LERN Annual Conference

1. How to Get the Most Out of
Your Graphic and Website
Designers
Suzanne Kart, M.A., CeP
Associate Vice President for Marketing

2. Some humor to start (2 minutes)
Source:
YouTube
(magplus)
https://www.y
outube.com/
watch?v=ACR
M22wyN2o

3. How this session came to be
• A lot of people can’t figure out
why they’re not getting the
results they want from the
designers.
• The result is wasted time,
wasted money, and not getting
the result you want.

4. The pitfalls marketing people run into
• We give too much direction in
the area designers are experts in
(i.e. color, design, layout, etc.)
• We don’t give enough direction
the area we are experts in (i.e.
our audience, our content, what
we want our marketing to
convey.)

5. What we’re going to cover today
• What designers want us to know
• What designers need from us
• What designers want from us
• What we can do to ensure the
best possible outcome of our
design projects

6. What designers want us to know
• The designer is part of the team wants the project to be as successful
as the client does.
• We need to respect the expertise of the designer – and listen to them
when they advise us on design.

7. The one on the left was designed by an amateur
and the one on the right a professional
• 2005 Institutes
• 2010 Institutes
@suzannekart @lernupdates #lern15
•They have the same
components
•2010 uses a much bigger
photo (and it’s full bleed)
•2010 pulls color from the
photo into the text
•2010 Uses san-serif font,
because the cover text is
made of mostly headlines
•2010 Keeps what’s good
about 2005, but takes it up a
step

8. What designers want us to know
• Designers are not experts in our field.
• They may not be up to speed on our lingo.
• They generally aren’t reading everything they’re laying out – and
they’re not our proof readers.

9. Example
Clear directions
Page 1
Cover
) logo (
) picture (
)Headline( Grow with help from the
industry’s top experts
)Sub head( Contact Training
Conference
)Sub head( Chicago, March 8-10,
2016
Unclear directions - Where does this
go? Is there art?
Grow with help from the
industry’s top experts
Contact Training Conference
Chicago, March 8-10, 2016

10. This was the result

11. What designers want us to know
• Designers want the freedom to design.
• We can’t dictate/control every aspect of the design then blame the
designer when it doesn’t come out the way we like.
• It’s better to talk about what you want the piece to convey
• Colorful?
• Conceptual?
• Technology?
• Social?
• Where the focus should be

12. Example
• Sat down with my designer and
told her I really wanted to
convey the experience of
Chicago.
• I told her I wanted it to be bold
and use multiple pictures.
• I asked her to come up with a
cover that was what she would
do if it was all her decision.

13. What designers want us to know
• When it comes to design, they’re the experts.
• Their goal is to make a product that visually communicates and
engages the audience through:
• Color
• Spacing
• Layout
• Photos
• Fonts
• Artwork
• Videos
• Etc.

14. Example – same designer, both pages
This is page 2 of a brochure where the
graphic designer was told exactly what to
do and where to put everything
This is page 2 of a brochure where the graphic designer
was given the components and we discussed color, etc.,
then she came back with a layout

15. What designers need from us
• They need to know what budget we’re working with.
• Each round of changes costs money.

16. What designers need from us
Resources (pictures, logos,
artwork, font, color palette)
• What resources they already
have
• What resources are needed
• Who is responsible for this?
• Will we provide them – or do we
expect the designer to provide
them

17. What designers need from us
• To know who is the audience
• Something that appeals to a 14-year-old potential Kids College student is
going to look very different than something that appeals to a 35-year-old
nurse looking for continuing education offerings.

18. Example
Senior Citizens Bureau
Only two social
media icons
Image
Larger text

19. Example
Do Something
These two are
actually moving
video
More social media
icons including, of
course, Instagram
Overall, not a
lot of text –
mostly visuals,
because that’s
what teens
want/expect

20. What designers need from us
• To know what is the timeframe for the project
• When does this need to go to press (and “tomorrow” is not a good answer)
• If you have a designer on staff or on retainer, you may not need as
much lead time.
• Management by crisis is never a good idea.

21. Example
• Let’s say you want to mail on Sept. 1
• You’ll want to give your designer 2-3 weeks for a first draft, depending on the
size.
• You’ll want to give your staff a week to proof the first draft.
• You’ll want to give the designer a week to make your edits.
• You’ll want to give your printer two weeks to get it printed and labeled.
• That means you need to get everything to the printer by July 14 at the latest.

22. What designers WANT from us
• Copy that’s proofed before layout begins
• A design quote usually includes two rounds of edits. After that, you’re
paying for each round.
• The cleaner your copy is when goes to design, the more cost effective
you will be.

23. What designers want from us
• Callouts in the proofed copy that clearly communicate what the copy
is:
• Headlines
• Headers
• Subheads
• Body
• Charts

24. What designers want from us
• Changes in a marked-up written
format
• Pdf or Hard Copy
• eMail if not extensive
• Not a phone call – designers are
visual by nature. They may be in
the middle of another project.
They may not have time at that
exact minute to give you their full
attention.

25. What designers want from us
• To receive the project as a whole – not in pieces
• Rounds of changes should also come all at once – each round of changes costs
us money.

26. A few more tips

27. Don’t be afraid to sketch
• Designers are visual thinkers, and if you have something in mind, it’s okay to
try to sketch it out
• But remember – you still need to give your designer the latitude to design

28. Ask questions when you’re confused
• Just as your designer is not an expert in your field, you don’t have to
be an expert in her field.

29. Give constructive feedback
• Giving your designer room to design does not mean they get to do
anything they want

30. Let them know if their process is not working
for you
• Most will be happy to modify their process – such as seeing color
earlier or waiting to see more of the full design

31. Trust. Respect. Teamwork.

32. Let’s put this information all together

33. Step #1 – Send proofed copy to the designer
• The longer you work with a specific designer, the easier it gets,
because they understand your preferences, your audience, etc.
• I email a Word document with the copy and also attached any art I
want to include
• I also send any special instructions (i.e. give me two cover options)
• I let her know what pages the content should go on, but I give her
space to work on the best layout for each page.

34. Copy – 12 page brochure

35. Cover art

36. Inside art and logos
• In this example, she already has the mug shots and the logo so I only
need to give instructions.

37. She sends me a proof and I send back any
changes

38. She sends me back a final proof and we go to
press
• Laid out to take advantage the
way we skim in the Z formation.
• The text color is pulled from the
picture.
• The arrow in “Learn” is pointing
right to what the outcome of the
Institutes is.

39. Questions?
• Thank you!
• Kart@lern.org

40. Evaluations and CEU Quizzes
Evaluate this session on the app
• Open the app
• Click schedule
• Click on the name of this session
• Scroll to the bottom
• Click on feedback*
To receive CEUs for this session
• Open the app
• Click schedule
• Click on the name of the session
• Scroll to the bottom
• Click on CEU quiz*
Room monitors have printed evaluation
forms and quizzes, but using the app is
encouraged