Even today, there is a widespread belief that the world of design is not compatible with project management. That idea is far from true. In reality, all creative projects need structure and a sound division of work.
While working together on specific projects, graphic designers need to pay attention to deadlines and client desires. Since project managers are generating a balance between rigidness and creativity, the following tips will present how project management plays a major role in professional design.
Set Precise Goals
The first step to completing a successful project is to provide exact information. What needs to be defined from the start are the framework and goals of the project. From the perspective of a project manager, you need to convey client demands to the rest of the team. Setting precise goals will mainly highlight the level of allowed creativity. Also, it will set the tone for further work.
Empower Your Team Members
After establishing goals and responsibilities, it is important to motivate your team members. Speak to them individually and as a group. Point out their strong sides while expressing a firm faith in their abilities. At the same time, you should respect their wishes in delegating working tasks. Please don’t force them into roles they do not find pleasant. Understanding your team members will allow a better workflow and increased productivity of the whole group.
Recognize Their Characters and Abilities
Motivating your team members should be based on a solid knowledge of their personas. In delegating responsibilities, you should be aware of their characters and abilities. Essentially, what you want to know is how they are connected with their working habits. In creative ambients, such as graphic design, you should keep away from assigning strict, defined roles. On the other hand, your actions must clarify that there are also tasks that need to be performed. In that manner, your actions will ensure the productivity and engagement of your team members.
Create Distinctive Timetables
You can also increase the productivity of your team with the implementation of a clear schedule. At the same time, it will save you from additional costs and unwanted setbacks. And if you are looking for an attractive schedule, then visual designers are the ones who can create color schemes for particular project sections.
According to this current master’s degree in visual design and communication, visual designers find employment in the galaxy of local and international graphic design, branding, and advertising offices. Since they can give a visual identity to anything from the newspapers we read to the events we attend to the socks we wear, they will be a valuable asset for any design project.
Timely Control the Changes
When the project is in the ongoing phase, one of your key tasks is to avoid underperforming and overperforming. This phenomenon is known as scope creep, which happens when the project drifts aside from the previously accepted direction. There are different variations of this issue. However, it is mainly connected to new client demands.
You may accept the requested changes in these situations only if the client takes responsibility for the new budget and work schedule.
Keep Your Clients Informed
You should be aware that completing creative projects requires time and patience. As graphic design is not a rigid niche, your job is to make sure your clients do not impose an impossible time frame for the end product.
The best way to do that is to often inform the clients about the work in progress. By providing regular reports, you can show the development of the project before the final version. In that way, you can control the timeline of any revision requests.
Rely on Mobile Communication
In the world of ever-growing technology, it is necessary to use portable communication tools. And there are numerous reasons for this action. In graphic design, the key factors are the lack of stable workplaces and multiple time zones.
A prolific solution could be to utilize mediums that do not rely on specific platforms. Instead, they should deliver quick update information for all project members included. The solution may also be to utilize some of the established collaboration tools.
Save the Projects All Together
Managing your team during parallel projects is more efficient with adequate management tools. They should allow you to observe the progress of every single working task. In this case, what you need is a management tool that can let you track down any remarks, along with changes in the task list and schedule.
There are a variety of these planning tools available on the internet. You should choose the one that best fits the needs of your team members and projects in progress.
As a project manager, you should know that there are several phases of each project. Initially, your task is to set precise goals and delegate responsibilities. It is equally important to understand your team members and focus on their strengths. During the working process, your team members should have a distinctive visual overview of the project used when communicating with clients about project development. Acknowledging that a project can be charged only when it exists, it is a wise solution to keep all your information saved and stored in one visible management tool.
Author’s bio: Jennifer Hahn Masterson is the Lead Content Strategist at Spread the Word Solutions, holding an MA degree in business communication. She is always doing her best to help her clients find their place in the ever so competitive business arena, insisting on long-term sustainability rather than on some questionable get-rich-fast scheme. You can check her out on LinkedIn.
