Protocols & Best Practices for Client Work

Design Reviews

Whenever we’re doing design work for a client, the design review process is a large part of our client interaction. Whether we are reviewing logos, web mockups, or other branding materials we will always organize our work into google slide decks so that we can easily share our work with a client.

Take logos for example…

Whenever the design team is working with a client on a logo, we will usually have multiple reviews with a client (typically 3 - 6 depending) throughout the design process to get their input and make sure we’re all on right path. Reviews typically involve members of the design team as well as the strategists managing the client.

In a logo review, the first stage is to create logos in black and white so the client can focus on the shape and typeface of a logo. This also ensures that a logo will hold up in a black and white form as well as making sure the logo has a strong simple foundation to work up from.

We typically approach the review in stages so that a client can focus on specific aspects of a design without getting too distracted. So in a logo review the first couple of rounds show the logos designed in black and white. Once a clear direction is picked from the black and white options, the design team will start to play with color and texture. Then the process continues until we land on the new logo.

For any review it is important to make sure decks are organized with clear naming conventions for the design options. See the Review template below to see how this is set up.

Here is a link to a logo review deck that is in a final review process

Here is a link to the template for reviews

Programs we use when working on Client Work

• Sketch

• Illustrator

• Photoshop

• InDesign

• InVision

• Atomic

• Abstract

• Google Suite (mainly slides)

• Powerpoint

• Keynote

Inspirational / Visual Research Sites

When researching for a client project make sure to save any mood boards or materials you’re using as inspiration for a project. This will come in handy if you need to justify any design decisions to a client. Here are some sites that are great for research and inspiration.

• Siteinspire

• Muzli

• Pinterest

• Medium

• Dribbble

It’s helpful to also build a mood board based on the images / research materials we’ve found. Sometimes a moodboard is a part of the client ask, and even if it’s not we like to show a client anyway so that they can better understand our viewpoint.

Level Of Work

Client work isn’t always final art, sometimes it’s a sketch or loose wireframe that helps get an idea across. It’s important to understand how much time to spend on asks such as this. Simple sketches / wireframes should still be placed into a deck for easy access with annotations. The VV design template can be used for these cases.

Here is a link to the current VV design template

And here is a link to annotated sketches