What Rushing your Design Project Really Means

If you don't plan to allow enough time for your projectthis will greatly harm the effectiveness of a finished
to be designed, printed and delivered, then you may stillpiece, but it's always nicer to have a beautiful, perfect
be able to have your project completed in time, but thefinished piece than have one that's almost all the way
design will have to be rushed.there.
This means that your designer will put aside other- Financial costs: Just like any other profession a
client's work and work late nights, even weekends, todesigner will charge extra for the late nights and other
get your project out - but at a price. And the pricesacrifices that a rush project requires. It's an industry
takes several forms other than just financial.standard to charge one and a half times the normal
The cost of rushing your project includes:cost of a project to rush it.
- Skipping important parts of the design process: With- Not being able to ask your audience: I highly
less time there's often not enough time allowed for arecommend that you run your desgns-in-progress past
designer to spend much time at all on a creativeyour best clients and your target audience. Doing this
approach or concept for your project. There also maysort of mini focus-group will enable your clients to give
not be enough time for your designer to present a lotyou invaluable feedback on your designs, your text,
of concepts to you or to go through a lot of revisions.and their impact on your potential clients. If your project
You'll also be rushed through the approval cycle -is rushed, then there's often no time to run the design
which means it's more likely that you might miss youroptions by your clients to get their input - and you'll lose
deadline.out on a valuable resource.
- Quality may suffer: With less time and more stressLack of planning can cost you a lot extra. So I suggest
the finished product often won't be of as high a qualityallowing plenty of time to design well thought-out
as it could be. In design this could mean poorlymaterials, at a leisurely pace. This will cost you less and
prepared files, the details of the design aren't alwayswill often produce a more effective design.
attended to, or that a website is coded poorly. None of