Stop Overthinking And Just Design Something
Client services is a tricky industry for design. You’re more often than not whipping up some creative, getting an immediate problem solved, and doing your best to convince your client to stop cramming every last paragraph they can write of into a slide deck or a slick sheet.
The hard part is the whole “godspeed” thing after we’re done - internal teams (now becoming a relic of careers past) usually have the bandwidth to see it all through. The fun part, however, is that if you’re doing it right - you never run out of new things to craft, and you finally get to explore all those other colors.
ICG CREATIVE
// 2024
TEAM:
NICOLE WHEELER
LAUREN CAMERON
KOJO TABIRI
MY ROLE:
CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Nearly everything we design at ICG is communicated back to the client via a whole lotta artboards. Notes, diagrams, and passive aggressive warnings about the kind of feedback we’re looking for.
Collateral design seems to follow a similar pattern: Include good messaging, diagram the brand style, and put it together in a readable way. Not included: keeping clients from trying to put 2000 words per page.
One of the read-aheads we always provide is a guideline on “How We Design,” a walkthrough on how to consider things like brand-feel, brand-narrative, and what happens if you may or may not actually like the work.
