to do so.

Meeting before we work together

It’s always good to meet but we need to consider both our time constraints. Also more than one meeting before the project is agreed would be chargeable.

If we do meet then to have a clear idea of the purpose of the meeting will be time and cost efficient for both of us. If distance is a problem e-mail me with your first brief/ideas and I will arrange to call you when it’s convenient for us both.

Quotes

For me to produce a straightforward quote, I need what might seem to you a lot of information. The most important items are the three below.

How and where the piece will be used.

How long the piece will be used.

What budget you’ve allocated to the project.

To see the full list click here (2.5mb PDF)

If when you look at the list you don’t understand anything, then give me a call on +44 (0) 845 475 1003 and we can talk it through.

Unfortunately I can’t give you an off the cuff quote. I need to sit down and work out what is involved. There are complicated calculations regarding anticipated uses, period of use and other such decisions.

Within the quote you will receive a schedule for the work from pencil sketches to launch dates, and an itemised list of prices for each stage.

Please be honest about your budget. We may still be able to work together even if you can’t pay the amount I initially quote. It’s better to let me know what you can allocate to the project and then we can together come up with a sensible way of working.

Copyright

Normally copyright belongs to the illustrator but this depends on the type of work and usage. I use the Association of Illustrators Acceptance of Commission form and can send you a copy of this for you to consider.

Deadlines

Knowing your deadline is important because:

I can judge if I can fit it into my schedule to complete it on time.

You may not realise that it’s not possible in the time particularly if your project includes printing or other processes.

It helps me plan my work to make sure we have time to include all the stages of your project.

Artwork approval

Before your work goes to print, it’s usual for clients to sign off the proof. That means we both know you have checked the document with care and accept it has met the brief. It also means that you have checked the text and are happy with it.

Delivery of work

With digital methods, this can happen quickly and in a variety of ways. Please specify before the project begins how you wish this to happen then if it incurs a substantial cost it can be included in the quote.

If the job is rejected or cancelled

You should tell me if anything worries you as soon as possible. Most things can be sorted out easily.

If you decide to cancel a project there will be cancellation fees involved. Details will be on the Acceptance of Commission form.

I think I’ve covered most questions people ask but if you want to check anything else please don’t hesitate to e-mail me - kate@katesmithdesigns.com