M Creative :: How We Work




		We know that working with an organization such as ours for the first time often prompts a few questions. Sometimes more than a few concerns, too. How successful will we be in interpreting your needs? How can we do it most effectively? How can we do it most efficiently? How much will it cost? Our Charges Like all service organizations, our invoices are based on the time we invest in a project. Project costs range from a low of a couple thousand dollars up to tens of thousands, depending on our clients' needs and budgets. We always provide a detailed proposal and estimate for approval before starting. We adhere to our estimates unless project specifications change. Laying the Foundation The first thing we do after being assigned a project is schedule information-gathering meetings (either in-person or by phone) between our creative team and your key staff. We are interested not only in scheduling, budget and job specifications, but also in your preferences, target audience and objectives. Although this process is somewhat time-consuming (we don't like meetings any more than you do), it is also crucially important. It will help sharpen your focus and objectives, and it will help us ensure that what we produce is not only creatively excellent, but strategically targeted. Developing the Right Ideas Despite popular misconceptions, great creative work doesn't often come in a flash of inspiration; usually it comes from lots of trial and error. This is why we also need to take the time to consider several approaches (concepts), work them through, try them out. Then revise them. In addition, there are usually some practical and functional ends we need to tie up before submitting our ideas—availability of sub-contractors, printing estimates, scheduling requirements, etc. All this, plus the need to schedule our workflow in a businesslike fashion, means that we normally ask for up to two weeks, depending on the job's complexity, before we submit our rough approaches (concepts) for your review. Of course, if you have a rush project or deadline pressure we adjust our workflow and timing accordingly. Our project manager will provide you with a project schedule once the proposal is approved. It is our experience that it is best if we first present rough concepts to your project manager (point person) and just one or two others. This ensures that we all stay focused on the problem and are not distracted by too many personal opinions. Our rough concepts typically consist of computer-generated layouts with no fewer than two and no more than four options when developing a logo; two covers and an inside spread when developing a publication; and two main screens with subsequent screen templates when developing a website. These concepts are adequate to convey what we believe is the best approach, taking into consideration your budget, schedule, objectives and preferences. On the other hand, they are not so well-developed as to have wasted time and effort if we need a course correction. After presenting, we'll ask for comments. The more objective and specific you can be, the better we will be able to respond. Comments are our input for revising the rough concepts into a finished one. Revision normally takes us about a week, and we schedule a second presentation shortly thereafter. From the input at this second presentation meeting, further minor refinements are made as necessary. We also finalize the production timetable, and the scheduling of additional services such as photography, copywriting, etc. Ensuring Your Satisfaction We recommend the finished layout be routed to the appropriate decision-makers for fact and detail checking only, reserving stylistic and subjective decisions to your project manager. To avoid costly confusion, it is also important that all communication with us come from the project manager. During the course of the project, we keep your project manager informed of our progress. Activities that will affect the schedule or budget are identified in writing. Our goal is to keep your project moving ahead quickly, smoothly and cost-effectively; to make sure that we'll produce even better results than you expect.