Annette Frei, Graphic Artist, Illustrator, is the Creative Director for 360 WEB DESIGNS.
Question – What kind of logo jobs do you like best?
Annette – “Rewards come in various stages in the logo process. When I meet up with a new client who is passionate about their brand and trust that I will deliver something great, I get carried to a new level of creativity. If you listen to the customers needs, give each client a sense of comfort in the stages and timeline, and show them solid reasons for the designs you put forward, most jobs are a joy to work on.”
Question – Describe your creative process. What are the major steps?
Annette – “Meeting face to face with the client if at all possible to discuss the project and styles they like is the first step. This is time I take to look over some samples with them and answer a questionnaire. Back at my studio, I go to my sketch book and doodle. The pencil to paper process is very important to me. I make a small thought board of related words, then try to extend and simplify the symbols to relate to the business. Then I walk away from it. When I come back, one or two of the sketches stand out. I start the process again until I come up with 3 – 4 good ideas. Sometimes these doodles go straight to the client. Other times I tighten them up digitally. The first round of designs are always in black and white. There is no reason to confuse the client with color when we need to lock down the basic shapes first. After deciding on a design, or combination of two designs to move forward with, I head back to refine on the computer. Back and forth we dance (hopefully only a few times) until we have a final color logo. Once approved, I create a style sheet and a folder of digital files for the client to keep. The process is similar for all different kinds of graphics.”
Question – How do you juggle many projects at once? Is there a time that you were overwhelmed? And if so what how did you get through it?
Annette – “I have to say that juggling jobs is often overwhelming. One month, double the amount of new clients as any other month that year were signed. After some nail biting, I came up with a plan that involved a timeline for each job, and evaluating the priority of each. I called each client, and went through the schedule. What I noticed were that a few of the clients were not as anxious to complete as early as others. On some of the projects, I couldn’t do much until the photographer was done shooting. I adopted the mantra, “It will all work out fine.” And it did. Now I use a timeline for most of my projects. Customers love to feel they have a solid sense of what is going on, when the completion date is, and how we are going to get there.”
“Customer care is of up-most importance to me, so I try to get back to a client’s call or email as quickly as possible, if only to tell them I received their message and will return to them asap. Compartmentalizing tasks helps. Certain days are for creativity, certain days are for networking, and other days are for production. The client calls fit in there somewhere. Email saves me. I can read the email and think about my response while filing papers, then respond with clearly thought out answer. “
