Client project evaluation with improvements

1. CLIENT PROJECT
EVALUATION
CARA TAYLOR

2. FINDING A CLIENT
• For my project I decided that I wanted a client who was within my local area and somebody that I would
be able to contact frequently and be able to go to meetings with easily, so I searched around, finding
somebody who was within reaching distance of me. In the end I considered several different locations
which was A) A local Chinese restaurant, B) Local pet shop or C) Local theater company. Whilst
searching I made sure that all of my possible clients were local and thought about which would be best
suited to create a product for based upon my skills and what they would possibly want making. In the
end I chose to go with the local theater company as it is one that I attend myself weekly so I know I
would be able to see my client frequently and be able to contact them without any difficulty. As well as
knowing the client I had an idea of what products my client would like and how they should be created
based upon my clients previous work that exists. I felt that my skill set fitted the style of the products
that my client has had in the past and that I would be able to make a product that would continue to fit
into the style with some slight differences to make them more noticeable. Knowing this I decided to talk
to the director of the company who said they would be my client once the project had been explained
to them as they wanted some more advertising material creating due to looking for new casts members
for an upcoming show. A short while after this I got in touch with my client again and sent them a brief
which they filled in and sent back to me, showing what I needed to create for them and what I should
to do match all of it.

3. CONTACT WITH CLIENT
• Throughout my project I have had several different interactions with my client, this has ranged from meetings
to emails and chats online so that I can show my work, discuss ideas with my client and gain any resources off
them that they wanted to be used within my work. My first interaction with my client during the project was
on Tuesday the 9th of may where I was paying a visit to my clients company, I showed them the work that I had
drafted up for their product along with the other variants that I had created for them. During this my client
told me what they liked about the product and what they wanted to be changed in the product, they told me
they wanted more music notes adding and curtains on the image to give the product a more theatrical feeling
rather than having it rather empty and blank. They also told me they wanted some of the font changing to be
more appropriate and laid out across the page in a way that it would capture the attention of an audience. As
well as updating old information that I had been given as my clients email was to be changed within the
coming weeks, and I had put the old one onto the work without knowing this piece of information. Taking this
into account I took the product home, starting to make any changes to it in the course of the next two days,
when I made the changes that I felt were correct and appropriate for what my client was wanting, I then sent
them the pieces of work as an attachment. However I did not hear from my client for a short while afterwards
as they were reviewing the work that I had sent them. During this time I drafted up a few more pieces of work
with possible changes incase my client was to want any more adjustments to their work or to have any other
variants of the product I was creating for them. My next face t face meeting with my client was on the 16th
and 17th of May, where we discussed the work and I showed off everything else that had been created for my
client. On May 17th my client told me that they were pleased with the work that I had created for them and
that they did not want anymore changes to it and that they were happy with the overall product in the end.
Although I had a few online interactions with my client throughout the course of my project, most of them
were verbal but I was able to take everything they said into account to create a product that was suitable for
their needs.

4. • This was the main contact that I had with
my client over messenger, as most of the
discussions and conversations we had about
work were verbal. However when sending
the email brief and final products over they
were the times that we had discussed the
project online. The conversations were in a
casual yet formal manner when we
discussed the work. However as most
feedback from my client was verbal there
was very little communication over the
internet.

5. LEGAL & REGULATORY
• Throughout my project I have been creating a piece of work that my client is wanting to use to advertise their company. This
means that I will be creating a piece of work that is going to be seen by the public when it is being used to advertise what my
client is offering. This meant that I had to take this into account when creating the work for my client and that if I was going to
use any images that already exist I would have to use images that are not subjected to copy right and that I would be able to use
them for my client without making changes or with making changes to them if needed. When I went to create the product for
my client I chose to rely on Photoshop and used any of the fonts within the program so I would not have to find a font that is
not subjected to any form of copy right. I found this useful as on the poster I produced I used several different types of fonts on
the poster to help make the text stand out. When creating the poster I chose to try making the images on Photoshop to begin
with however unable to make an image that suited what my client wanted, I searched to find images that weren’t subjected to
copy right and that could be used for promotional work. In the end I found two images that I was able to use on the poster for
my client, this was an image of two theater masks along with a pair of curtains. Checking the sources I found out that I was able
to use these images without any copy right issues and that I could change them for the poster. Knowing this I made a few
adjustments to the curtains which was changing their colour to match what my client wanted as well as changing their style so
they matched the theme of the poster I was creating. I changed the images to suit what my client wanted as well as making sure
I followed any re-use rules that were put onto the images I used, making sure I followed these I have been able to avoid any
legal issues on the piece of work that I created for my client as most of it is unique and any existing images that have been used
have been changed and followed any regulations put onto them. This means that if my client chooses to publish the work I have
created for them, they will be able to avoid any legal issues to do with copy right due to the ways I have handled the pre-existing
images.

6. MEETING THE BRIEF
• I was given a brief by my client that I had to stick to when creating the product for them, the brief
highlighted what they wanted to be created and what they wanted on the product and if there was
anything I should/should not be doing whilst creating the product for them.
This was the outline and requirements section of the brief that my client filled in, informing me of the
product that they wanted me to make and included a list of things that wanted putting into the work so
that the final product would fully suit their needs. My client wanted a product that shows off the
business for possible clients (which would be people who may want to join or see any of my clients
shows that they put on) they wanted it to be eye catching and theatrical. They wanted me to contain the
colours used for Stagedoor Academy which is black and white and to also use theater masks and music
notes on the work. Knowing that my client wanted me to create a poster for them I had been given
mostly free reign with creating it as they did not give anything exact that they wanted putting on their
product asides from a few pieces of information and images which had given me the freedom to lay out
the image how I wanted and to make it best suitable to my client and their needs.
During my production I stuck to what my client had said in the brief and I only used black and white for
the poster but with some different shades so that I could make some parts of the image more distinct
than the other so they would not blend into the background with block colour. With the way I laid out
my products for my client I made it rather bold and stand out, I highlighted the most important text and
bolded them to make it eye catching at first glance, I used white on black to make it contrast to help back
up the piece of work being eye-catching. To make sure I stuck with what my client ask for within the brief
I make sure I included musical notes and theater masks within each image, however changed about the
positioning of them at times to help make them stand out or appear more theatrical depending on
layout.
I feel that I have worked very close to the brief I had been given by my client and that I was able to
create a product that suited all of my clients needs.

7. This is one of the final designs for the poster I have made for my client, when
creating this poster I stuck close by to the brief following what my client
wanted and making sure I included everything they asked for while including
all of the information on the poster that my client wanted.
One of the main things that my client asked for with the poster I was going to
create for them was to have the use of the traditional stagedoor colours which
were black and white, although I have used different shades of black on the
poster to allow certain parts to stand out and to stop images and background
from blending in with each other, I have been able to use the colours that my
client had asked for me to use within the brief.
Within the image I have also included the use of music notes and theater
masks like my client had asked me to do so, the theater masks appear at the
side of the page along with the music notes, coming across almost like a
boarder. During meetings with my client they had asked if I can include more
music notes on the page rather than only having a few, which is why there is a
majority of large music notes on the side of the page over the curtains. In
another part of the brief my client told me that they wanted the posters to
appear as eye catching and theatrical, I feel that I have been able to do that
throughout the creation process and have met what my client has asked for in
the brief. To make the poster appear more theatrical I have included a pair of
theater curtains and a stage at the bottom of the page which gives of a
theatrical feeling due to the way a stage relates back to theater.
I feel that the poster is eye-catching due to the way the posters text contrasts
off the black background and also has a bold eye-catching font at first glance.
Overall I feel that I have been able to meet the needs of my client whilst
sticking closely to the brief and giving them a final product that matches what
they had asked for.

8. • Throughout my work I created two different of ideas that I felt did not work as an overall or fit in with
what my client was wanting as a poster. The first draft was a poster with curtains and a stage, however a
spotlight was in the middle of the page, where the text and important information about the business
was placed. However when creating this draft of the product I realized that there was not going to be
enough room to fit in the text and information without it being in small writing that would be difficult to
read, or to have the text going into the more shadow like area of the page which may have also been
more difficult to read when the font colours were split down the middle. This is why I decided to take
out the idea of the spotlight however I kept with the idea of using curtains and a stage much like my
client had suggested for me to do.
• Another draft that I ha created of the poster was to be a two sided poster, which could have been used
like a leaflet if my client wanted a product to hand out to the public to give more information about the
group. The front of the poster was a black and white wall, with a door in the center of it, the words
“STAGEDOOR” At the top, to highlight what the poster was going to be about. On the back of it, it was
decorated to look almost like a dressing room with a wall and mirror (with lights, music notes and a
theater mask) which then included the information about Stagedoor within it. However looking at this
design I decided that it was too messy and wasn’t straight to the point and as informative as it could
have been, which is why I chose to get rid of this idea.

9. TIME MANAGEMENT
• For my client project I was given two weeks to create my product for my client and to have meetings with
them, leaving some time at the end for me to make any further changes to my work if my client was to want
any created. The first week of this project was aimed at drafting up different versions of the product that I
could send to my client and then creating any changes to them to come up with a rough final version of the
product for my client. Within the first week I had a meeting with my client to discuss what they liked and what
they wanted changing, with this taken into account I worked on drafting up different ideas until the end of the
week. Within the second week I had another meeting with my client, showing them what I had created in a
much neater and more professional version and found out what they liked and if they wanted any changes
made to the product. As they did not want any changes making and were happy with the final products I had
created I had finished the project two days earlier than I was expecting to. However the two days were left
behind for any extra changes or improvements my client wanted with my work, so taking this into account I
had finished the project in time to my clients standards with time spare to make any changes to my work if my
client changed their mind last minuet about the work. Overall I worked well with time and was able to follow
my production schedule and have meetings with my client throughout the course of creating the products for
my client.

10. WHAT HAVE I LEARNT?
• What I have learnt from this project is how to fully work to a brief that somebody has set me, and how to take
this into account to create a product that somebody is wanting if I am not given much information.
• I have learnt more about time management skills to be able to complete the work for my client in the time I
was given without going over the limit.
• I have been able to learn more communication skills with somebody who I am working for as I had to be in
frequent contact with my client to find out what they wanted and to show them the work I have been working
on. I also learnt more on negotiations as I was able to negotiate with my client what they wanted and what I
would be able to do for them.
• From this project I have learnt skills that would be able to help me in the future in the media industry as these
are the skill sets that I would need to use for the field I am wanting to go into as these types of skills may be
used on a daily basis to discuss what would need to be done, talk about ideas and how they can be adapted.
In the world field I would also be working to a brief with a time constraint that I would need to follow in order
to come out with a final product that my employer would want.