In-house Graphic Design Management

markallen

New Member
Hi fellow designers,

Thought I would gather some feedback from other like me. It's all about the exciting world of being an In-house graphic designer.

My current challenge...
I have just started working as a solo in-house graphic designer within a digital business. My role involves everything from creating print design, UI design, case studies to name a few.
As with any In-house designer job my biggest challenge is managing the work load and managing other people's expectations. Sometimes I get briefs coming in late or the brief changes half way through the project which results in deadlines becoming impossible. So on a daily basis I am constantly re-negotiating deadlines and re-prioritising projects with my marketing manager. This makes it hard to stick to a schedule.

I would like to set up some better processes here. I am currently working on setting up a few systems such as:

My current solutions...
  1. Getting everyone to submit a design brief via the "official brief form"
  2. A guideline to how much notice I need in receiving briefs before there deadline.
  3. I am currently suggesting that we get at least one other designer working in-house to help with work load
  4. I'm also suggesting outsourcing any work that comes up which clashes with the current schedule.
How do you manage your design projects?
Is anyone else experiencing the same challenges? How do you deal with design management? any alternative solutions that I haven't thought of? Maybe you disagree with some of my suggested solutions?

It would be great to hear everyone's opinion on this topic of design management. :)

Mark
 
hey, i was in exactly the same boat until about a month ago when we got another designer in. Its hard to prioritise because it might be the big boss who comes in and you have to drop everything...
i think all your points 1 to 4 are valid, but for 2, i think youre flogging a dead horse there...
mybe you have some design mates who you might be able to outsource, if its a big company, with a budget, then find someone local-ish you can learn to trust.
id recommend using trello for your workflow.
i ask people to come talk to me, so i can ask questions, get all the details i need and give them an idea of when i can do it, then i ask them to submit a brief (print or digital, who is it aimed at, who has sign off, who is managing it, etc etc) i have a lot of people just come up to me saying 'can you quickly...' - the answer is no... you need a written brief, it helps them too as they probably have no idea what you need or what they need! its highly unlikely youll be able to cope on your own if the company is bigger than small - i was starting to lose it.
 
Two edged sword, good approach to processes but you need to maintain a level of flexibility. Sticking to a schedule needs flex where the project and external project pressures change. Go for the process described, educate your clients and the process will become smoother and more professional.

The solution is not to outsource any unexpected work that clashes - you need to build flex into your system. Same applies for an additional member of staff; only when you are doing everything you can, are 120% committed and deadlines are very tight (if you are truly in this scenario right now, fair enough. You need to control your costs. Will the demand be consistent eg term times, seasonal, annual reports, etc. When you have to outsource, build and keep building a trusted network of supplier partners.

i ask people to come talk to me, so i can ask questions, get all the details i need and give them an idea of when i can do it, then i ask them to submit a brief (print or digital, who is it aimed at, who has sign off, who is managing it, etc etc)

Salty has it right. Talk, understand, be realistic, build for proofing and reproofing etc.

Everything you describe / are experiencing is normal, in fact good because it is indicative of solid growth.

Hope this helps.
 
whilst I'm not an in-house designer, the workflow sounds familiar within the agency I work for. My solution was to set up a Trello board and created a company group including all account managers and directors. This allows people to see my workload, what I'm working on now, what deadlines I'm working to and where I may be able to fit an extra project in.
 
Thanks for the replies guys! It's good to share experiences and opinions with you all. I've worked as a graphic designer for various companies over the years but this job I am finding that it is necessary to spend quite alot of time on the project management, admin, project planning etc.. this is because I am the only designer and I have briefs coming to me from a team of 4 content writers, a sales team and members of the marketing team.

I think I definately need another member in my team, or even an assistant who can do the general artworking, whilst I attend meetings and work on the larger projects. Because currently there are projects that have been in and out of progress due to my prioritises changing outside of my control.

I understand its important to be flexible, which is all what I can do. Minuteman press and Salty, I think you made a good point about "Talk, understand, be realistic, build for proofing and reproofing etc". Often people have know idea how long projects take so often I'm finding I need to explain the break down of each project to them so they clearly understand whats involved and how long it will take.

Do you guys have a converstion with the cleint before the brief is submitted or do you ask for cleint to fill in brief first before a discussion is made? I sometimes do either of these, depending on how big or complexed the project is.
 
Do you guys have a converstion with the cleint before the brief is submitted or do you ask for cleint to fill in brief first before a discussion is made?

Can work both ways. If a brief has been drafted first, the client will have considered requirements and been through a process of reflection on the desired outcome, this expedites the process by avoiding the preliminary stage of "I've got a few ideas". The client has put those ideas through the funnel and contemplated what they wish to achieve. Reduces the time taken in the concept process for the client (and for you). Having invested time drafting the project a more focussed solution is drafted.

That said, where the client has no specific visions, the specification stage will start much earlier.

The discussion after concept has been considered will make for more meaningful discussions, less frustration and a reduced project leadtime.

May also be worth visiting methods of progress reporting to keep the client up to date. Perhaps also an agreed process with other departments of project priorities.

Hope this helps. Happy Easter.
 
Thanks Minuteman! Thats makes sense and it's always good to hear clarity from all designers in the same boat.
Happy Easter to you too :)
 
I've been in the same situation but despite my best attempts I was never able to create proper a solution to it.

Being the lone Designer working amongst people who didn't understand design can be very difficult as many can see you as a creative toy in their arsenal and use you that way.
This made my work flow very hard to manage and it became quite frustrating at times.

The way I coped with it was to be incredibly patient but also adopt a very abrasive, unapproachable and outwardly hostile demeanour.
When someone used to approach my desk I'd give them the "what the f@ck do you want" look.
I'd practice this in a mirror and I got very good at it.

When they were telling me what they needed I'd repeat my mantra silently in my mind "You're wasting my F@CKING time!" and occasionally mumble "For f@cks sake" and roll my eyes.

People became quite scared of me and would only approach me when they really needed something and I found it worked much better.
 
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