vdis10022 advanced graphic design studio - lecture 3 - selling ideas

VDIS10022 ADVANCED GRAPHIC DESIGN STUDIO Lecturer: Rachel Hawkins

VIRTU DESIGN INSTITUTE

LECTURE 3:

VIRTU DESIGN INSTITUTE: ADVANCED GRAPHIC DESIGN STUDIO - VDIS10022 2

THIS LECTURE DISCUSSES WAYS IN WHICH YOU, THE GRAPHIC DESIGNER CAN SELL YOUR IDEAS AND CONCEPTS TO

CLIENTS THROUGH SUCCESSFUL PITCHING AND MOOD BOARDS.

COMMUNICATING A CONCEPT CLEARLY AND EFFICIENTLY TO A CLIENT CAN SAVE HOURS OF DESIGN TIME AND LENGTHY CHANGES.

AS A DESIGNER YOU NEED TO MAKE YOUR CLIENT BELIEVE IN THE IDEA AND LOVE THE CONCEPT.


There are several formal definitions for the word ‘PITCH’ from Sports, Music, Camping and Architectural

references. So what does it mean in a design sense?

Informally, to ‘PITCH’ is to attempt to promote or sell, often in a high-pressure manner.

For a Graphic Designer, pitching is the selling or presentation of design ideas and concepts to a client.

It may be the presentation of an initial round of designs in response to a carefully considered brief or it may be that you are trying to win the job by

presenting the best idea.


THE ART OF SELLING VISUAL IDEAS

March, 2002by Shayne Bowman and Chris Willishttp://www.hypergene.net/ideas/sellvis.html

One of the most frustrating aspects of being a designer is having a good design — one that you know is really good — and you can’t get the client to buy into it. When this happens, designers blame the client for their stupidity and poor taste. Instead, designers should examine the technique of how the design was sold.

Whether it’s a full-scale redesign of a major web site or some brochure-ware for the local workout club, selling a visual idea (a.k.a. “the pitch”) is one of the most difficult hurdles for a designer to overcome. This is largely because designers typically place a higher value on aesthetics instead of reason. But when a design is pitched in purely aesthetic terms, it’s too vulnerable to uninformed criticism and personal preference. If the client says “I don’t like it,” you could be sunk.

To successfully sell a visual concept to a client, a designer must use a strategy that turns a subjective argument into an objective one. We’ve found that the following objective arguments will greatly increase your chances of getting a client to say “yes”:

DEFINE THE CONCEPT. Prepare for your pitch by writing a design statement — a clear, understandable definition of how your design helps to solve business goals and how it provides a rewarding

experience for the customer. Then write an outline of how key design decisions support this statement. Doing this will not only make your pitch more objective, but it also helps you understand the client’s perspective. It also presents the design as “a solution to the problem,” rather than one of personal taste.

BE READY TO ANSWER “WHY?” Before the pitch, prepare an explanation for every aesthetic choice of the design — typeface, color, grid, photograph, illustration, etc. — in rational, not emotional, terms. For example, if you are using the font Verdana in a design, you have to give reasons other than “I just like it.” If you use this kind of rationale, then you open the door for a client to use this as well, “I don’t like it.”

However, it would be hard to argue against Verdana with this type of explanation: “This font was designed by renowned type designer Matthew Carter for Microsoft specifically for optimum screen readability. It has extra space between characters so they don’t touch. The bolds are strong enough so that you can always tell the difference between bold and roman, yet the bold characters never fill-in...” You may not need to provide this depth of reasoning for every choice, but if the question arises during a pitch, you will have this as ammunition.

Providing smart supporting information for a design will increase your credibility and authority in the client’s eye. It also educates the client, who might otherwise evaluate the design from a purely surface perspective.

USE SMART COMPARISONS. Few designs are entirely original. Before your design pitch, identify successful design solutions similar to yours. Use them to help give your decisions and methods credibility. You might consider choosing examples that the client particularly admires. This will reinforce to the client that their taste has approval, and likewise reflect a positive light on your design.

TRY, TRY AGAIN. If your client doesn’t “get it” after the first meeting, don’t give up. Listen to the client’s criticism of the design, and ask for an opportunity to present a revision. Build a track record of compelling ideas that are substantiated with objective arguments. A history of good thinking can only build a client’s confidence and trust in you.

Shayne Bowman and Chris Willis of Hypergene.net, specialize in media product development and presentation design. They write and speak frequently on information & graphic design, creative development and the design process.


HOW TO PITCH A CREATIVE IDEA

July 30, 2012By: John Cofie http://www.agencypost.com/how-to-pitch-a-creative-idea/

Creative industries have constantly been governed by two strong forces that — despite sharing the same dreams for the future of the artistic sector — constantly seem to be challenging each other’s objectives and work styles. The creative versus the account in advertising, the manager versus the artist in music or fine arts and the producer versus the director in film. Although fighting for the same objectives, they seem to follow different paths towards fame and fortune. However, in an era of entrepreneurialism and DIY where person-to-person is slowly replacing B2B, creative ideas quite often have to be presented to potential clients by the creatives themselves.

The move from the artistic process to the selling of a “product” that could potentially become a valuable addition to any portfolio is not as easy as it may seem. Apart from the obvious passion and dedication that each creator has towards his creation, there is a long set of other factors that need to be taken into account to ensure the work stands out from the crowd and matches the client’s demands perfectly.

I recently considered the challenges graphic designers have to face when they are both the creative and the managerial departments of their business.

Discussing with Keith White — founder and creative director of Tourist, a London-based design and branding agency— we thought about creating a short list with the steps that should usually be followed when pitching a creative idea.

THE BRIEF There should always be a brief! Even if the client hasn’t supplied one, it is always good to get the beginnings of a project down on paper. A brief will define what the client wants to achieve and what the creative should be aiming for. If the client hasn’t written a brief, write it yourself and feed it back. This gets the project off on the right foot and encourages a dialogue between you and the client. Also, don’t be afraid to challenge a brief and ask any questions you might have. This not only helps clarify both parties’ demands and objectives, but also ensures a balanced and open process.

CREATIVE ITERATIVE PROCESSThe creative process is hard to define and there really isn’t one formula to this. The overriding thing Keith White does when he gets a brief is to read it over and over and — even midway through a project — keep referring to it. It sounds simple, but it really helps you focus on the requirements of the job. Sometimes what you don’t necessarily ‘see’ to begin with, you

might pick up after re-reading it a few times. It could also trigger new ideas and act as a source of inspiration.

White’s agency, Tourist, typically works through these five phases:

Discovery and Insight phase in which they collect material by researching a brand/project and crucially identify what the outcomes are for both the client and its audience.

Strategy, Ideas and Planning means converting your research into ideas. How relevant are they? Can they be realised? Is there a budget?

Third phase is the creative Visualisation and Design phase. It is during this time that the idea is brought to life — even if it is a schematic representation of the final piece of work. At Tourist, ideas are put in front of as many people as possible in the studio. Then, the work will continually be critiqued and the concepts will be pushed until we are confident we have a strong selection of ideas for presentation. It is also important that during this phase the client is aware and enthusiastic about where the project is going.

The next phase is Project Completion.

The final phase is as important as the first: You must measure your results and show the client ROI, learn from them and gather information for future activity.


WHAT’S THE BIG IDEA?Of course it is great to have an idea to hang everything on, but it can be subtle too. Creative is a matter of relevance, depending on the client and the brief. Sometimes the idea can be in the technique — the way something is folded, printed or produced. Technology can shape a creative solution, too. An idea can be as simple as a clever piece of text or creating a distinct tone of voice for a brand. For White, if a building, product or service isn’t very good, no amount of good design or conceptual thinking can ever dress it up perfectly.

THE TARGET AUDIENCEThe audience plays a crucial part in the creative and pitching process. The audience or end-user has to be considered all the way through a project if an idea is to work. It is not good enough for a product, service or building to engage with its target audience. A new building or any striking piece of architecture will only work and do itself justice if an architect has considered how people intend to use it and move around it. It is exactly the same when designing a website, brochure or album sleeve.

PITCH TEAMDepending on the meeting and the numbers from the client side, two to five people should be present during a pitch. Ideally, it should be a

selection of people who complement each other. At Tourist, the creative director can talk about ideas and the company’s folio, and a project manager can discuss potential challenges of a job or areas that might need careful consideration or planning. It is all down to experience. If the project is digital or web-based, then a technical consultant will be present. Sometimes, even partner agencies or organizations that have specialist skills such as data analysis, A/B split and multivariate testing for websites are invited to support the ideas.

REHEARSALSThey should be done as often as required. It also helps to have written down a list of keywords that prompt you to talk about the most important aspects of your proposal. After a few presentations you will probably create sentence patterns and strings of words that best articulate your work.

PRESENTATION STYLEI once heard someone say that whenever you talk about your work you should remove the personal from the equation. White is not entirely sure this is right. A bit of personality is always good — especially if you have an enthusiasm for your work. However, there is a balance. A measured style might make the client keener to accept your concepts and advice.

ENGAGING THE AUDIENCE DURING THE PRESENTATIONSometimes it is good to just listen and allow the client to speak. White really enjoys pitches and presentations that end up turning into creative discussions — or two-way conversations. You want to stimulate and get a reaction. Once the ice has been broken, the atmosphere can become more relaxed and informal. The Tourist team has had many meetings that started out as pitches or presentations, but ended up turning into a workshop. These are the ones they enjoy the most. They can be extremely productive and the client always gets more out of them.

RATIONALITY VS. EMOTIONI think it would be wrong to rule one over the other — White thinks enthusiasm will always put you in a great position to win a project. As long as it’s relevant and genuine, the client will feed off it.

THE WRAP Asking the client for a timescale and for some feedback on the meeting is a good way to wrap up a presentation. Also tease out when you’re likely to hear back on whether or not you’ve got the job. Of course winning a pitch is great, but even if you’ve just missed out on the work, constructive feedback is always welcome and will help you incredibly in the future.

Recently there’s been a lot written about pitching and the merits of buying and commissioning design. Most of what I read argues the process is not only bad for clients and bad for business, but bad practice, too. But that’s another discussion, and one we should have soon.

See more at: http://www.agencypost.com/how-to-pitch-a-creative-idea/#sthash.ItvwsXB6.dpuf


PITCH PERFECT: THE DOS AND DON’TS OF CRAFTING A SUCCESSFUL

PITCH

April 22, 2013 Will van Wyngaarden | blur Grouphttp://www.blurgroup.com/blogs/group/pitch-perfect-the-dos-and-donts-of-crafting-a-succesful-pitch/

When you read hundreds of pitches every week, it just makes your day to find one that has absolutely nailed the brief!

At Blur Group our Exchange Support desk spends a huge amount of time poring over pitches, so they’re well placed to help you create the perfect pitch and have kindly taken the time to put together this list of dos and don’ts.

Whether you’re new to pitching for projects or an old hand, it always pays to take a look at your pitches and to improve them in any way you can.

There are some key elements that turn a great pitch into a brilliant one. Your aim when you construct your pitch is to get your work before the eyes of the customer and to impress them enough to select you for their project. Your window of opportunity is a few pages of a pdf document, and your success depends on how effectively you can use that space to showcase your experience and skill. So to maximize your chances of pitching successfully for a project (and to give us that buzz when we discover a superb pitch), we’ve compiled this handy list of Dos and Don’ts – read on and set your feet on the path to constructing the perfect pitch.

DOSTake a Look at Examples of Other Pitches for Similar ProjectsIf you’re pitching for the first time, check out these examples of stellar pitches to get an idea of what to aim for.

Be the Answer They’re Looking For (ie. Pitch Specifically for the Project Advertised)Read the brief description and answer it. Always tailor the pitch so you are talking specifically to that customer, about their project, about their industry and how you will get them the deliverables they are looking for. Showing your understanding of their industry, product, market will make you and your pitch relevant to them and make you stand out.

Be Clear in the PitchYou need to make sure that you’re very clear about what you are offering the customer, i.e. how many press releases, how many revisions, etc.

Show off a Little! OR A LOTIntroduce yourself and your team, if you have one. Impress the customer with your experience and skills and start the process of building a rapport. Tell them who your customers are. Give real case studies or work examples in your pitch, and they’re not directly relevant to the project then a

brief description can help show what skills you used on the previous ones that you can bring to the customer’s project.

Prove Your Skills‘A picture is worth a thousand words’, right? Showcase previous examples of your work and the thinking behind it, and illustrate them with screenshots or other visuals that demonstrate your expertise. Make sure it’s also work that’s relevant to the current project.

Include Administrative DetailsInclude a pricing schedule. In order to be shortlisted your pitch pdf document must feature a budget. When you calculate the budget, integrate the blur margin in your costs and don’t list it separately. You also need to include a timeline of project tasks in the document.

Make it Eye-Catching!Use graphics wherever possible. If you can express something in an aesthetic way it has more of an impact on the customer, so jazz up your pages with an element of design, and use infographic visuals to express ideas wherever possible.

DON’TSUse a Letter FormatA pitch is not a letter of introduction, and it definitely shouldn’t look like a


Word document, nor should it read like a CV. Think of a presentation or slide show instead – something that grabs the viewer visually and imaginatively!

Tell Them What They Already KnowDon’t waste any space copying the project objectives or deliverables from the brief description. The customer already knows what they want – after all they wrote the project brief in the first place. It can be the kiss of death right up front and remove any chances you had of winning the project.

Take Shortcuts with Your VisualsDon’t let your pitch lack polish by using low-res or out-of-proportion images. Replace any pixelated, grainy or stretched images with professional, high-res images that build your credentials and strengthen your image to the customer. You wouldn’t turn up to a meeting with your shirt untucked or your hair uncombed, and as your pitch is the face you present to the customer, it should show the same degree of care and presentation.

Put in Your Personal Contact DetailsWe only shortlist projects that don’t include personal contact information. All initial contact occurs via blur Group. When the expert is selected we will set up an introduction between the experts and customer. Make sure we know who you are and can contact you without personal information.

Forget to Dot the I’s and Cross the T’sIt can be devastating to your chances to misspell the company’s name, miss a grammar glitch or even add needless apostrophes. Badly punctuated sentences and spelling errors will see your odds of winning nosedive.

Sound Like a TextbookThe briefs on the Global Services Exchange are usually submitted by marketing professionals, so they aren’t looking for a lesson in marketing 101. Try to offer information in your pitch that’s relevant to their project, rather than a generic lecture on the three stages of marketing or branding etc.

Go off the PointYou will dent your chances by offering something they are not asking for. Initiative is always admirable, but make sure you don’t go off scope as the customer has briefed with a need, and they want someone who responds to that need.

Forget to Put in a BudgetThe customer has provided a guide budget; respond to it. If you think it needs to be higher say why. If its too high suggest a lower one. Don’t do the ‘select me and we’ll talk about the budget later’. Thats not how blur works and customers might be willing to talk budget details after selecting you but they won’t select you without a budget to start from.


Concept: In a simple and clear way, describe the concept of the project that you wish to develop.

Solution: Describe what the solution is that your project will provide (the solution can be provided to answer a void in the industry, the community, or the company that you are pitching to).

Goals: Describe the goals of your project (the solution can also be a part of it).

How: How do you plan to achieve your goals? (By a using a specific design, by appealing to a specific community, by creating a unique user experience, etc)

Original Content: What is the original content of your project? Essentially outline the narrative behind your project and what makes it unique Market Research: Is there a similar project to yours out there? How is your project more appealing? Explain and show examples.

User Experience: Describe in detail how people would use/experience the design What is the user journey, what is the first thing that the users see, and what is their likely emotional response.

Mockups: This is the stage of transforming your concept into colourful tactile appealing physical designs. It could be 2D or 3D mockups that help the client to visualise the finished product. Perhaps it is just the inclusion of fabric/textural samples.

Strong Visuals! Visually appealing graphics will leave a place for imagination and provide credibility to your idea.

Clarity: Clients want to see a clear and succinct explanation to back your ideas and make them believe your solution is the one for them.

Budget: Provide a guide budget and give explanation as to why it is as it is. Give options and show the premium options as well as where the client can make savings. Be transparent about projecting the project costs because clients don’t like expensive surprises.

Timeline: Every client has a deadline and it is important to set expectations for the completion of the design phase and fulfillment of the design. Don’t over promise, give realistic time frames.

Make it Eye-Catching! Use graphics wherever possible. If you can express something in an aesthetic way it has more of an impact on the customer, so jazz up your pages with an element of design, and use infographic visuals to express ideas wherever possible.

A design pitch should include all the content and visual cues necessary to accurately and thoroughly explain a concept and design/project plan to the client. You want them to fall in love with your ideas. It is important to never send a design without conceptual explanation as it could be lost on the client.

It needs to look great, sound great and be original – from description to visual imagery and

PITCH CHECKLIST


PROTECT YOUR IPAs with all things in life, the designer needs to protect their ideas and Intellectual Property (IP). Designers need to be cautious about working for free and presenting ideas that could be taken without the due payment while credit is given to another designer/group.

This is why both IP AUSTRALIA and the DESIGN INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA (DIA) both

frown upon ‘pitching to get a job’.

Access the support documents from these institutions in the Resource Folder. See pages 9, 18 & 19 of the IP Australia, Protect Your

Creative document. The DIA document includes a handy Free Pitching Matrix including a chart that outlines the

ways in which the services of designers are acquired and the issues of free pitching associated with each.

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DIA’s No Free Pitching Policy

Free pitching is a term used to describe the supply of design services without payment.

Free pitching may be initiated by a customer who requests the provision of free services, or it may be initiated by a designer who provides free services in the hopes of later payment. Free pitching is condemned by professional design organisations around the world.

Free pitching undermines the value of design services and destroys the professional standing of designers.

Free pitching has many forms

On the client side there are many ways, both obvious and disguised, in which designers are encouraged to provide their skills for free. In general a professional designer should avoid providing their skills for free except in genuine cases of charity or in competitions where there is no intent to avoid the purchase of professional services.

On the designer side designers initiating free pitching as a marketing method is a very messy area. It is a continuum that ranges from the blatant to the apparently innocuous. It includes actions such as deliberately trying to displace existing professional relationships by providing free design, the provision of design concepts within a tender or a request for quotation, participating in a design ‘competition’ to ‘win’ a public project, and handing over brain-storming sketches at an initial client meeting to select a design consultant.

It would be a rare designer who could say that they had a completely clean slate.

Free pitching is stealing your time

A further complexity is the existence of well-established traditions such as public competitions in the field of architecture for major public works. And the agency pitches that are a media cliché in the advertising industry.

Precedents such as these make it very difficult for a professional body to establish a clear rule. The DIA’s Practice Note PN008 Free Pitching and Design Competitions includes guidelines for running design competitions to avoid situations that take advantage of designers. The DIA has been successful on many occasions in having competition conditions changed to provide fairer treatment of designers.

Young designers trying to carve a niche in a market with well established players face strong temptations to free pitch. The best advice is to think clearly about the extent to which you are undermining your ability to sell your services in future dealings with the customer and the degree to which you are destroying your professional credibility. Spending the same time and resources on an existing client relationship or the broad search for clients prepared to engage you on the strength of your folio is likely to yield more certain returns.

Professional designers lead by example

The onus is on experienced designers to lead by example. They have the folios and commercial experience to avoid free pitching. They are more likely to be in a position to explain to a customer why they don’t provide services for free and why it is likely to result in a poor commercial outcome for the project.

The following chart has been prepared to help you visualise whether you are dealing with a free pitching issue.

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Protect your creative

A guide to Intellectual Property for Australia’s Graphic DesignersIncluding multimedia, photography, advertising, animation, illustration, copywriting and paper merchanting

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PRESENTING YOUR INITIAL IDEAS THROUGH MOOD BOARDS

Mood boarding is a technique used by several creative fields to show visual interpretation of a design direction. They can help to develop early ideas of what the client is aiming for with a particular project or concept, it’s a collage of images, sketches, text, textures, fonts, shapes, colours, icons plus more, (the list

is endless), offering visual direction.

Things that can be explored in the mood board include photography style, color palettes, typography, patterns, and the overall look and feel. Soft or hard? Grungy or clean? Dark or light? A rough collage of

colors, textures and pictures is all it takes to evoke a specific style or feeling.

As a graphic designer, mood boards can be useful as a visual aid and form of inspiration. They can help set a visual tone for the client. If the client isn’t happy with a board, or elements of the board you can

change that instead of recreating the entire design from scratch, which means precious productivity isn’t hindered when the design process begins.

WHERE TO START? Start with the creative brief outlining the client’s requirements. At this stage, you should have completed research into the company/brand background, their target audience, any

distinguishing characteristics, tone and keywords. Make sure to include ideas for colours, shapes, patterns and textures along with any indication of what fonts i think would suit the project.

HOW DO I PRESENT IT? Prepare your client by explaining how the mood board fits into your process. Tell them what you hope to get out of the review and let them know that any and all feedback is welcomed at this point. When you are presenting, clue your client in to the inspiration behind each of your boards. Your starter list of adjectives is helpful here. Remind them that nothing on the boards is set in stone and that they are simply a tool used to focus the design process. You will find that in most cases a client will

know which mood board feels right to them within seconds. If they need to see a few additional options, making revisions at this stage is quick and painless.


HOW TO CREATE MOOD BOARDS: 20 PRO TIPS

Aug 28, 2014Paul Wyatt and Tom Mayhttp://www.creativebloq.com/graphic-design/mood-boards-812470

Mood boards can be a great way to convey your design idea, win pitches and get an early sign-off.

Here we explore mood boards - what they are, how can they help, and how you make one. Mood boards are a great option when trying to convey a design idea, moods, feelings and fluffy stuff like that are hard to communicate.

Mood boards help others to ‘get inside our heads’ in order to convey a thematic setting for a design or to explain function in piece of work.

That said, mood boards can be a pain to create, with many hours spent trawling image galleries, websites, books and magazines looking for that perfect image to sum up your intended feel for the work at hand. So here are a collection of tips to help make your mood board making more effective - and double your chances of winning that pitch!

GATHERING INSPIRATION

01. Look beyond the digital worldWhen putting together mood boards, it’s easy (and therefore tempting) to just use Google Images. But just because you’re working on a digital product, don’t just look for digital-based inspiration. For example, whilst working on the ITV news website,

digital innovators Made by Many looked at copies of the veteran Picture Post magazine in order to express how powerful and effective an image plus a caption can be for telling a news story.Real world inspiration such as this can be a very powerful ‘convincer’ when putting together a board for a client. It is also important to make sure you use all original imagery or properly reference material taken from sources you don’t have copyrights to.

02. Take pictures when you’re outReal world inspirations are all around us. So use the camera on your phone to take pictures of everything you see that inspires you - whether that be a bird in flight, a great use of typography on a sign, or the brickwork on a building. They don’t have to be great photos in the traditional sense - it’s all about capturing thoughts, impressions, themes and feelings.

CREATING THE MOOD BOARD

03. The basic conceptWhat you leave out is as important as what you choose. Have you ever had the misfortune of going to a gallery exhibition and it just not doing anything for you? You weren’t ‘touched’ by the exhibition or ‘moved’ by what was on show – and other similar emotive profusions. It’s very easy to shove a load of stuff together and call it an exhibition; it’s an

absolute talent to curate threads and synergies between works and call it an exhibition.When putting together mood boards, think of yourself as a curator rather than a collector, and try to have meaning and threads from one image to the next. It makes for easier interpretation.

04. Choose the right formatFind out at the outset whether your mood board is going to be presented in person or emailed to the client. The answer will decide whether you produce an offline or online mood board. The distinction is not trivial: the two formats demand very different approaches.An offline mood board will generally be looser in style and require the extra kick and emotive spark that comes from it being presented to a client. An online mood board should be tighter and will generally need to work harder to convey a theme or style.Don’t be afraid to work offline and then scan some of the visuals in for incorporation. A hand made touch can be the element that gets your idea over the line.

05. Build things up around a large imageWhether it’s being electronic or physical, the layout of your mood board needs to give prominence to key theme images, then surround


these with smaller supporting images that enhance the theme. Again, it’s a subliminal trick. When someone looks at a large image on your board in their heads they’ll have questions about it - which they’ll quickly scan the rest of the board to find answers for. If you place smaller supporting images around the larger image they should do this job for you by clarifying the messaging given in the larger one. You will also need to include specifics about font types and colourways.

06. Get tactileWhen making a physical mood board, don’t be afraid to get, well, physical. Traditionally mood boards are made from foam board and cutting this stuff up with a scalpel and spray mounting cut-out images onto it can be a pain, especially if you’re not dexterous with a blade. But it’s extremely effective as a presentation tool. The tactile nature of cut-out images glued onto boards enhances the emotiveness of what’s being explained. Feel free to use mediums you are comfortable with like double-sided tape.It may seem like a ridiculously old fashioned thing to do, but perception-wise it’s a real ace up your sleeve as a designer. Just be careful with your fingers on that blade...

HOW TO PITCH MOOD BOARDS

07. Show your mood board earlyGenerally mood boards are considered to be separate to pitch or presentation work; they stand alone to show mood and tone. This is standard practice, but consider instead making them part of your pitch or presentation. Remember, you’re trying to use subliminal visual tricks to make a client ‘get it’.Mix your mood board in with the presentation - rather than having it as a separate item. A quality mood board can assist and be effective in communicating to the client.

08. Save the surpriseIt’s important to make sure that a well-meaning project manager doesn’t email an offline mood board ahead of the presentation ‘so they know what we’re presenting’. For an offline mood board it’s far better to let it all sink in to the client’s mind as you showcase it, rather than come armed with lots of questions before you even start.

09. Get involved in the pitchIf your mood board is being presented to the client, try to be involved yourself. It makes no sense to have something which originated in your head being communicated by someone else, because that way meaning can become muddled in a Chinese whispers-type mess.On the same note, make sure you

present the client with a conceptual statement to back the mood board for clarity.

10. Keep things looseLocking an idea or a style down in a mood board can be detrimental, as the client will feel shoehorned into going with a particular style. Keep everything a little loose and don’t make everything look too finalised.If you’re using preview images from image libraries don’t worry about the watermarking on them - it all adds up to a ‘hey look, we can change this - these are ideas’ feel to the board.

11. Watch the audience’s facesWhen you’re presenting an offline mood board, watch the faces of those you’re showing it to. Ignore any verbal client ‘oohs and ahhs’ but instead watch their facial and emotive reactions as they look around the board. This will give you a much more honest take on whether the board is doing its job and if they’re reacting well or badly to what you’re showing them. You have to put these people ‘in your mood’ so ignore their mutterings and watch their emotive reactions.

GENERAL POINTERS

12. Hone your mood board skillsBrand gurus Landor Associates use a form of mood board to showcase themselves to other members of the

team. Formed of nine images in a 3x3 grid, it gives their fellow work colleagues an insight into what that person is like; their interests, loves, passions, cares and worries. If you ever want to test out your mood boarding skills - the ultimate challenge at making mood boards - try this out and showcase it to your colleagues.

13. Text it upDon’t ignore the power of a few isolated words on a board. They’re fantastic show-stoppers and give your viewer pause for thought as they have to mentally read what’s in front of them. Big, bold words juxtaposed together work very well at creating drama, tone and meaning for any project.

14. Make the theme obviousObscure references can be fun but try to have a number of relatable items or ‘touch points’ featured in your mood board. You want to let others in, so being deliberately obtuse will earn you no points at all. It’s much harder to be clear and use imagery to sell your vision than hiding behind a pile of incomprehensible references just to fill the board out with. But it’s worth the effort to do so.

15. Aim to spark an emotional responseThink a little bit left of centre if you’re


presenting a mood board to a client. What would give them a genuine emotive response to? Real word objects are good for this. If you were inspired by the beach, bring in a shell. If your eureka moment happened on the bus, bring in the ticket. This type of thing intrigues people’s brains and gains that all-important emotive reaction.

16. Don’t make presumptionsAssumption and presumption making can be the difference between a successful mood board and one that’s dismissed as being too cerebral. There’s a danger of expecting too much of the audience - that they’ll ‘know what you mean’. Chances are they won’t. So if it takes a few more references, images or textures to get what’s inside your head into a client’s then add them in.

17. Test your mood boardFinally, don’t forget to test out your boards before you send them off. Remember, it’s not a game of Pictionary, so if your testing audience have to ask too many times what an image means or why it’s there, then it probably shouldn’t be there in the first place.

18. Have fun!The whole process of creating mood boards should be fun - a refreshing

break from the often tedious tasks of the jobbing designer. If you’re not having fun then it’s a sure sign you’re going about things the wrong way...

USES FOR MOOD BOARDS

19. Use mood boards to brief designersFollowing on from the previous point, mood boards are a good way to brief a creative. Don’t be afraid to go into detail. If you are working as a Creative Director or have junior designers working underneath you, the mood board is a great way to brief them on the job.

THE FINISHED CHARACTERS

20. Use mood boards to speed up client signoffMood boards shouldn’t just be for pitches. Consider preparing mood boards to show other similarly themed projects, websites or functions before creating polished visuals.‘I’ll know it when I see it’ is a phrase most of us are familiar with. But to hear this when finished artwork comes back from a client is gutting, signifying that it’s back to square one. Using mood boards at different stages of the process can help you avoid this happening.


MOOD BOARD: MUST HAVESThis page lists the absolute must haves to be included on any mood board being presented to a client. Some are of course flexible depending on the nature of the job however a selection of them should be used as appropriate.

MUST HAVESProject name/title

Company Name: Include the name of the design organisation who has prepared the mood board.

Client Name: Who has the presentation been prepared for?

Clear labeling: Use headings and labels to make it clear what each aspect of the mood board is.

Submit a support document (on a separate page) with a concept statement.

Hand sketched design ideas: This is a must have!!

Supporting text and descriptive words.

Font families: Specify the use in headings, secondary headings and body copy.

PROJECT SPECIFICTypography style: A special way in which the suggested fonts will be used.

Shapes, graphic devices and icons.

Colour palettes: Include a suite of colours with colour values and the hierarchy in which you suggest they will be used.

Photography style

Original or referenced images: You can use images from stock libraries, don’t worry about the watermark. Be conscious of the project budget when making the selection.

Overall look and feel: Soft or hard? Grungy or clean? Dark or light?

vdis10022 advanced graphic design studio - lecture 3 - selling ideas

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