You will need to study the age group, gender, cultural background, and geographical location of your target audience. For example: Will your project target primarily urban teenagers, or, will your audience be more diversified, appealing to anyone who enjoys gardening? Not only will this help you market your organization more efficiently and aid in developing the most effective identity for your needs, but it will also determine if your project will require special elements, such as the use of a larger type size for an audience of predominantly seniors or young children.

What is the ideal amount that you would like to spend on your graphic design project? Your costs will include development (design & production), and possibly printing, copywriting (content editing) and distribution.

If your project involves text, type it up. If you feel that it could use some editing, we’ll be happy to provide that service for you. We can recommend a copywriting (content editing) professional if you need to write something up from start to finish.

Your company may already have an identity (a logo, fonts, colors and layouts that you regularly use for your printed material), but chances are that you are either starting from scratch or you need to redesign your identity. Getting started is simple. One approach is to gather printed materials and/or website addresses that you especially like. Think of why they appeal to you (colors, look, feel, etc.). Next, determine which of the factors would work best to represent your organization. The other resolution is to leave it up to us entirely! Dream Design has almost a decade of experience and formal training in the technical, creative and marketing aspects of design.

If your project is going to be printed, consider what shape and size you would like it to be. For example, will the finished product be a standard poster size, a three-fold brochure, or a mailer with a custom shape?

If the project is a logo, or any one graphic, think ahead of how it will be used. For example: Will it need to be developed in black and white for newspaper ads, memos, or fax covers? Will it need to be reduced in size, like for a business card? Or, will it always appear online, in color? Considering questions like these will help you develop your project in a way that is flexible and useful for the long-term, so you can avoid re-development fees later on.

If your company already has proprietary art such as a logo or photographs, it is highly recommended that you gather the original, uncompressed files for use in your website. It is best to avoid graphics that have been compressed for the web (GIF or JPEG files) when creating printed material.

If your project contains text, you may be asked what program was (or will be) used to type the content, or if it needs to be retyped from a hard copy. If you will be typing the content yourself, we recommend doing so in an unformatted Microsoft Word document (with no indents or unnecessary tables). Similarly, if you are providing images for your project, you may be asked if they need scanning, or if they are currently in digital format. Common image formats are PSD (PhotoShop), TIFF, EPS, BMP, JPEG and GIF. If you’re not sure about the format, don’t worry – we can help you find out!

When you are ready to start development, or when you need additional insight on preparing for your project, contact us and we can help you turn your ideas into reality. If you’d like to see examples of other graphic design projects we have developed, visit our portfolio.