As designers, we base our proposals on how much time we estimate it will take to bring your project to life. Scope is key to pricing a job, but staying on budget boils down to a few key ingredients.
Here are our top 4 tips on how you can get the most out of our time on your next project:
- A Clear Brief
Your vision will lay the foundation for your project. Your cues influence our overall workflow and process. The more precisely you are able to provide details about your expectations, goals, needs…etc. the greater the chance that we’ll knock it out of the park on the first draft. Also, revision time can add to the time it takes to complete a job. Keeping within the revision time on your quoted project means staying on budget too. - Be Prepared
In a perfect world you are able to provide us with all the necessary content at the beginning of a project so that we have solid idea of what we’re working with. Think of your design like a puzzle. It’s our job to figure out the best way to put the pieces together to form a picture, but if pieces are missing, we have to guess the shapes which may lead to more revision time once we receive the actual puzzle piece. - Feedback
Each round of revision can eat up a good chunk of time. A small change might seem simple, but it requires a designer to read the feedback, pull up the files required for the change, make the change, adjust their layout for the change, prepare new draft files, compose a message and send it back. If you can combine your feedback into one message it will save time and allow us to get the updated artwork your way sooner. - Production Schedules
Let us know if there are specific deadlines for your projects from the get-go. We can then create work-back schedules to ensure we’re effectively managing timelines and setting realistic milestone deliverables for your job. The design process is always much smoother with schedule planning. With proper timelines in place, we know we have the necessary time to do a great job for you. Also, you can also save on potential rush fees. It’s a win-win!
Help us help you.
Like in every healthy relationship, communication is key. We strive to create designs that speak for themselves, but that only works when we understand what you want them to say. When communication is clear, it saves precious time; time we’d rather spend on creating our very best work for you.
At Design Is Yummy we understand the importance of a well earned high-five. This holiday season we decided to share this value with our clients and friends through a direct mail campaign.
Our holiday cards were a little less holiday and a little more awesome. The “You’re Awesome Kit” is a bilingual kit meant to remind recipients that we think they’re awesome 365 days a year.
The card features an extended hand welcoming that solid high-five. We printed the 5.75″ x 9.25″ cards on 16pt matt Carolina stock, with a beautiful gold foil hot stamp. We’ve been wanting to have a large foil finish on a Design is Yummy related project for some time now and we finally found the right one to go big on. We absolutely love the results!
A kit is not complete without a set of instructions. We included a double sided black and white sheet that explains how to hang, use, and not use the piece. We also enclosed removable adhesive foam mounts to hang the poster (4 double sided stickers).
The kraft paper envelopes lend to the “do-it-yourself kit” feel. The envelopes are digitally printed with the text “Not your typical HOLIDAY CARD”. Hot pink mailing address stickers were created in order to promote quick brand recognition. Finally, every address was hand lettered because, well, we take our time for the people we care about.
If you missed our teaser video for this mailer, check it:
You’re Awesome: Holiday Card Teaser from Design Is Yummy on Vimeo.
Dear clients, you are important and we think you are awesome so when nobody is there to receive your hand, Design is Yummy’s gotcha 😉
Something awesome is coming soon to a mailbox near you…
You’re Awesome: Holiday Card Teaser from Design Is Yummy on Vimeo.
Last week we had the pleasure of attending opening night of The Hockey Sweater – a Musical at the Segal Centre for Performing Arts. This heart-warming production brings to life Roch Carriere’s short story and is definitely a must see. The show features some uber-talented kiddos and it’s great for all ages. Due to it’s popularity, the show has been extended from November 13 through November 15. For more details and to purchase your tickets click here.
Don’t want to miss this amazing classic!
Last week the Design Is Yummy team had the pleasure of attending the One & All Conference hosted by DyanmicMTL (among others).
The conference consisted of a full day of inspirational talks centred around creativity and design. From speakers like Andrew Herzog (co-founder of HAWRAF), Maura Cass (Design Researcher at IDEO, Ali Weiss (SVP of Marketing at Glossier), and Sebastian Spier (Design Director at Nike and an old classmate of our Creative Director, Elana) to name a few, we were reminded of the impact design can have on consumers and in return the impact consumers can have on design as well. Design, as many speakers illustrated, is meant to provide an experience and provoke meaningful connections. Andrew Herzog put it well with “The communications you put out into the world should invite people to say something back.”
We left the conference more conscious of the work we deliver and inspired to get back to work and continue creating.
Recently we took home a Bronze Summit Creative Award (SCA) for our Merry Everything Holiday Card.
The SCA awards small and mid-sized marketing firms around the world and is widely recognized for its honour and prestige. We are happy to take a spotlight in their 23rd celebration in the category of Invite/Holiday/Announcement – Industry Self-Promotion.
In the words of Mia Hamm “The person that said winning isn’t everything, never won anything.”
We’re proud and totally pumped to continue making award-winning designs! Go team!
We are in love with these posters made for The BC Ski Challenge Campaign; an annual fundraiser benefiting the Ronald McDonald House.
While this fundraising focuses on skiing and snowboarding, there are other fun activities for those who don’t want to venture up the hills. There are cooking classes, spa days, and more…
Cossette Vancouver targeted all audiences by creating vintage inspired posters with double meaning illustrations encouraging everyone to join the weekend activities both on and off the slopes.
The colour palette revolves around pastels, a trend that has been circulating in arts and design in 2017 and we absolutely love it!
Inspired by the flower of the Amaranth plant, this everlasting colour is similar to magenta but with a bit of a reddish tone. The word itself comes from the greek word Amarantus meaning “the never fading flower”. Sounds powerful. #E52B50
The term was originally a French vernacular name for the popular wild poppy flower. This colour is distinguished by being bright red and orange at the same time. So very naturally loud. #FF3800
More visible than white, this ivory colour has a light touch of yellow. Peaceful, warm, and visible! #FE6CC
This deep red is a dye commonly used on traditional Finnish wooden cottages and barns. The pigment was originated from copper mines in Falun, Sweden. Very brick like! #801818
This dull-orange colour is one of our favourites. It derives from the Latin Fulvus, which literally means “Yellow”. Looks like butterscotch, yum! #E48400
From the Latin Glaucous, meaning “bluish-grey or green”. It refers to that powder on the surface of leaves, stems, and fruits (the one you can rub off). We are big fans of this new neutral! #6082B6
This fire-like colour is as strong as a Japanese Emperor. It also happens to be one of our favourite childhood games! #FFC40C
That rich brown colour with copper undertones we all like on our furniture lately? That’s Wenge. Wenge is also known as “Espresso brown”, even though it looks a little more “Latte” to us. #645452
Named after an ancient city of Xanadu in China, this green-gray colour is inspired by the leaves of a plant known as the Philodendron. How restful! #738678
Get colour savvy by adding these terminologies to your colour repertoire.
Dave Engledow is an American photographer and full-time dad from Washington, D.C. His daughter, Alice Bee, is a toddler. Together, they make “The World’s Greatest Dad“, a online blog that features hilarious and endearing photos of Engledow and his daughter in different scenarios and settings.
From poking fun at pop culture references (like when Kim Kardashian broke the Internet) to transforming his daughter into absurd objects (like a bat on the wall, or as a step-stool), the images really showcase Engledow’s skills as a photographer and photo manipulator, and most importantly, the genuine bonding they share together.
To see his photos in specific, check him out on Fotoblur.
