AQS11-04 Chloe McCaskill interview lesson 6 project
Asking questions of my sister who works in graphic design:
What do you do to prepare for initial meetings with clients?
I do three steps:
Research their specific industry
Research to find if there are specific names of people
Research the location of where they are. An example of this is, if it is for restaurant research it’s history, food, audience, owners, and neighborhood.
What do you do to learn more about your audience?
Hands on part: Do user evaluative research. This would look like taking a cluipboard find people in audience and asking them specific questions
Hands off part: looking at other people who have done user evaluation research and pulling information from theirs
What ways do you stay in touch with your clients?
In the past I would do email. But now at my official job working in the industry I keep in touch with my boss through a specific timeline of three different emails. The first is a concept, then a rough draft, and the final. Then I overlook the evaluative report of the project, to see if it was successful. Sometimes I reach out with things I see to ask clients if they like ideas similar to that.
Is it easier or harder for you to work with others? Why?
It is much harder to work with others. I’ve found that part of this is because there are clashing skill levels. Recently one of the projects I had was especially difficult because they didn’t know how to use adobe products. But for as challenging as it was she had a different skill set which made her really good at presenting which helped my ideas come off in a better way. It’s also difficult because people get attached to their ideas, even when they’re not the best for the client.
What helps you manage projects?
Online I use the Asana software that helps keep track of your tasks. Bosses or clients can see my work and can put comments or check boxes off. I also use a physical notebook to write everything down, and I keep a calendar in my room when I write what times of day I will be working.
Do you find it difficult to work around copyright and permissions?
So far, yes, because the typefaces I use and get attached to are very expensive. I want to use cool fonts but oftentimes they aren’t commercial free so that is very difficult to work around.
What sort of online applications do you use? Which do you prefer? Which do clients prefer?
I use a Figma. Of Adobe products I use: InDesign, illustrator, photoshop, and premier. Personally I really like Figma. Because in that one application I can create slideshows, apps, and animations. I find that clients are very impressed when I present things made with it, they’re more polished and easier to understand. Whereas adobe products seem to look like a rough draft.
Do you feel that clients are usually knowledgeable about what they want? Or does creative responsibility fall to you? Do you prefer creative control?
No, because they will say what they want, but then when they see it compared to what I think would look good they change their mind. They also become emotionally attached to a design they have in their mind that doesn’t exist or doesn’t look good in reality. I find that I love when creative control falls to me because I’m able to explore my ideas, have more freedom, and the audience seems to like it more.
For my project I interviewed my older sister, Ellie McCaskill, who is currently attending Cornish College of the Arts in Washington state. I asked questions to understand how our learning in class reflects the reality of working with clients and found many similarities, as well as a few differences. For example, the way we were taught to research corresponds with how she finds further information on clients prior to a meeting. But, she also mentioned parts of the job that we hadn’t discussed in class, like doing evaluative research and using other tools like Asana and Figma. She also enlightened me on the topics of copyright. I’ve found that there are very few times I’ve even thought about the concept, but she has to work around it every day. Her stories made me realize just how important and difficult it can be to respect and understand copyright laws. Similarly, both of us prefer to work alone. The clashing of skill levels and communication styles make it very difficult to work in a team, though it can have some benefits. Overall I found that our classwork is a genuine reflection of how it is to start working in the graphic design industry. I learned that each client has specific ideas, needs, and criteria that will influence how artists work, and that this is why Ellie’s experience differs from mine.
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