I never thought I would agree with this idea. I was "old school" and had the viewpoint that a client sitting behind me was an imposition. (I was a artist, dammit, leave me alone). I have done a complete 180 in the last ten years. I now believe the above method to be an excellent and efficient way to work, and it stops cold many of the endless streams of emails/revisions that so often happens. This method does not work on all jobs, obviously. And it certainly does not work for all designers.
It requires a few things on your part—
1. You must know your software well and be able to work rapidly.
If you are very slow or not creative, or just plain mediocre as a designer, this process will be frustrating. Give up and go back to the endless email stream—or get draconian with rules on revisions and tweaks and lose a few clients in the process (maybe the ones you want to lose?).
2. You must be tactful and have the ability to teach and talk while you work.
Maybe you are not kind and tactful by nature—maybe you can't even be civil with your mate. Then this method may not work for you.
3. Don't pile yourself up with so much that you can't stop and do a layout so that you can get a client in and out the door with dispatch, deposit in hand.
This requires always trying to give yourself a little wiggle room when you promise submittals or finished jobs, or whatever—a skill that takes an effort to develop, as well as self-control. If you are always, always covered up with work, missing dealines regularly, you are probably too cheap. Of course, you could be such an amazing designer that people just can't stay away, but I doubt it. You're probably too cheap.
4. You must be well-versed in design principles and vocabulary.
If you are not familiar with basic design principles in sign layout (many sign goobers are not) or are not able to communicate ideas coherently—or if you are one of the few that does not believe in the existence of sign design principles—then this method is not for you.
At one time, I believed that you were born with design ability. I struggled for years trying to figure out what I was doing wrong—and I wasn't that smart. Once I discovered the
Mike Stevens Journal, and later bought his book,
Mastering Layout, everything changed. I learned design principles and their names. I went from being a struggling designer to an adequate designer overnight. I now read
Mastering Layout every year. I also read other design books regularly. I keep Alex White's
The Elements of Graphic Design next to my recliner and pick it up constantly. It helps that I don't own a TV. I don't put down TV as a form of entertainment and I'm not against vices in general or time-wasting activities—I love Scotch and I can easily spend an hour lying on my back staring at clouds. But I seem to have far more time to read than my colleagues. Several of them spend a couple hours every night watching TV. If I were to spend two hours every night bowling, my mate would accuse me of addiction or of secretly wanting to turn professional.
If you have never read
The Elements of Graphic Design by Alex W. White, you are missing out. It is not written in one continuous stream, like a novel. It is written so that you can read any chapter by itself and benefit, well suited to today's short attention spans. I've read his chapter on negative space over and over. Get the second edition—more pictures and bigger. Or get both the first and second. The little first edition is cheap and is easy to carry on the bus or plane.
Brad in Kansas City
https://www.amazon.com/Elements-Gra...t=&hvlocphy=9023243&hvtargid=pla-453973818930
