Checklist to success.

How many of us have just pooped out a project to get it over with? You’re tired of your client, you’re tired of the project and you just want to get it off your plate.  Well, it’s less about the project and more about how the project has been managed.

Here is a quick list of things you can do to ensure your quality won’t get sidetracked and you begin to hate it.

1. Set a timeline that both you and your client can maintain. If your client strays from the project, loses interest in finishing things properly, or starts dragging their feet, call them out on it.
2. Take a breather. If it’s a big project that gets drawn out, take a step back and let your mind clear. The worst thing you can do is overwork the project. That will lead to poor decisions, and you’re forcing the design to work.
3. Maintain communication with the client. Who of us hasn’t looked at the caller ID on the phone and said “I’m not gonna pick that up” in fear that it’s your client calling to chew your ear off? Maintaining open dialogue lets both parties understand where things are with the project.
4. Stay inspired. One of the things I hate about design is a lot of times, I hate design. I lose track of what I like my job for, and the feeling that I’m doing is actually a REALLY cool job. Go online and look at work you like, go to the bookstore and pick up a book. Go walk around the mall and look at design. Just do whatever you can to find inspiration.
5. Be creative outside of your computer. One of the worst things a designer can do is do all their work on the computer. Pick up a pencil and paper. Get some paint and a brush. Whatever it is that you do do get the juices flowing.
6. Don’t work on just one thing at a time. When I get a project that I know is going to be time consuming. I like to have another thing that I can look at. If you look at something for too long, you stop seeing what you’re doing, and you just see what’s there. This is kind of like taking a breather.
7. Get feedback from people that matter. My mom is a great critique. She always makes me feel good when she looks at something I’ve done, but unfortunately mom, it’s not a critique that counts. Join some websites where you get good honest critical feedback. I’m a big fan of ArtSig. It’s not as good as it once was, but it still is ok. Also, Reddit.com is a good website if you want feedback, but a lot of times, you’ll get someone on there who just wants to be an ass.
8. Don’t take shortcuts. Enough said on that one.
9. Try and keep a healthy work schedule. Even though sometimes you might have to work REALLY late hours. Try and have a cut off time. This will help you keep your sanity, and in the long run, your work will benefit from it.
10. Try and only work for good clients. I know this sounds impossible, but having a good client can make a project go SO much better. Bad clients can bring down a project by haggling the price meaning you have less time to work on it. Good clients open up doors and allow you to do good work by backing you up in your decisions.

That’s all I have to say about that.

Anyone else have any ideas for ways to keep the quality of your work up?