A marketing professionals guide to creating a budget when planning a publication, web site or other creative project

1.    Define project goals and determine what elements of the project are absolutely necessary to meet those goals

This sounds like typical marketing mumbo jumbo but it is necessary. Ask yourself these questions: What is the purpose of this project? What points am I trying to communicate and what elements need to be included to make those points?
This gives you a starting point from which you can determine the size of the publication and how much time the project will take.
For example, say I am planning a publication. First I need to determine the purpose of the publication. For this example I am going to say it is an annual report. So this publication needs to communicate that the company I am creating it for is financially responsible and it is innovative in the way it does business.

That is the goal of the publication. Now I need to determine how I am going to make these points. What articles, photos illustrations graphs, tables or video are you going to need to make these points? This might be hard for you to determine, as you are unsure of the cost or capabilities of your designer. But, don’t worry about that now. This is a good time to dream. List all the things you would like. You can always eliminate elements later if the budget is tight or if they are just not practical.
Be careful though, to keep your goals and ideas clear and to a minimum. Don’t try and make too many points in the publication. Most people are only going to absorb the first few. So keep it simple.

Tips for saving money and time when working with creative professionals

At the end of the month after invoices have been sent, I always dread the all-too predictable calls from clients about their invoices. Usually the question always arises, how come it cost so much or why did this take too long? After getting off the phone I realize that this could have been avoided through clear, concise communication.  The longer I manage Kinsman Creative the better it has become because I have learned some principles for collaboratively planning out creative projects.

In the article below, I am going to list the most common time-intensive or cost-intensive mistakes made while managing a creative project.

This is a basic table of issues that I see people who are not familiar with print and web design struggle with.  I hope this is helpful. Please This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it if you have an suggestions or additions you would like to see added to this. In addition, I have posted a pdf version you can download and keep next to your computer.