What Do I Need to Kickstart a Creative Project?

Starting a creative project can be as exciting as it is daunting. New projects are full of possibilities, but also laden with road blocks if you’re not careful. Here at Not Another™, we pride ourselves on short, focussed deadlines that mean we achieve goals quickly, and with less back and forth.

While we’re ready to walk you through the process of your project, we ask that you come prepared with the following when you engage us. The following help us - and you - kickstart your creative project and help bring plans into action.

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A clear understanding of your desired outputs

Are you wanting new business cards or are you looking for a complete rebrand, overhauling your website, brand story video, and signage? The journey to create the above and their outcomes are very different, so having a clear list of achievables before engaging us is handy. This gives us clarity about what you expect, and you clarity about what we’ll deliver.
We understand that you may not know exactly what you want or need before you engage us. There are things you may not have considered, or things you didn’t realise could be included. That’s okay! We’re happy to help you out along the way, and you can check out our services to learn more about what’s possible.

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A clear understanding of your project goals‍

Desired outputs are the tangible items you need for your business, while your goals are what you’re hoping to achieve with these tangible items. Take a website for example. This desired output is easy to understand, but why do you want a website? Is it to showcase your products and break into the e-commerce market? Or is it because you want to launch a brand redesign for a century old business, and are looking to attract a younger clientele through the power of digital marketing? The whys behind your desired outputs are just as important as the outputs themselves and will help us create the greatest outcome possible.
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An engaged decision-making team‍

It’s important to not crowd the decision-making table. While it might seem like a great idea to bring in many opinions, we find that any more than three key decision makers lead to bland, safe choices and delays in the decision-making process. If you’d like a sounding board, pick one or two of your most trusted stakeholders, who share your vision for the project’s end result. Make sure they're briefed on the desired outputs and goals before the initial meeting, and that they’re ready to hit the ground running.
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A flexible and open calendar

We’re not asking you to clear your calendar for the foreseeable future, but a tight turnaround time is a point of pride at Not Another™. We don’t drag out deadlines and we don’t engage with clients that do so, either.
You’ve already won half the battle by coming to us with clear goals and desired outputs, plus an open mind. The last key to success is making yourself available for key decision-making moments and meetings. We won’t bombard your calendar with meeting invites - we prefer video calls and emails when possible - but we do expect you to be available during important points, all of which will be communicated to you well in advance.
Why is this so important to us? Momentum propels Not Another™ forward, allowing us to achieve our clients goals as well as our own, and we don’t want to lose it. Momentum means we keep up the pace of a project, and work until the outcomes are completed.
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A clear and open mind‍

Without a clear and open mind, we can guarantee there will be roadblocks abound. While we will work with you to achieve your vision, it’s important to understand the journey or the outcome may look a bit different to what’s in your head. Whether desired outcomes don’t fit into your budget, aren’t best practice, or don’t hold up off paper, it’s important to understand pivots may need to happen. We know that you chose us for our professionalism and great track record of work, so we hope that you’ll trust us to carry those same principles throughout your project.

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Existing creative work, all in one easy-to-upload folder‍

It’s important for us to have your business’s creative assets. This lets our designers work with your existing assets, whether they’re being used as inspiration or as a refresh. Photos and videos, if they fit within the new creative project, allow us to create documents and websites with ease, saving you the time and hassle of having to create new ones.  Before our initial kick-off meeting, we would like you to round up the following, and put it in an easy-to-upload folder to share with us when the time comes:

Existing logo files
Existing design assets, such as; pamphlets, posters, business cards, marketing collateral, and anything else you may have
Existing photos
Existing videos

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Allowing us access to these in one, easy-to-use space speeds up the creative process.
Creative projects need engaged clients to be successful. They require nurturing and commitment, from both the creative studio and the client. We’re ready and willing to do the heavy lifting - that’s why you’re hiring us after all - but need you to be engaged and ready to go to achieve the best outcome. If this sounds like you, and you want to get your creative project off the ground, get in touch with us to learn more.

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