August 15, 2023
Kris: Welcome to episode 87 of the Design and Prosper podcast. Today we are discussing formula based design. Haven’t heard of it? Listen in because this concept can help you maximize profits in your design business.
[Intro Music]
Hello. Hello. Welcome everybody.
Don: Welcome in. So formula based design. Well, it is your best friend when you have a client with small budget. Yes. Mm-hmm. We’ve all had those clients who come to us desperate for a new brand or some of your expertise. But the bottom line, they can’t afford you.
Kris: Yes. Yep. You’re on their vision board and they don’t want anyone else to do the work, but they just don’t have the funds.
Don: That’s it. They just can’t afford you bottom line. And that, that happens a lot, especially when people are starting a business. And if you are a brand designer, there will be a lot of entry level clients out there that are just starting out and their budget just doesn’t extend to the full extent of what a brand is worth. But they need it.
Kris: They need something and we had many clients like this who were such beautiful people and they had a vision for their business and a great product or service, and you just think, I want to work with you and it was mutual.
Like they wanted to work with us, we wanted to work with them. And we thought, okay, are we going to turn them away? So they go down to the local printer or whatever and get a, a logo mashed up that way.
Don: Or worse, go online and get like a template based solution.
You know that a gazillion other businesses could snatch up at any time. So rather than turn them away, we would always offer a formula based solution as a first port of call. Yep. We’d say, okay, all right, we see you, we see your budget. Let’s work with that.
Kris: Because they weren’t even making up their budget. It’s not like one of those clients who, you know, they, they’re making it up, you know, like they say you can’t afford it. It’s like they really truly are a startup and they just don’t have the money to invest and you want to help them out.
Don: Alright, let’s dive into, well, what is formula based design? Yes. Let’s answer that question.
Kris: We use that term a lot, but I’m not sure if the general graphic design population knows the term and whether we just made it up. Actually, I think Donna made it up.
Don: Yes. Truth be told, I’ve been using this term in my own business for decades, it was born from the need to create something for our clients when they didn’t have a budget and.
When we distilled it down to what it is that we do, we came up with the name formula based Design. Now, again, I don’t know if anybody else is using that out there or who started using it first, but it is something that I’ve been using for many years and talking about it with clients who don’t have a budget.
So what we should say first up is formula based design is not template based design. It’s very, very different. Template based design has a specific purpose. A designer will create a template, whether it is a limited edition template, where there may be eight of them or hundreds of them.
Kris: Unlimited
Don: Unlimited, yeah. Thousands. Right. So that template has not been made to a brief for a client. It has been made from a brief for the designer’s template shop.
Kris: Yes. And it might be a broad brush, kind of, it’s going to suit this particular kind of business or this particular kind of client. You’ve got it already preexisting and then the client comes along and you’re sort of like mashing them into a, um, a template.
Yeah. Yeah. And that sounds. Really awful saying, mashing them in. But because template based design is definitely viable.
Don: And really highly profitable. It has a place.
Kris: it has a place, but it, that’s not what we’re talking about. That’s not what we’re talking about. So we just wanted to make sure you knew that formula based design is not template based design.
Formula based design is new, creative and it’s often conceptual, but it’s based on existing knowledge you already have in your repertoire.
Kris: It is based on past projects that you’ve done for other clients. It’s about knowledge that you have stored in your mind and in your digital archives.
Don: Absolutely. That’s exactly right. The, the money saver with formula based design for those clients with a small budget is that there is no new research. That’s the bottom line. That’s where we go. Okay. Rather than starting from scratch with design development, This approach relies on that existing knowledge that Kris was just talking about, and proven design elements that you know really well, like the back of your hand and design principles that we’ve used and been successful in the past.
So all of those principles coming into play.
Kris: Yeah. So this is not going to be groundbreaking creative necessarily. Itmight happen just naturally. Yeah. And it can happen, but it’s, going to be a really good, strong, solid solution for the client.
It’s going to be appropriate. It’s going to meet the brief but it’s, going to be using Intel that you’ve already gathered in your career so far, because you, you need to use that. That amazing experience that you have as a designer, even if you’ve only been doing it for a couple of years, or if you’ve been doing it for decades. You’ve got experience, right? You’re starting to get experience wherever you were taught, whether you’re self-taught or university educated, you’re gathering experience. So, as a professional experience designer, we call on our knowledge of design style, function, and form. All those things, all the gems, all of those beautiful things. And we apply them in a way that, you know, is tried and true.
So the things that might be considered, or that you have in your repertoire are understanding of composition. You have that, that’s a part of your expertise. Color palettes. Yeah. You already have that, part of your expertise. Typography, pairings.
Don:Your Go-to fonts,
Kris: You know they work. They’re tried and true.
Don: Tried and true. Or at least you know that particular style of serif will be beautiful with that particular sand serif, whatever. You’ll know, you know this stuff. It’s innate layout, grid, illustration styles, imagery styles, and the list goes on and on and on.
So our experience in all of those things allows us to shortcut the creative process and arrive at a solution that meets our client’s brief and budget. the time saver is the no research. That’s it. We are really leaning into all of that stored knowledge that we have.
Kris: Yeah. So Don, would you say that if you’ve worked on some previous projects, say some branding, and you’ve been doing all this creative exploration for this project, you’ve got like pages and pages of logo concepts, and then you’ve worked up some on Illustrator and then you’ve decided to go down a different path and you’re not using a lot of that.
Don: conceptual development Yes.
Kris: Would you tap into that?
Don: a hundred percent. You would tap into that. That’s exactly it. Nothing is lost. I think you and I say that all the time, don’t we? Nothing is lost. All of that work that you do, that gets filed away for later. Okay. I might tap back into that at a later date. You, it will need to be repurposed, perhaps. Yeah. Um, but you might have explored a, a medium for that particular project that you decided to drop.
And as you know, we are, we only choose one path and present that to our clients. So all of that gold, that richness that’s there doesn’t need to be left on a dusty shelf. We can actually tap into that later down the track if we need to.
Kris: Like with the branding example, you might have created a brand for a client and I’m going to be really, um, cheesy with the references. So you might have done a whole bunch of cloud concepts for the brand, but then you’ve gone for the tree,right?
You’ve got either the cloud or the tree, and then when you, this other client comes along and it’s like, oh, the cloud is going to be really good for you.
Don: Yeah.
Kris: So it’s like that as well. And so what we used to do is we used to archive all our not presented concepts and we put them into their own little spot.
And so we’d rummage through them when we needed to, because often there was. Some gold in there. Yeah. They weren’t necessarily bad concepts. They weren’t, they weren’t bad at all. They were just not quite the direction that we wanted to go with. Absolute. Yeah. And we didn’t present it to the client. And it’s your creative.
Yeah. It’s not property of the client, what you present to them and what they go with is their property. But these behind the scenes conceptual ideas are yours. So you can reuse them.
Don: Yeah. Reuse them again and again, and put them as a part of your process.
This is a part of the formula based process that you have moving forward. So the thing that we want to say is, it is new creative. That’s that’s key and we want to underline that. So while it relies on existing knowledge and proven design elements and principles, it still requires. New creative and intellectual property.
So this will be the first time. This is seeing the light of day, like Kris never presented or ideas that have come together based on your collective knowledge of the industry. So we apply the design elements in the principles in a unique and innovative way. Like Kris said before, it can be innovative, it can be groundbreaking.
Because you’re tapping into what you’ve used before and you know what’s going to work, and then you might add a different layer to it and a different element before you know it. And this has actually happened to me. I’ve had a client come to me, didn’t have the right budget, used formula based design, one of my most favorite pieces of work because it was, it just all came together with ease. No pressure.
Kris: Yes. Oh, and it’s almost like, oh, it was meant to be that, that concept that I didn’t use was meant for this person.
Don: It needed to see the light. Yes. And here It is.
Kris: It’s like all dressed up and nowhere to go. Yeah. So, another thing that I just wanted to mention is that it’s really important when you do have that client who doesn’t have the budget and you are going down this path, is to communicate it to them and say, look, I am, I really want to work with you. I think you’re wonderful and I want to work within your budget. It’s very important. Yeah. That you make it clear it’s not a discount. Yeah. It’s a different service. And be very clear about what they’re going to get.
Don: Yeah, absolutely. So they need to understand exactly what’s going to happen so that expectations are met or often surpassed, hopefully surpassed.
I would explain that we adapt our process by eliminating the deep dive into research while still being able to meet their brief. There’s still a brief, guys. There’s still a brief, right? It’s still new creative and we can get innovative and we can be experimental with it, but we are not doing a deep dive into the research.
So it’ll meet their brief and it’ll meet their budget. It’s your experience and your ability to draw on that industry knowledge means you are still able to deliver a high end, highly considered solution.
Kris: Yeah. It’ll be very appropriate. Yeah. not even comparable to if they’ve gone off and done it themselves or, or use somebody that isn’t you
You just need to really explain it clearly. Yeah. So what we used to do is say, look, this is our regular process. We do this amount of research and we do a lot of conceptual development based on your business. But we’re going to adapt this process, so we’re going to not do as much research and we’re not going to do as much conceptual deep dive as we normally would do.
So that’s going to mean that we’re still going to be able to meet your brief. But we’re also going to be able to meet your budget.
Don: Yeah. That’s the key. That’s the key. Absolutely it’s a win-win. It meets their budget, meets their brief, and you get to do the work. You get to be a part of a business who’s on the ground going up and they get to use you, the designers that they want.
Kris: Yeah. Do you know that I still see examples of businesses who we did this for.
Don: We were talking about this just the other day. Yeah.
Kris: And they were just so small and now they’ve got like a fleet of cars and like yay. big big building and I’m like, what?
And the brand stands the test of time. It was not super groundbreaking, right? going to say it right here. It was appropriate. It was strong. It met the brief. Yeah. It was suitable for their industry. Yeah. And it’s, and it was still distinctive.
Don: Kris it was high end. Yes, the groundbreaking research wasn’t there, but it didn’t need to be.
Kris: And a couple of other businesses that we worked with, it was I guess a very simple yet strong approach that we did. But after a couple of years when they grew, their businesses grew, we actually rebranded.
Don: Exactly.
Kris: Yeah. So it’s really exciting what can happen. Because these people can become long-term clients.
Don: Yeah, Absolutely there’s so many benefits with this, and I love that case study that you’ve just shared, Kris, because that’s exactly what we’re talking about, right.
Kris: Mm-hmm.
Don: It’s so much better to go to a professional experienced designer who is willing to take your project on with formula based design than it is to go and get a template or go and get one of thousands and have to reinvest again anyway.
Kris: Yeah. Or use a designer who is not of the standard that you are.
Don: Exactly.
Kris: Cause that’s frustrating. It’s frustrating to think that you’re sending them off to somebody and they’re going to get a really core result.
Don: That’s right. And I mean that’s not going to be a win.
Kris: This is a win-win because in those examples that I mentioned before, they kept coming back and back and back.
Don: and back. That’s one of the key benefits. Yeah. Yeah. Love it. Win-win. So the two key benefits of formula-based design. Efficiency and time saving. That’s a no-brainer. And it’s cost effective because it’s saving you oodles of time.
Kris: That’s right.
Don: So beautiful designers, your business your way. Next time you have a potential client that reaches out and they can’t quite afford your complete process, consider a formula based approach as an initial phase one engagement. It’s better that your client has access to you in this way than not at all. And like we were saying and all going to plan, your client will experience that success Kris was just talking about and will be ready for phase two in no time.
Kris: Yes. And that doesn’t mean that you’re going to do this for all your clients. You know, there’s going to be people who definitely can afford and should have the full service that you offer.
But if you are coming across people who really don’t have the budget and you just want to work with them because they’re wonderful and that’s key, you want to want, you really want to work with.
Don: Actually on that, Kris, a good thing to say here is that make sure when you are explaining to them that. You know, Kris and I are a big fan of, it’s not a discount, it’s a different service. Right. When you explain the two different services to them, it’s really surprising how many clients in the past of ours have gone. Oh, right. No, I want the full service. Yeah. They find the money.
Kris: Yeah. Don’t assume that they won’t find the money.
Don: So make sure when you’re talking about how you can help them, you still offer them the full service option. Yeah. Because ideally that’s what
Kris: you want, Yeah. After you do the brief with them in that clarity call briefing, I would not mention this one. I would have this up my sleeve. But in that initial, talking it out with them and seeing and feeling it out and seeing what you think, they might be able to go with, don’t assume that they don’t have money.
Don: Exactly. Yeah. I think a lot of designers do that. They, they think, oh, you’re starting out. Oh, we’re such empathetic souls. And so we are like, you’re new to business. It’s brand new. There are a lot of costs. Design is a cost of business. And it’s a really valuable transformative cost. So we’ve got to make sure that we let them know the value. Communicate the value, communicate the transformation.
And if you haven’t yet listened to the our podcaster on transformation and how to communicate transformation, check it out. It was, I think, podcast 86. Check that out, because that’s how you’re going to communicate the transformation to your audience.
Kris: And if you are attracting clients at the moment that. Really are saying a lot. Um, I can’t afford you. I can’t afford you. We have a podcast on that too, which is 61, what to do when clients Can’t Afford You. And in that we did mention formula based design, but we keep getting the question, what is formula based design? You’re like, okay, we better do an episode on that, which is what we’ve just done. So hopefully that helps to clear things up for you because it’s, it can be a really great way for you to still make great money and not have to turn people away.
Don: Yeah. Yeah. And my business model was all about new brands for new businesses. So we came across this a lot. Perhaps why we’ve created formula based design as a little title, um, because we, we wanted to be the ones to put these businesses on the map.
Yeah. We wanted to be the ones to be the design ambassador. And like Kris said, your business your way, you don’t have to turn them away. They will come back again and again and again because if you do your job well, they’ll grow and they’ll be back. They’ll be like, right, I’m ready. Phase two,
Kris: bring it on. And if you use formula based design well then you can really maximize profit within your business as well.
Because if you have it systemized, like we mentioned before, You’re filing away, you’re archiving in a, in a sensible way that makes sense for the future. Um, your past concepts and things you love, and organizing inspiration really in a detailed way in whatever you are using, whether it’s Pinterest or what have you.
Making sure that you can tap into those resources really quickly and efficiently. And then even though you’re charging less for these kinds of projects, you can still be highly profitable.
Don: Absolutely. Yep. It’s a win-win.
Kris: It really is. Okay. So before we go, just wanted to ask you, have you gone and downloaded our freebies? Have you accessed them yet?
So it’s really easy. Just go to design and prosper.co/free. And we have some really great resources for designers there. We have free scripts for when clients ask changes. We’ve got our free pricing guide, which has just been such a helpful resource for so many designers. We’ve gotten wonderful feedback With that, we’ve got our free Trello board client portal template.
Which is an absolute game changer. Lots of love on that one as well. Yes. And we’ve also got our premium pricing training as well. So much gold.
Donna: Yeah, absolutely
Don: Okay. So if you missed it last time, we have started a brand new segment where we are going to answer questions. So what are your burning questions? Head to our website. designandprosper.co/podcast, and there’s a form or you can leave us a little audio message, which we’re really excited about, and leave us any question you like.
And once a month we’ll answer two or three questions. And you never know, your question might be featured on the podcast.
Kris: Yeah. And you can be anonymous if you like, but we would really love to know your name,
Yeah. Be courageous. Yeah.
All right. Beautiful designers.
Until next time, bye.
Kris: Bye.
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