Do you look cheesy, dull, and out of touch?
I was thumbing through the local rag this weekend, enjoying random stuff like “Police Log” and tips on keeping my tires from early winter wear, when I came across an ad for a local computer store.
They’ve got a great holiday sale going. They also do helpful stuff like data restores, removing shareware, and network setups. Cool.
Unfortunately, the ad looks cheesier than a side dish in a highway diner. I actually had to check my calendar because I thought I had slipped through a wormhole on my way out of the bathroom and landed in 1993.
Now, according to the Design Rules of the Universe, blue and yellow compliment each other. True enough, but it depends on how you use them. In this case, they don’t compliment so much as argue. The ad also displays two supremely ancient clip-art computers. There’s also a clip-art cartoon elf at the top and some clip-art Christmas lights as a border, but we’ll leave them out of this for now.
Let’s say you have a computer company. Let’s assume that you would like people to think that, being an expert in computers, you are up-to-date with all the latest trends in computing. For example, people might want to get the impression that you’ve stopped using floppy disks.
For me, seeing a beige cartoon computer with a floppy slot says, “I still use DOS commands.”
As a person who needs new computers from time to time, I want the future. I want to see sleekness, shiny black and silver things with impossibly thin profiles. I want to feel like if I showed up at the store I would be awed by the technology. I want Promethius working behind the counter, possessing the kind of computer knowledge I can’t even guess at.
Instead, the impression I get from this particular ad is that my grandfather sells calculators.
I’m a smart dude. I can read past the terrible clip art and the ugly choice of colors (by the way, red and green are missing from this holiday ad). I can see in plain Helvetica that they remove shareware and perform system backups. I notice they sell desktops and laptops at “very competitive prices.”
I can read it, but I don’t feel it. You feel me?
Now, I’m betting there are people in my area who only see “Computer Store Holiday Sale” and not “Computer Store Holiday Sale circa 1993.” Some people in this area are not going to care. Those people are this guy’s “Right People,” his niche. So what’s the problem?
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A Primer of Sorts for Non-Designer People
Let’s say you’ve been working for The Man, filling fields in a corporate database for ten years or so. In the little bubble that floats over your head all day there’s a picture of a little cupcake shop. In the window of that little cupcake shop is you, greeting your customers and making the cash register ring. Oh, look who’s in line! It’s The Man you used to work for. Ahhh, sweet success.
That’s a sa-weet little bubble you’re carrying around there. Or maybe you’ve already taken the shop out of the bubble and set it down on Earth. Awesome.
I’ll bet that in all those years of database entry and bubble-carrying, you didn’t have time to go to Graphic Design School. That’s okay. When I was carrying around my Illustration and Animation bubbles, somehow I never got around to earning my accounting degree.
So now I have a problem. I really don’t know shit about accounting. Okay, I know a little bit. I’ve read a few books and tons of articles on business taxes, P & Ls, and payroll tax regulations. So I know enough to know that I don’t really know anything.
Solution: Hire a payroll company, but know enough to know why they do stuff. Then go back to drawing ninjas and kangaroos.
I’ll bet that you are smart like that, too. Instead of creating your own logo in Photoshop CS or handing the project to your 14-year old niece, you hired a professional designer. Nicely done, you. You can go back to baking those sweet treats (that your designer will no doubt buy because she’s been staring at your cupcake photos throughout the project).
So you’re cool not knowing all the intricacies of the color wheel, balance, typesetting, and raster vs vector. Good. Stay cool.
But now you’ve got this design proof sitting in your inbox and you have no idea whether it’s awesome or crappy. Assuming you’ve done your homework and hired the best fit for your project (read about how to do that here), it’s likely not complete crap. But is it good? Is it right?
How will you know until it’s out there and your money is gone?
How to Tell if that Design You Just Bought is any Good
Do you like it?
Duh, right? Well, maybe not so duh. A lot of clients I work with don’t sit with this question long enough before they start showing it to their partner, spouse, or sister-in-law. Oh, it’s tempting to take a glance, then forward the proof e-mail to your inner circle and start collecting opinions while you figure out if you like it.
Before I tell you not to do that, let’s back up a step or three. Before you even hire someone, you should have a clear idea of what you want. If you just dump your need in a designer’s lap and say, “Create!” you’ll likely be disappointed. Before you talk to anyone about your logo, design, or animation project, you’ve got to have a very clear picture of what you want to achieve. For instance, I have this conversation all too often:
Me: So what do you want this illustration to be?
Client: Well, I’m not sure. I’m still coming up with my business/book/web site concept.
Me: Hmm. Before we go any further and you spend money on something you can’t use, you should really take some time to develop your business/book/web site.
Client: Can you just make some sketches of a few th
