Q&A

• Suppose we commission Rumba to do some graphic design work. What happen's next?

• We'd like a new corporate identity designed, but it seems expensive?

• Will you show us one visual, or will we have a choice of ideas?

• What if we hate all the design ideas you present?

• Ok so you'll present some more ideas. That's going to cost us isn't it?

• We like the visual. What's the next stage?

• Can you get it printed for us, or should we find our own printer?

• Do you offer any other services, allied to graphic design. Copywriting, translation services and PR for instance?

• Do you charge a fee for handing over artwork for our own use, once its been completed?

An accurate brief is the key to producing effective graphic design work. We'll sit down with you and find out all about your company, what you hope to achieve with this particular piece of communication, who the target audience is and if you have any pre-conceived ideas about how it should look.

We then make some basic recommendations. Could be that your idea of a folder with inserts wouldn't be the best way of reaching your audience: maybe a mailer would do a better job or an email newsletter.

After discussing these over-arching issues, we'll agree a timetable and the dates on which key stages of the project will be completed and most importantly give you a cost for all the work.

Then we'll go away and start on the first stage, which is producing a visual – an accurate representation of what the finished design will look like.

Graphic Design companies get a bad press when it comes to corporate identity. Designing a logo takes time. There may be a 100 different ways an identity could be represented and the essence of your company has to be distilled into one mark. We then have to ensure your logo is legible at small sizes; will work across a wide range of applications and will reproduce in black and white and on the web.

If you're a larger company you'll need a style guide to ensure the identity is applied consistently across the organisation, from letterheads to vehicle livery.

A companies identity is their most important visual asset, so it's important that time is spent getting it right: after all a good identity should serve a company for many years.

Graphic design is a subjective discipline so we always come up with at least two alternative solutions. This is especially important where a logo or corporate identity is involved in which case we may present up to six design solutions.

We can truthfully say that this has never happened. Taking a thorough brief and then presenting a range of ideas has always meant that the client has gone away happy.

If you really don't like anything we've designed, we'll go away and come back with a completely fresh set of ideas.

No: we'll quote you a set fee for the visual stage of the project and stick to it. So any extra design work at this stage will be free. We'll keep producing ideas untill you have a design you're happy with.

Time to produce artwork – an accurate computer file with your text laid out and incorporated with photographs, illustrations and charts as appropriate. There will generally be 2 or 3 sets of authors amends, and then the file will be checked and if a print job, sent to a printer, or posted to a server for a web site.

Either way. We have a number of printers we deal with depending on the complexity and size of print run and can oversee this aspect of the job for you. We'll specify a paper stock, check and deliver proofs and iron out any niggles. If you're happy to deal with your own printer, we'll supply a disc which you can give them.

We can supply copywriting and can source any other service that you might need. We have a long standing relationship with JBP Public Relations and would strongly recommend them for PR.

Unlike some graphic design companies, we believe that once you've paid for artwork, it's yours. We'll archive your work, but if you need it for your own purposes, just ask and we'll burn a disc for you.