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.
One of the trip highlights was having the opportunity to lunch with Jessica Hische (celebrated designer- she was recently cited by Creative Boom as one of the top 20 most influential graphic designers today, author- her beautiful kids book Tomorrow I’ll Be Brave just hit shelves), Josh Higgins (former Design Director for President Obama and currently Executive Creative Director for virtual and augmented reality products and hardware at Facebook), Alex Center (former Strategy and Design lead at The Coca-Cola Company), and fellow Toronto-based designer Ronnie (whom I had been introduced to through Scott Christie from BLVD Agency the previous night at the after party). Having the chance to chat one-on-one with these influential designers about design and life was something I’ll never forget. At the end of the day, despite their fame, they’re just good humans trying to make a difference in the world through their art.
As a mompreneur of essentially 2 toddlers (my business and my human child) the balance can sometimes be precarious. It’s a stressful path that I chose to run my own shop, but this conference really invigorated me creatively, and I wouldn’t want it any other way.
I am back from this action-packed trip feeling inspired and connected with the design community at large. I was almost taken aback by the outpouring of support upon returning home. I expected my team to hold down the fort and kill it in my absence (which of course they did!). They were super excited to hear all about what I had learned and seen and we immediately geeked out ogling the new design books and inspiring pieces I picked up at the conference (half a suitcase full!). What surprised me is that a few days after I got back one of our ongoing clients was in the studio to discuss new projects and expressed his support of our participation in these types of industry events; understanding the value of continuous education, professional growth and how this could ultimately benefit the work we do for them.
So thank you RGD, thank you DesignThinkers and (despite the Montreal-Toronto rivalry), thank you Toronto. It was amazing to be there and amazing to come home.
It was about time for another team outing and what better place then seeing a production of Once– a Tony Award winning Musical at the Segal Centre for Performing Arts. We loved seeing our graphics (current and past seasons) adoring the building and lobby at the Segal.
The heart-warming production is a tale of love and taking chances and was a wonderful start to the Segal Centre’s 2018/19 Season. It’s a definite a must see for theatre fans. Filled with witty characters, wonderful music and talented actors the show is great for all ages. The show wraps this weekend, so if you haven’t seen it yet, don’t miss out! Get tickets to see Once at the Segal.
What’s a better way to begin the summer than with two shiny new awards?
We are proud to announce we’re adding some new bling to our awards shelf.
We took home a Gold Communicator Awards Award for Print Excellence thanks to the hard work our team put into the 2017-2018 Season Campaign for the Segal Centre for Performing Arts. The six posters featured intricate and bold images. It was our second year being part of this fun world of theatre and we cannot wait to see the reactions to our 3rd season artwork that will grace their upcoming 2018-2019 season.
Click HERE to view more artwork from this this project.
In keeping with that sunny feeling…our fun High Five Kit Holiday Card received a Silver Communicator Awards of for Marketing Effectiveness. High Five to that!
See more of our award-winning greeting cards HERE
Thanks to this leading international award program for recognizing our high quality and personalized designs. Go team! #proud
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 😉
Cheers to all the good times in 2017.
2017 Year in Review from Design Is Yummy on Vimeo.
We are looking forward to another exciting year ahead. Bring it 2018!
Something awesome is coming soon to a mailbox near you…
You’re Awesome: Holiday Card Teaser from Design Is Yummy on Vimeo.
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!
At 3:30 PM tomorrow, Saturday August 12th, our Creative Director Elana will be giving a talk on web design trends at WordCamp Montreal, John Molson School of Business in Montreal, Quebec. Don’t miss it!
For more info and tickets: visit 2017.montreal.wordcamp.org
It’s almost sold out and no tickets are sold at the door..so act fast.
Happy Birthday Canada! You are looking mighty fine for 150!Our team is proud to be Canadian and live in a place that encourages freedom of creative expression.We are proud of the Canadian “politeness”. There are never enough “pleases” and “sorries” to fill this world.
We are proud of maple syrup and how freakin’ delicious it is.
We are proud to live in a multicultural nation with great open-mindness towards people who are different… Our team is a representation of celebrating these differences- our unique cultures coming together makes us a family.
We are proud of our great outdoors and the Trans Canada Trail making a link connecting us all.
– – – – side note: If you haven’t seen it yet, here’s a peak at the promotional postcard we created for the Trans Canada Trail’s recent The Great Trail campaign :
– – – –
We are proud of Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Jonathan Toes, Connor McDavid, Sidney Crosby, Carey Price, P.K. Suban (we still miss you) and just Hockey in general.
We are proud of Alanis Morissette, Mike Myers, Celine Dion, Jim Carrey, William Shatner, Pamela Anderson, Michael Bubblé, Ryan Reynolds, Elisha Cuthbert, Nina Dobrev, Michel Cera, Seth Rogen, Justin Bieber Bryan Adams, Avril Lavigne, yes, and even you Drake.