Doing the things that matter (Part 1)
The following covers a few important things to propel a project forward. Think of it like a circuit, and closing out the loops.
Let’s start with Intent, because it matters. It’s a mindset that took me a while to understand. Let’s frame it from the perspective of ‘We’re all in this together’ and Appreciation. This way, all communication is framed like we’re all on the same team. We all have good intentions when starting a project; the hard part can be maintaining those intentions throughout. Being clear in those intentions informs how we communicate with the team and clients: the moment we forget the ‘team’ intentions and start blaming, naming or getting defensive, it is a clear sign we’ve forgotten why we’re doing this to begin with.
Reminding ourselves this is a collab, and we’re appreciative someone is paying us to do what we love, such as creating something beautiful or inspiring, or just improving from our last project, and helping our clients succeed in their business.
The start: calibration. The point of the kick-off, meeting and/or email, is understanding each other. This is the first calibration. This is the important opportunity to ask questions, find out what matters to the clients, what matters to their project, and how they prefer to work. It is a melding of the two worlds through collaboration. Seek to understand what has worked in the past and what hasn’t, then adjust your own workflow to support the client. It is also defining boundaries.
Be clear, concise, and ask deeper questions to better understand the client, their project and what is important to them. For example: where it is being marketed, who the target market is, and how you can help communicate the project’s intent visually, using colours, textures, scale, context, look and feel, mood, symbolism, themes, inspirational or aspirational.
The kick-off
What to settle before anyone opens a file.
Understand them
The questions that shape everything after.
- What matters to them and to the project
- How they prefer to work what has worked before, and what hasn’t
- Where it is being marketed and who the target market is
- The visual intent colour, texture, scale, mood, symbolism
Confirm and request
The things you cannot start without.
- Camera angles heights, lens preferences, context, typologies
- Outstanding brief items CAD files, finishes schedule
- Clients can add these to Propagio rather than emailing them around
Set the boundaries
The tone, and how the project will run.
- When you are available and when you are not
- What you are available to do and what you are not
- How the review process works walk them through it on a shared screen
- One point of contact the gatekeeper to all client-side stakeholders
Dates and money
The part people skip, and then regret.
- The due date start with the end in mind
- Rough draft dates Draft 1, 2, 3, Final and delivery
- A 1 to 3 day buffer before delivery
- Deposit 50%, or 100% under a certain amount, say $1,000 or $2,000
Understanding personal boundaries provides an opportunity to set the tone and how you will guide the project, the review process, when you are available and when you are not, and what you are and are not available to do. This is where the system comes into play: it defines the boundaries and what is expected of each other. Propagio helps maintain those boundaries so it’s clear and orchestrated for all users, so it’s worth explaining how you use Propagio in the kick-off meeting. Cover off how to access it, the stages everyone is on, due dates and how the client has the leading role. A quick share screen helps everyone: show how you use it, where to comment, and where to find files and upload information.
Determine who will be the main point of contact throughout the project. Ideally, this person is the gatekeeper to all client-side stakeholders. Make it easy for yourself by making it easy for the clients. And coming soon: Prop, a little AI helper who will answer the other questions along the way.
Confirm the due date and start with the end in mind. Review the rough draft dates together, and see Managing expectations for how to hold them. Allow a one to three day buffer before delivery; pencil in the time it takes to get to Draft 1, 2, 3, Final and the delivery date. Confirm a 50% deposit, or 100% if it’s under a certain amount, say $1,000 or $2,000. Part 2 of that post covers framing the terms at the kick-off.
Part 2 picks up in the middle of a project: feedback, recalibration, and getting to delivery.
I hope this helps someone,
Thanks for reading.
Luke