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How To Present Graphic Design Ideas/Concepts To Your Client

5 mistakes to avoid while presenting your designs, how to present your design portfolio with easy diy graphic design tools, how to present your logo designs, how to present your poster designs, how to present your flyer designs, present your designs - key takeaways.

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Feature Update: How to Present Your Graphic Design Work to Your Client

Karthik S - October 21, 2021 - Leave your thoughts.

If you're a designer, you need to know how to present your designs. They are crucial for every designer and present an opportunity for you to amaze your client. A bad design presentation can make your days of hard work go in vain, and we bet that you don’t want that to happen.

You can stop that from happening with proper presentation skills. So, in this blog, we will explore our newly-introduced feature ' Present Your Designs .' Besides, we will also look at the 11 best ways to present your design portfolio and the best tools you need to do that. Furthermore, we will focus on presenting specific design concepts such as logos, posters, flyers, etc.

Let's get started!

Feature Update: Use our feature Present Your Design Concepts to your clients and get immediate feedback.

Imagine you've received instructions to create different designs from your clients. You've gone back with your notes, and over a week or so, you've come up with different design ideas. Now, you're ready to present it to them.

But, wait! Don't rush into presenting your graphic design concepts without adequate preparation. In this section, we will examine how to present your graphic design concepts and ideas to your client, and gather feedback to meet their business goals.

What Is A Design Concept?

A design concept is the first step you take to solve a user problem. It starts from getting the brief, understanding the problem, knowing the brand and its users, speaking to different stakeholders, etc. This leads to:

• The overall theme for the design
• Styles/Motifs/Patterns
• Overall design aesthetic

Furthermore, it leads to visual layouts that could be flowcharts, digital screens, user journeys etc. that elucidate the design concept. All of these come together to solve user problems.

But, before we get to the details, here's a short infographic that summarises the top seven ways to present your design concepts. Don't forget to learn the 7 other ways that we've outlined after Tip #5.

Tip #1 Know Your Audience

Know who you are presenting to and customize your presentation accordingly. Knowing your client is essential for effective communication. It helps you connect with them better when you know what they’re looking for

Here are a few questions you can get answers to before the big day:

• Who are the members of the audience?
• What are their roles in the project?
• Who will be the final deciding authority?
• What is their communication style? Long descriptions or short, pointed messages?
• What has been their experience so far?

Also Read: How to create a logo from scratch?

If you already know who your audience is going to be, you may reach them either by email or phone to know what they expect to see.

If not, you could connect with them on platforms such as LinkedIn, or Twitter, and gauge their expectations.

You could even send a short note like the one below:

“ Hey [First name], I’m scheduled to present the different design options I’m working to you on [mention date, time]. Could you please tell me if you’re looking for anything specific that you want me to cover? I’ll ensure I put it in. See you later! :) ”

Put yourself in your client’s shoes and try to understand them and their needs. Always remember that your presentation could flop if you present without knowing your client.

Tip #2 Talking About Your Design Concept

Take the time to prepare your design presentation. Obviously, the key elements of your presentation will be the different designs, typefaces, fonts, colors, Call to Actions (CTAs), user experience etc. But, here are a few elements that you need to talk about in your design work:

A. Set the context

Use one slide to set the context of the design project and describe the business challenge at hand. For example, a business challenge could be driving more signups via a landing page or reducing customer churn.

Briefly explain the instructions you received, project goals and end objectives you're trying to achieve, etc. Setting the context right shows what you've set yourself up to do, and helps everybody stay on the same page.

B. Use a neat presentation template

Remember you're here to showcase your work, and not to hand out manuscripts. So, make sure you use a good presentation template that does not have too much text. Instead, the designs and visuals themselves must tell the story. All your slides help you to build a narrative, so use them that way.

C. Have a key takeaway in each slide

Whether you're talking about different approaches to solve your problem or the project goals, remember to have a focal point on each slide. This focal point is the key takeaway from a slide, which helps the audience remember key points. And, don't forget to summarise all the major takeaways in one slide at the end of your design presentation.

D. What does the audience really care about?

No matter what your design presentation is about, ultimately, it should include things that the audience cares about. They're listening to your design presentation to solve a business challenge. So, always ask yourself if the information you're including in your presentation is addressing that point or not. If not, it does not deserve a place.

Here's a typical structure you could use to present your designs:

• Title slide
• The team behind designs
• Context about the design project (the brief you received)
• Summary about research undertaken for it
• Insights uncovered during user research
• Different approaches taken/strategies adopted (rationale used)
• The solution - The different design options
• Summary of key takeaways

Tip #3 Presenting Your Design Decisions

When you're presenting your designs, remember to take a question-answer styled approach. What does that mean?

It means try and find answers to questions that were posed to you. For example, if you're presenting the below design graphic, here are a few questions you could answer:

• Does the bold typeface and font suit the design?
• Does the purple background look good?
• Why did you choose a random shape behind the caricature?
• Does the CTA color encourage the audience to take action?
• Did the picture convey the central message of this design?

Adopting a question-answer based approach while presenting your designs helps you be rationale-driven.

Tip #4 Tell Them a Story

People connect to stories and remember them for a long time. So, structure your presentation like a story, tell them how your design came to life, the things that inspired you to create this design, the challenges you faced, and how you overcame them.

Your stories could revolve around:

• What was your objective behind the project?
• What kind of research did you undertake for the project?
• If you've spoken to customers/users, what was the questionnaire you used?
• What kind of responses did you receive from the customers/users and what insights you derived out of it?
• How did you begin conceptualising the designs?
• What inspired you to come up with the designs?
• What do you expect as outcomes from the design project?
• How will you go about with next steps?

Storytelling is the best way to engage your audience. Most clients are unfamiliar with the design process, so sharing your design process with your client will make them appreciate your hard work on the project. It will also help your client to understand the thought process behind your design.

Tip #5 Show Real Life Use Cases

There are two ways of presenting your designs: one to showcase different screens, and the other to weave in a real life use case. Let us look at these examples.

Let us assume that Dave has commissioned a design project to know the productivity of his employees. He prefers to get updates on his mobile phone.

Example 1: One way of doing it is to show a few mobile screens that exhibit when an employee logs in and logs out, or the number of hours they spend on different tasks, or when he/she takes a break.

Example 2: The other way of doing it is to show a real life use case of an employee - Michelle. In this case, you will need to speak to Michelle to understand how a typical work day in her life looks like. Create a questionnaire that helps you know facts about how she receives tasks, and how she goes about accomplishing it.

Then, present it to Dave in the form of a mobile app to track the productivity of a real employee. Explain via different screens to him, when she begins her day, how does she record her work, how she works on the feedback she receives, and how she tries to meet her objectives. At the end, if you can exhibit how much percentage (%) Michelle's productivity can be enhanced via your designs.

Which one of the above would you prefer as a designer? Obviously Example #2! ✌️

And, as promised before, here are the rest of the 7 tips to present your designs to clients and win them:

Tip #6 Keep It Simple

Less is more. Explain your designs briefly. Don’t bore your client with a lot of information. Don’t present too many design options and overwhelm your client. Remember, they’re looking for a solution, and when you’re presenting too many options, you’re further confusing them rather than providing a solution. 

So, don’t take more than 20 minutes to present. Your client will lose interest in your presentation if you take too long. Avoid using too much text in your presentation. Steer clear of anything that will make your client lose focus on your designs.

Tip #7 Know The UX Laws and Follow Them

Every designer worth his/her salt cares about User Experience (UX). And, user experience is not rocket science. There are no hard rules you need to follow. But, you need to follow certain principles. Principles that help meet you the objectives you set for yourself.

For example, one principle of user experience is that you needn't pack your design with too much text. Or, you need to have your Call To Action (CTA) buttons visible enough for viewers/users to click on it. Or, you may need to use contrasting colors to convey the meaning of your designs. Such principles help you stick to your basics and present your designs in a clutter-free manner.

In the below design, the CTA button is a little subtle, and designers can tweak it to their liking based on client feedback.

Besides, they portray you as a true designer, and not one who is still finding his/her feet in the design world.

Tip #8 Use Language that Everybody Understands

Using fancy buzzwords, jargon, and trying to sound smart is one of the dumbest things you could do while creating your presentation. Your client will eventually lose interest when you invest a lot of time trying to sound smart rather than being smart.

Highfalutin and superfluous words make you look stupid. Also, this would confuse your client. Your presentation should be understandable. Convey your message in a simple way. Try to sound clear, and comprehensible.

Tip #9 Be Confident

The most important thing while presenting is to have confidence in the work you’re presenting. Lack of confidence could lead to a bad presentation, and you would end up losing your client. Here are a few tips to look confident while presenting:

• Make eye contact with your client while you present.
• Use hand gestures.
• Maintain a good posture.
• Believe in yourself.

One surefire way of being confident while presenting your designs is by being adequately prepared with your presentation. That beings us to the next topic, which is practising.

Tip #10 Practice. Practice. Practice .

Yeah, we borrowed this headline from Joe Sugarman's legendary book titled " The Adweek Copywriting Handbook ." But, every bit of that headline is worth it before you present your designs.

In order to deliver a killer presentation and win your client’s trust, it’s essential to prepare and practice beforehand. Try presenting your work to your peers or friends, listen to their opinions, and improvise. 

Record yourself while you practice, watch the recording later and rectify your mistakes. You could even use intuitive screen recording tools such as Vmaker to check how you appear while delivering your presentation. 

Make a list of questions that you’re anticipating from your client and prepare to answer them. It’s not easy to win your client’s trust, but it is not impossible either. Obviously, it takes hard yards to get there.

240,695 People Use Picmaker to Create Stunning Designs. You can too!

Tip #11 Listen to Client Feedback and Document It

Ask your client to share their feedback when you wrap up your presentation. Be attentive and listen carefully to their feedback and note them down.

Let your client know that you care about their feedback. Be prepared to answer their questions. At times you may disagree with your client’s feedback but never become defensive, and don’t take criticism personally. Good feedback can help you improvise, so always be receptive to feedback.

Explain to them how and when you will get back to them with updates to the designs. Keep the guessing to the bare minimal.

Despite the best preparation, your design presentations can still go awry. In this section, we will look at some of the common mistakes to avoid while presenting your designs.

We captured all of it in a short infographic so you could use this as handy reference.

1. Focusing on the aesthetic, not on the problem

Remember that you're trying to solve a problem using your design skills. The solution lies in the ingenuity of your ideas and approaches. So, all elements of your approach such as fonts, typefaces/typography, primary and secondary colors, do not matter unless your design presentation solves the core objectives.

A lot of designers dwell too much on these elements that the client may not even understand because it is simply overwhelming. However, if you demonstrate to your client adequately that you've understood the problem, and proposed a practical solution to it, then you've done your job well.

2. Not showing the tangible outcomes

Your clients/users are interested in tangible outcomes that are positive for them. So, show them how the end outcome will look like.

For example, let us assume that you're working on a project about improving an employee's knowledge through a Learning Management System (LMS). In this case, the ideal design solution is to showcase the journey from the first time an employee is introduced to the LMS, and the different modules he or she has to go through before getting certified. Explain how you will deliver the educational courses to them, how are they expected to complete it, and how you can track progress.

At the end of the different courses that are suitable for different employees, how will they benefit from it/how does it improve their productivity. Like we explained above, design is only the means to an outcome, and not the outcome itself.

3. Presenting too many design options

Imagine you're ordering dinner in a restaurant. How long does it take for you to decide when:

• You're given a menu card with 5 options
• You're given a menu card with 50 options

Obviously, you decide faster when you have lesser options. It is the same with your design presentation too. When you present too many design options to your clients, they'll find it difficult to visualize the outcomes for these. And, that results in delays in decision making.

Instead, when you present fewer design options, then it is just one of them. At this point, the discussions hover around what if you were to change one of the options rather than visualizing completely different options that are not even apart of the design presentation.

4. Asking what they think instead of recommending

Remember this - you're the expert in the room, and not your client/users for whom you're presenting design solutions. If they knew the solution, you'd not even be presenting to them.

So, act like an expert and recommend different solutions to them. Make sure you explain the pros and cons of each approach. Which typography goes well with your design, which shapes suit the context, why does the screen have so much white space, etc.

Imagine this situation. You visit a dentist to get treatment for your tooth ache, and after examining you, he says, " Do you think I should do root canal therapy for this? "

Poof! There goes all your trust in the dentist. You were hoping that you'd step out cheery-eyed after the visit, but the dentist does not seem to be confident enough about the right treatment.

Asking what they think about your solutions makes you look as if you do not have a solution yet, and you're using the audience as a sounding board. Treat your design clients/users as the audience who're patients looking for solutions to their ailments. It is fine to say that you could adopt an A/B Testing approach to see which designs work well and decide based on the results. But, asking what they think is an absolute no-no.

5. Not getting the right feedback

Feedback is super-important for your design projects. But, feedback from the wrong people who do not have a stake in the outcomes can hamper your progress.

Similarly, feedback from folks who do not even have a remote understanding of what your solution entails could derail your project. Feedback such as " I think we should use a red button instead of the pink one ," or " We should probably go with Arial fonts ," are too generic.

Instead, qualitative feedback such as " Can we have a form in the header section of this website design because it helps visitors to sign up for our service instantly?" is more welcome.

The reason? Simple, it points to an end outcome, and it shows that the audience has thought through the problem. It also shows that they have clarity on what they want.

Moreover, make sure you ask the right questions to the right people. Don't ask pointed questions such as " What do you think of this font family? " Instead, ask them open-ended questions such as:

• What comes to your mind when you see this design? Describe your thoughts.
• Looking at this design, what impression do you get about your business, service, product etc.? Casual, serious, professional, B2B/B2C?
• What other information do you need to take action?
• Do the visuals (GIFs, pictures, videos) in this design describe the feature well?

Answers to these questions help you assess whether your design meets the objectives of your target audience. Go back to the drawing board if you feel you need to tweak your designs to achieve what you set out to do.

Picmaker is one such online graphic design software that lets you do that. All you have to do is log in to Picmaker, create your designs or open the existing ones, click on the present option and start presenting. We put together a short video about how you can present your designs using Picmaker. Watch it now!

Imagine that you’re a logo maker, and you specialize in logo designs for your clients. And usually, your clients are seldom happy with one logo option. It is not just the color that they aren’t happy with, they may want an entire overhaul of the concept itself.

So, it’s essential to choose a good logo maker tool to create your logo designs. We suggest using Picmaker because it offers a wide range of customizable, unique, professionally designed logo templates.

Follow these steps to create and present your logo designs using Picmaker.

Step1: Log in / Sign Up To Picmaker

Log in to Picmaker using your login credentials or sign up using your online account. Click on the 'Sign Up' button if you do not have an account in Picmaker. If you already have an account, click on 'Login.'

Then, you will land on the sign-in page. Enter your login credentials and you're all set.

Here's how your Picmaker dashboard looks when you log in.

Step 2: Choose a logo template

Now it is time for you to choose a logo template. Pick your favorite templates from the thousands of professionally designed logo templates available in Picmaker.

When you click on the logo category either on the search bar or the horizontal category list, you will notice a separate page opens up exclusively with logo templates.

Either use the search bar to look for your favorite logo templates or choose from the array of templates that you see.

You may even use the scroll bar to take a look at the different logos we have. Each of these templates is customizable for your business.

Now, assuming you like a particular logo template, click on it and you will see a separate tab opens with this template

Step 3: Customize the design

Customize the logo templates with your choice of colors, fonts, and elements. For example, in the above logo template, we changed the name from 'Jennie Thomas Fashion Designer' to 'Delilah Ayston Fashion Designer.'

And, we even changed the color a bit to suit our brand and style. After all, Picmaker gives so many different ways to align with your brand.

If you're not sure which color or palette suits you, then we have a solution for that too. You can simply use Picmaker’s MAD button, which uses AI and gives automatic suggestions to enhance your design.

If you wanted a glimpse of how our MAD Button works to give you awesome designs in a matter of seconds, then the below GIF is for you. 🙌

Step 4: Present Your Logo Designs!

Now, imagine you are getting ready for a branding meeting where you will present different logo designs. How do you go about it?

Picmaker's 'Present' feature is exactly what you need.

When you’re done with editing your logo designs, click on the 'Download' button in the top right corner and choose the present option.

You will notice your screen enlarges in a different tab. You can click on the 'enlarge' button at the bottom of your screen. And, then click the 'next' button to move forward in your logo designs.

You can even toggle back and forth between your logo designs.

And, here is a quick GIF to show you how you could present your logo designs effortlessly. 🙌

Now, we know that some of you create posters for your schools, colleges, communities, etc. That is why we enabled you to present your poster ideas to your audience in a seamless way.

Picmaker is your one-stop to create and present your poster templates . We host an ever-growing library of over a hundred professionally designed poster templates, that you can access for free! 👀

Step 1: Choose your favorite poster template

After logging into Picmaker, click on 'Poster' to explore the vast range of poster templates that Picmaker provides.

Now, browse through the poster templates that we have and choose your favorite poster template from hundreds of options available in Picmaker.

We have templates for everyone's taste, and you won't be disappointed!

Here, we have chosen this specific poster template to proceed with the customization.

Step 2: Customize the poster design

Customize the template you chose with your choice of images, icons, fonts, and design elements.

Here, you can see that we have changed:

'BOOK NOW' to 'ORDER NOW'

'FLAT 30% OFF' to 'FLAT 50% OFF

The website address to 'WWW.ASHSRESTOBAR.COM.'

We have also changed the image, font color, text placement, and alignment.

Or, click on the MAD button and witness the magic.

Step 3: Present your poster designs

Now, to present the designs that you created, all you have to do is click on the 'Download' button in the top right corner and choose the 'Present' option.

After clicking on the 'Present' option, another tab will open on your screen where you'll be able to present your designs.

You can enlarge your screen if you want to do so by clicking on the 'enlarge' button, which you can find at the bottom of your screen.

You'll also be able to toggle back and forth between your designs.

This GIF will help you understand how you can present your designs using the 'Present' feature.

Flyers are marketing essentials that never go out of fashion.

Whether you're creating flyers to advertise events such as music concerts, parties or to promote other businesses, Picmaker has flyer templates for every need of yours.

Picmaker’s flyer maker furnishes more than a hundred flyer templates and helps you design stunning flyer designs in minutes.

Let’s see how to create and present your flyer designs using Picmaker.

Step 1: Choose your favorite flyer template

After you log in to Picmaker, you’ll find 'Flyer' listed under 'Create design' in the dashboard. Click on it and to view the flyer templates that are available in Picmaker.

Now, choose your favorite template from the wide range of ready-for-use flyer templates that are available in Picmaker. And, you know what? Picmaker's flyer templates are free, customizable, and printable!

We've chosen the below template to go on with our illustration.

Step 2: Customize the design

Customize the flyer templates with your choice of images, icons, colors, fonts, and design elements.

In the below template, you can see that we have changed the text from:

'FLAT 50% OFF ON ALL APPARELS' to 'UPTO 60% OFF ON SELECTED APPARELS'

'NEW ARRIVAL SALE' to 'END OF SEASON SALE.'

Furthermore, we have changed the background, font style, and website address.

Or, you can use Picmaker’s MAD button to get automatic suggestions to enhance your design.

You can get suggestions for your font, background color, image individually by clicking on the respective buttons, or you can click on the 'MAD All' button to get suggestions for all your design elements at once.

Step 3: Present your flyer designs

When you've completed designing your flyers and are ready to present your designs, click on the 'Download' option in the top right corner and choose the 'Present' option to start presenting your designs.

Click on the 'Enlarge' button at the bottom of the screen if you want to make your screen big.

You can toggle back and forth between your designs by clicking on the 'next' and 'previous' buttons or by using the navigation keys.

Take a look at this GIF to understand how Picmaker's 'Present' feature works.

240,695 People Use Picmaker to Present Designs

Let us quickly wrap up what we learnt in this blog

• Confidence is the key to earning your client’s trust. You may leave your clients awestruck with your designs, but you will eventually ruin it all if you don’t have confidence. So, always believe in yourself.
• Practice by presenting your work to your peers and friends, and also be prepared to answer your client’s questions.
• Try to understand your audience, their perspectives, and their needs. It paves way to effective communication.
• Narrate your design process as a story to your client, explain how your design came to life.
• Always keep your presentation simple, don’t confuse your client by overloading them with information.
• Avoid using fancy buzzwords and jargon.
• Be receptive to feedback it helps you get better, and don’t take criticism to heart.

We hope this blog helps you deliver killer designs and win clients!

Additional Reading:

• Have you ever wondered, " What makes a good logo ?" If you have, then here are 10 Logo Design Tips for Anyone Who Wants to Create a Unique Logo .
• Learn how to create business flyers, along with 25 free templates and essential tips to design beautiful flyers for your business.
• Feature Update: Learn how to create awesome collages with our ready-to-use grid design layouts for your artwork .

Check out all our Black Friday templates

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Insights / Design Tips & Tricks / How to Present Design to Clients (7 Steps)

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How to Present Design to Clients (7 Steps)

• Category Agency Solutions , Creative Inspiration , Design Tips & Tricks
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• May 19, 2022

Creativity doesn’t stop at design. Bring your vision to life to impress every time

There’s more to designing than designing alone. How you deliver your design work to a client can change the way your designs are received and perceived.

Wondering how to present design to clients? You have two options:

• Send a batch of finished files for them to view in their own time
• Deliver a design presentation that’s professional and interactive

We prefer the latter. Why?

The journey to the end product may seem obvious to you, but most of the time, your clients are not designers (that’s why they hired you).

Presenting design concepts to clients immerses them into the strategy of your process, making them more likely to believe in the final design.

In this article, we’ll explain how delivering a design presentation to clients will:

• Position you as a professional 
• Prove your confidence and skill as a designer to deliver a brief
• Show your client you are fully invested in them and their business
• Create a memorable experience between you and your client
• Reduce the number of revisions needed

Step 1: Use a strong presentation design

Presentations don’t have to be complicated. They act as a platform in which you share your work, the process, and the outcome digitally – whether you’re working remotely or presenting in person. 

A well-designed presentation template will save you time and exhibit your professionalism. 

Drop in your work (and the details we’ll go into), personalize it with the client’s brand colors and logo, and make sure to have your own logo and contact information visible on each slide. 

Keep it simple, but it’s the attention to detail that will show your client that you mean business (and are worth a premium price tag).

Don’t have the time to design your presentation templates? We can help . 

Step 2: Revisit the brief

At the start of your design presentation to a client, bring them right back to the initial brief.

This will show you’ve understood the assignment and delivered accordingly, guiding them to align with your creative direction. 

Clients are busy, so your focus should be to present your work in the context of solving their problems . 

You could include:

• The client’s goal – e.g. increase brand awareness, engagement, conversions
• The objective and use for the design – e.g. packaging for a new product launch
• The deliverables required – e.g. a set of shareable social media graphics

Step 3: Explain the research

When you tackle a new design project, you’ll undergo research before you begin. 

This information informs your choices, so share these insights with your client to help them see the benefits for them, and that you’ve considered the end user.

Use simple data visualization to explain:

• The customer demographic
• Any S.W.O.T analysis of competitors 
• A mood board

Keep it brief, 1-2 slides will do here. Build excitement, remove any fluff.

Step 4: Document the process

Experienced, high-level designers know that the decisions leading to the final design are just as important as the final design itself. 

Each creative decision you make will have a reason behind it, and this is your chance to show that reasoning to the client. 

In this section, showcase the color palette, font choices, shapes or graphics that you developed throughout the project, based on the research. 

What led you to make these choices? 

The goal is to address and answer any queries your client may have about the designs before they need to ask them. 

You don’t need to share initial sketches, but it’s good practice to illustrate how the elements of your design link back to the initial brief. 

This will help the client understand the logic and strategy behind your work, in the context of their wanted outcome. 

Step 5: Showcase the final options

As a creative, you’ll likely end up with multiple iterations of any one design brief. But your client doesn’t need to see an overwhelming amount of choice. 

If you have more than one design, reduce it to no more than 3 options.

Remember: you’re guiding the client from brief, to idea, to outcome. The final choices should flow from the previous slides to show continuity and expert creative direction.

Step 6: Bring your designs to life

Sharing your designs in real life scenarios is a highly effective way to let your client visualize the end product in action. 

Use mockups to demonstrate how your design will fit into the lifestyle of the end user.

Social media graphics : a mockup to show social posts on a phone. 

Packaging design : let it jump off the page by placing it directly onto a 3D product.

It’s all about creating a memorable experience.

Once a client sees the design work in the situation it’s intended for, they will have a better understanding of whether the design is right for them and their end goal.

Step 7: Listen to feedback

Design work is a two-way street. As you go through your presentation, invite feedback and be open to suggestions that your client may have. 

Be confident in your decisions, but accept that the client may have additional ideas for improvement. Being open to feedback and reacting efficiently and professionally will show that you respect your client’s business, so listen to pain points they may have and share how your designs address them.

How to present design work to clients: recap

• Use presentation templates to save time and increase consistency
• Outline the client’s initial brief at the start
• Explain any research that directly informed your decisions
• Document the process: links between design choices, research and end goal
• Present no more than 3 final choices
• Bring designs to life with mockups
• Listen to feedback and document how you provide a solution to their problem

Excited to present showstopping design concepts to your clients? 

Get your hands on quality designed presentation templates from Design Force’s vetted team today , so that you can focus on designing the work that’ll wow your client. 

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Selling Your Vision: How to Present to Graphic Design Clients

Learn how to effectively present your vision to graphic design clients and increase your chances of selling your ideas.

Presenting your ideas and designs to clients is a crucial skill for graphic designers. It is not only about creating visually stunning work but also about effectively communicating your vision and meeting the client's needs. In this article, we will explore the key steps to successfully present to graphic design clients and sell your vision.

Understanding the Client's Needs

Before diving into the presentation, it is essential to thoroughly understand the client's needs and expectations. This involves conducting extensive research on the client's brand and industry.

Conducting thorough research on the client's brand and industry

Take the time to familiarize yourself with the client's brand, their values, and their existing visual identity. This will help you align your presentation with their overall brand image and ensure consistency throughout.

When conducting research on the client's brand, it is important to delve deep into their history and background. Understanding how the brand has evolved over the years can provide valuable insights into their values and principles. Additionally, analyzing their competitors can give you a better understanding of the industry landscape and help you identify unique selling points for the client.

Moreover, researching the client's industry trends and market dynamics is crucial for developing effective design solutions. By staying up-to-date with the latest industry developments, you can offer innovative ideas that will resonate with the target audience.

Identifying the client's target audience and their preferences

Understanding the client's target audience is crucial for creating designs that resonate with them. Research their demographic and psychographic profiles and analyze their preferences to tailor your presentation accordingly.

When researching the client's target audience, it is important to go beyond basic demographic information. Dive deeper into their interests, lifestyles, and values to gain a comprehensive understanding of their preferences. This will allow you to create designs that not only appeal to their aesthetic sensibilities but also connect with them on a deeper emotional level.

Furthermore, conducting surveys or focus groups can provide valuable insights into the audience's perception of the client's brand. By gathering direct feedback, you can identify any gaps or areas for improvement in the existing design elements.

Gathering information on the client's goals and objectives

It is essential to know what the client wants to achieve with their design project. Whether it's increasing brand awareness, driving sales, or enhancing user experience, aligning your presentation with their goals will strengthen your case.

When gathering information on the client's goals and objectives, it is important to have open and transparent communication. Conducting thorough interviews or meetings with the client can help you understand their vision and expectations in detail. This will allow you to propose design solutions that not only meet their immediate needs but also align with their long-term objectives.

Additionally, conducting a competitive analysis can provide insights into the industry benchmarks and help you set realistic goals for the client. By understanding what their competitors are doing, you can identify opportunities for differentiation and propose design strategies that give the client a competitive edge.

In conclusion, thoroughly understanding the client's needs involves conducting extensive research on their brand and industry, identifying their target audience and preferences, and gathering information on their goals and objectives. By investing time and effort into this initial phase, you can develop a presentation that is tailored to the client's specific requirements and increases the likelihood of a successful design partnership.

Preparing Your Presentation

Once you have a deep understanding of the client's needs, it's time to prepare your presentation. Here are some key considerations:

Defining the key message and objectives of your presentation

Clearly define the main message you want to convey to the client and the objectives you aim to achieve with your presentation. Keep these in mind throughout your preparation to ensure a cohesive and focused presentation.

When defining the key message of your presentation, it is important to consider the client's specific needs and expectations. Think about what they are looking for and how your designs and ideas can fulfill those requirements. By understanding their needs, you can tailor your message to resonate with them on a deeper level.

Additionally, setting clear objectives for your presentation will help you stay on track and ensure that you cover all the necessary points. Whether your objective is to persuade the client to choose your design, educate them about your creative process, or simply showcase your skills, having a clear goal in mind will guide your presentation and make it more effective.

Organizing your content in a logical and engaging manner

Structure your presentation in a logical order to guide the client through your ideas. Start with an introduction to capture their attention, followed by the main body where you present your designs and ideas, and end with a strong conclusion that reinforces your key message.

When organizing your content, it is crucial to consider the flow of information and how each section builds upon the previous one. Think about the client's perspective and what information they need to know first before diving into the details. By presenting your ideas in a logical and sequential manner, you will make it easier for the client to follow along and understand your concepts.

Engaging the client throughout your presentation is also essential. You can achieve this by incorporating interactive elements, such as asking questions or encouraging them to provide feedback. Additionally, using storytelling techniques can help create a narrative that captivates the client's attention and keeps them engaged throughout the presentation.

Choosing the right visual aids and supporting materials

Visual aids such as mood boards, mock-ups, and examples of your previous work can significantly enhance your presentation. Select visuals that are relevant to the client's needs and showcase your creative ability.

When choosing visual aids, consider the client's preferences and the nature of your designs. If you are presenting a website design, for example, including screenshots or interactive prototypes can give the client a better understanding of how the final product will look and function. Similarly, if you are presenting a branding project, incorporating mood boards or color palettes can help convey the overall aesthetic and feel of your design.

In addition to visual aids, supporting materials such as case studies or testimonials can further strengthen your presentation. These materials provide evidence of your past successes and demonstrate your expertise in the field. Including real-life examples of how your designs have positively impacted other clients can instill confidence in the client and increase the likelihood of them choosing your services.

Crafting a Compelling Visual Story

A powerful visual story will captivate your clients and make your presentation memorable. Consider the following tips:

Creating a visually appealing and cohesive design concept

Develop a design concept that not only meets the client's brief but also showcases your creativity and expertise. Pay attention to details such as color schemes, typography, and imagery to create a visually stunning and cohesive presentation.

Incorporating the client's brand identity into the presentation

Immerse the client in their brand by incorporating their existing visual identity into your presentation. Use their logo, brand colors, and fonts to create a sense of familiarity and reinforce the connection between your design concepts and their brand.

Using effective typography, color schemes, and imagery

Typography, color schemes, and imagery are powerful tools that can evoke emotions and convey messages. Select fonts and colors that align with the client's brand personality and use imagery that resonates with their target audience.

Presenting with Confidence and Conviction

Now that you have prepared your visually appealing presentation, it's time to focus on your delivery. Consider the following tips:

Practicing your presentation to ensure a smooth delivery

Practice your presentation multiple times to familiarize yourself with the content and flow. Rehearse your speaking points and timing to ensure a confident and polished delivery on the day.

Engaging the client through effective communication techniques

During the presentation, engage with the client by maintaining eye contact, using confident body language, and speaking in a clear and concise manner. Encourage their participation and address any questions or concerns they may have.

Handling questions and feedback with professionalism and expertise

Be prepared for questions and feedback from the client. Listen attentively, address their concerns, and demonstrate your expertise by providing thoughtful and informative responses. Embrace any constructive criticism as an opportunity to improve your designs and strengthen your relationship with the client.

Selling your vision to graphic design clients requires more than just a visually stunning presentation. It involves understanding their needs, preparing a compelling presentation, and presenting with confidence and conviction. By following these steps, you can effectively communicate your ideas, showcase your expertise, and ultimately win over your clients.

Storing Templates in the HIVO Platform

When it comes to digital asset management, having a reliable platform to store and manage your design templates is essential. The HIVO platform offers a convenient solution for graphic design professionals, allowing them to effortlessly store and organize their templates.

With the HIVO platform, you can easily upload and categorize your design templates, making it simple to locate and access them whenever needed. Whether you have a library of brochure templates, logo designs, or social media graphics, the HIVO platform ensures that your templates are organized and readily available.

Furthermore, the HIVO platform offers collaboration features, allowing you to share your templates with clients and team members. This facilitates seamless communication and collaboration, ensuring that everyone involved in the design process has access to the latest version of your templates.

In conclusion, the ability to store templates in the HIVO platform streamlines your digital asset management processes, making it easier to manage your designs and collaborate efficiently. By utilizing this platform, you can improve your workflow and enhance your overall productivity as a graphic designer.

The 4 best ways to present your graphic design work to a client

Putting work out there for judgment that you’ve poured your heart and soul into can make even the most experienced graphic designer nervous. But you can feel more confident when you know you’re showing your work in the best light.

Like the advertisers from AMC’s acclaimed “Mad Men,” you want to sell the story and the vision of your design work, whether it’s your portfolio or a client project. And doing so is all about contextualization. Below we go over various ways to contextualize your graphic design work so you present it in the best way to your (potential) client.

1. Contextualize: the project

Your clients are probably busy people with countless other things running through their minds every day. Help them remember the project details from your design contract and remind them of the original problem they wanted you to solve, so that everyone is on the same page.

You can start by going over the initial goals and why a design solution was necessary. Doing this focuses the design review on how your work solves this problem. It also gives you a chance to guide your client’s feedback, so they know what you are and aren’t looking for.

For example, if you’re first presenting a low-fidelity mockup, you could mention that the focus is on the content and its placement, not the design. You could even show your work in greyscale to not tempt clients into commenting on aesthetics.

If what you’re showing is your portfolio, you’ll want to research the company’s pain points ahead of time and discuss them during the meeting. Show how you’ve solved similar problems for other clients. You’ll also want to carefully curate your portfolio to reveal the scope of your skills and experience.

Do: Set the stage for your design or design skills as being a solution to the problem.

Don’t: Feel the need to state how nervous you are. Draw confidence from other successful meetings or areas of life, and see yourself for what you are: the expert .

2. Contextualize: the design

Next, you’ll want to set the stage for the design. Whether you’re presenting a finished product or your portfolio, tell clients what inspired your solution.

Show mood boards, sketches, user data and insights, and other information that helped shape your work. Point out how your recommendations solve the project’s problems, such as using the color orange to inspire and boost customers’ creative performance, like The Home Depot, Orangetheory, and Nickolodeon use in their branding.

In doing so, you’ll frame yourself as the expert and show your skills through the thoughtful choices behind your design decisions. You can go over why you selected that color scheme, font, image, and other design elements, along with how everything ties together.

Do: Relate your design choices to project requirements.

Don’t: Spend the whole meeting at this step. Just present quick bits about relevant background information.

3. Contextualize: the story

Your work uses design to tell a story, so let the clients see your design’s story unfold by showing its progression from sketch to done. It’ll enhance the client’s appreciation of the work you put into the finished design and continues to reinforce how your work is the solution they need.

When you’re presenting a design or your portfolio, it’s essential to let each design shine. Too many designs on a screen can jumble your message and overwhelm clients, so try only to have one focal point per slide or page.

Do: Keep each slide or page focused and minimalistic.

Don’t: Present work in an illogical fashion. Your presentation should read like a story.

4. Contextualize: the visuals

When owners put an empty house up for sale, real estate agents often call staging companies to fill it back up with furniture and decorations. The Real Estate Staging Association’s survey shows staged homes spend an average of just 23 days on the market and sell for 5% to 23% over the list price. Staging makes the home more marketable, partially because it helps buyers see themselves living there.

As a graphic designer, you want to stage your designs and portfolio so that your non-design savvy clients can follow and understand your vision. Many don’t have your creative design brain and can’t envision what you’re discussing unless you actually show them.

One of the best ways to do this is with mockups. Put a picture of the website on a computer or print a mailer. Fold the letter so that clients can visualize how their target audience would see the content open up.

If your presentation is a part of a deliverable, send a video of your mockup or mail it in advance of your conversation. If you can get it, three-dimensional prototypes are also highly effective and memorable.

Do: Make your designs come to life by properly staging them or creating tangible mockups.

Don’t: Present your designs out of context.

Finish strong

You’re done presenting your graphic design work in the best way possible to clients and prospects. Continue to show them you’re a professional by taking feedback and questions like a champ, because you want them to love your design and portfolio. Raving clients are the ones that hire, refer you , and pay you the rates that you deserve .

Speaking of which, once you’ve landed the project or completed the work, you’ll want to send over a professional invoice or estimate to finish strong. Wave Invoicing is simple and free to use, and lets you create an unlimited number of customized invoice templates . Clients can quickly pay with a credit card or secure bank payment right on the invoice (if you choose) with as little as a 1% per-transaction fee for you. Explore Wave Invoicing’s features today.

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• Masterclass

How To Present Design Work Like A Pro

The creative brief accompanies the entire design process from start to finish. When presenting your creative work like a pro, you’re walking your client through your design strategy of how you got to the final result, and how that ties back to the client’s original business objectives.

Benten Woodring September 02, 2019 -->

You’ve finally landed your first client , successfully walked them through your onboarding process, and hosted a discovery workshop in order to get a better sense of their long-term goals. Now it’s time for the moment of truth: presenting your work to the client.

If you were like me when I first started doing paid client work, you have likely sent off a few JPEGs or a poorly formatted PDF presentation to your clients, hoping they would be able to review your work, understand your rationale, and draw a connection between the concepts and their original business objectives. In the most optimal cases, they may have been able to provide rudimentary feedback based on their personal preferences, but in the worst case, they may have felt like your work didn’t align at all with what they were looking for when they hired you, possibly forcing you to go back to square one.

If you’ve ever had an experience like this as I have had in previous years, there is a more professional approach to sharing your work with your clients, one in which your work is displayed beautifully, articulately presented, and is properly aligned with the client’s original objectives referring back to the creative brief, increasing the likelihood of buy-in and support from the client.

Prior to presenting your work, you have likely already done a lot of the critical thinking needed to execute a successful project. During the discovery you gained an understanding of what the client needs and what they are hoping to get out of the project, and you have received approval on creative direction and strategy thanks to sending over  a solid creative brief . You got down to work and executed upon those deliverables, ensuring that the steps you took aligned with the research and strategy you worked through with the client in the early stages of the project. You have reviewed, revised, and hashed out your work internally with your team in order to ensure the work is as strong as it could be. Now, the time has finally come to present your work to the client.

Know who you are presenting to

Before you begin building your initial presentation, you should know who you will be presenting to. Your deck could be pixel-perfect with the best hi-res mockups around, but if you are not aware of who you are speaking to, your presentation could fall flat. Knowing who will be in the room when you present your work will allow you to tailor your presentation and make each person feel heard and represented. If there will be a large group, take time to review the headshots and names of each stakeholder so you can ask each person questions specific to their area of expertise.

Use these questions as a guide to help you prepare:

• What is each person’s role?
• Who will be the final decision-maker?
• What has been their experience working with designers in the past?
• What are their pain points? What are they most concerned about?
• What is their communication style?

Prepare before your client presentation

In order to showcase your work in the best possible way, it’s crucial to prepare for your presentation ahead of time. I have lost count of how many times I have presented creative work, but I certainly remember the presentations I did not prepare for. Walking into a room and winging it is the worst way to present and will likely end with sub-par results.

Refer back to the creative brief

Before building your deck, review the work you have created and ensure that it addresses the client’s original goals. Make adjustments as needed if you feel it does not align with the original objectives from the creative brief.

Practice running through your presentation ahead of time

Taking time to practice the speed and flow of your pitch will help things go more smoothly come presentation day. Be sure to give yourself plenty of time to explain the work. Don’t rush, and allow yourself to take natural pauses so your audience can comfortably view your work and digest information. Make adjustments as needed to any issues you run into as you practice presenting, anticipating any questions or negative feedback you may receive ahead of time.

Know where you will be presenting your graphic design project

Will you be presenting to one or two people, five, twenty? What equipment will be available for you to use? Will you need to bring an adapter, printouts, pens or notepads for your audience? Know what environment you will be presenting in and come (over)prepared. Come with a backup of your presentation, and have a client-ready PDF ready to send at the end of the presentation for review.

Make collaborating with clients effortless and fun

Stop wasting time on endless email threads and chasing your clients & colleagues for information. With HolaBrief, create interactive briefs and centralize all your project’s info.

Build your deck

Now that you know your audience and how you will be presenting, it’s time to start building out your deck. While every project is different, the framework below is a great starting point for any creative presentation. 

Title slide

Team introduction.

• Recap of brief and project phase

Process and strategy

Concepts and rationale.

• Structured feedback

Including an initial slide with the project name, phase of the project if applicable, client name and logo, and your branding reminds the client what they will be reviewing.

While not always necessary, this slide is helpful when meeting stakeholders for the first time. Include headshots, names, titles, and roles for each person on your team, including what area of the project they are responsible for so stakeholders know who they will be interacting with throughout the project.

Recap of the creative brief and project phase

This section of the presentation is critical for getting stakeholders on the same page.

Many of your clients are busy, and it may have been a while since you last interacted since initiating creative work, so it can be helpful to review what the project is, the original objective of the project, any pain points that need to be addressed, and which phase the project is currently in.

If you have it prepared, it can help to download the PDF version of the creative brief  and bring a few printed copies to the meeting. HolaBrief's briefing tool works wonders here, as you can simply share or print the creative brief with all stakeholders. Have a nicely formatted overview of the brief in your presentation as a refresher as well. Include a roadmap slide, highlighting where in the process you are so everyone has an understanding of what has been completed up to this point, what to expect in this presentation, and any upcoming phases.

HolaBrief makes it easy to share your creative brief of the project with all stakeholders involved. Print it out as a PDF or share a customised project link.

This is one section I notice many creatives fail to include: the lead-up and thinking involved in the development of the creative work. Include as many slides as necessary to walk through the critical thinking that went into the creation of the work, such as the strategy work that has been completed, inspiration, mood boards and initial sketches, and how each element addressed aligns with the client’s business objectives.

Tell a story with your process. If you were inspired by a mural you walked past on your way to a coffee shop that caused you to think about the client’s goals and how it could potentially solve a business problem, include it. Many clients are interested in what happens behind the curtain with creatives, and revealing as much of the process as possible is a great way to build their confidence in you and understand the thought and intention that went into the work. Build suspense with your delivery. Go from vague -- such as sketches and initial mood boards -- to more detailed -- such as refined concepts and layout.

If you have established brand attributes, values, or positioning, be sure to include a slide for that here as well.

Now for the exciting part — showing your work. By taking the time to fully explain your thinking and strategy behind the work, it will be much easier for the client to understand why certain decisions were made and how they align with the goals stated in the creative brief.

When presenting, there are a few practical tips that can help make your presentation more effective.

If you are presenting a logo or brand identity, start by presenting the full-color logo on a white background, followed by a split-screen with the logo on a dark background and on a light background.

Next, showcase how the identity will look in use using hi-res mockups of small and large-format use cases, from business cards, letterheads, and mobile screens, to billboards and wayfinding. Resources like Adobe Dimension , LiveSurface , or Graphic Burger are a great place to look for and develop mockups. As designers, it is easy for us to think visually, but many of our clients are not as adept at visualizing what the work will look like in use. Including as many mockups and use cases of your work will not only help them understand the work in context, it may help you land more creative work.

Excellent examples of high-quality mockups by Mast Studio

Finally, end with the full-color logo on white. Repeat these steps for each concept.

As you present each concept, walk your client through the story behind each piece, including why you chose to include certain elements and how it ties back to the original objective from the creative brief. Adding a concept title and statement for each can help the client differentiate each visual direction. It can help to include a visual breakdown of certain elements to further illustrate how you arrived at the final product. Use plain language and stay away from overly technical words that may intimidate or confuse the client. Many designers get caught up in describing the nuances in typefaces or other small details instead of focusing on how the overall work will successfully achieve the client’s objectives. Be confident as you present -- your confidence will be apparent to the client and make them feel more sure of your expertise, the strength of the work, and their decision to hire you.

Once you have presented all of your concepts, starting with the most on-brand or on-message concept first (2-3 concepts is generally a good number for most design projects), show all concepts next to each other on one slide to compare and remind the client of what has been reviewed.

Gather feedback

After the client has had some time to digest the concepts you’ve presented, guide the client’s feedback by asking specific, direct questions that align with their original objectives from the creative brief. It may be a good idea to include a slide with a few of the questions you would like to address to help everyone remain focused. 

Here a few questions to help you get started:

• Does this reflect your brand voice?
• Do these concepts address your users’ needs based on our previous research from the creative brief?
• Does this align with your current brand or advertising strategy?
• How would your target audience react to this?

After asking a few pointed questions, sit back, and listen to the client’s feedback. Though you are an expert when it comes to the design side of things, the client will ideally know their industry well and can provide valuable insight that may help further guide the work. Be sure to take notes as you listen to your client. You can have someone else on your team take notes or record the meeting, but in the best scenarios, it’s ideal to do both so you have something to refer back to when going into the next round of creative. It’s important to note that you should not be expecting creative direction from your client, simply their feedback and perspective on how well the work aligns with their original goals.

On the same note, if the client shares something you may disagree with from a design perspective, feel confident in pushing back and sharing your expertise. They hired you for your knowledge and perspective and will respect your opinion. It’s important to remember that the client’s personal preferences are not necessary to address during these presentations.

If the client starts to deviate from the conversation by stating their own personal preferences for design, gently guide them back toward the original objectives from the creative brief and how your work provides solutions to those pain points.

The client may not always have feedback to share immediately. Oftentimes they are part of a larger team that needs to review the work. Have a PDF version of the presentation ready to share with the client before they leave so they can review and provide more thoughtful feedback.

Wrap-up and next steps

Once you have gathered initial feedback and answered any lingering questions, conclude the meeting with a recap of what stage of the process you are currently in, along with the next steps and assignment of responsibilities. For example, you may be in Round 2 of 3 of logo identity concepts and their feedback is due back in five business days. Be sure to include this on a final slide to remind them of upcoming items. Afterward, send an email recapping the full meeting with a few high-level notes and action items, along with a PDF of the presentation.

The creative brief should be your guideline throughout the entire design process. HolaBrief makes it easy to share your creative brief of a project with all stakeholders involved, so everyone is on the same page, all the time. Learn more.

Benten Woodring

Benten Woodring is an entrepreneur and award-winning graphic designer who has shaped the brands of companies ranging from tech startups to Fortune 1000 companies. He is passionate about leveraging the power of story, strategy, and design to shape identities, uncover purpose, and ignite destinies. More about [Benten Woodring ] -->

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10 Tips for Presenting Designs to Clients to Keep Projects Moving Forward

It’s a common part of the job – presenting design work to clients. Practice doing it well so you can keep projects moving in the right direction and toward the finish line.

If you need a little push, these tips can help. We’ll be looking at how to lay the groundwork, approach challenging topics, clearly show your solution, and weave a narrative with your client.

Let’s dive in!

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1. Lay the Groundwork

A good presentation is a lot like a good novel. The beginning sets the stage for what’s to come, then builds to the main action, and finally, everything comes together in a neat conclusion.

When you are showing design projects to clients, follow this concept to help plan the presentation. Pay special attention to the first part to ensure you lay the proper groundwork for the project, audience, goals, and expected outcomes.

For small projects, the foundation may be rather simple and is only a few sentences or a single slide during your presentation. Often, an example of a current design element is a good reminder of why the project exists.

For larger projects, the foundation might need a little more explaining and include market research or other non-design work product that went into shaping the outcome you are about to show.

No matter the size or type of project, it is important to provide context about the problem you are solving. Reiterate who the design is for and goals for the project.

2. Talk Challenges

This can be one of the most uncomfortable elements during some presentations, but it is ok to discuss constraints of design challenges.

These can be any number of things and the reason to talk about them – albeit briefly is probably best – is to show that you understand objections and have thought through many of them.

This can also provide a little insight to non-design about your process and help them better understand design decisions based on the information, time, and budget at hand.

3. Show the Solution

This is the fun part of presenting work to clients – showing off the final (or working) design.

Everyone will give you a different magic number of designs to show a client. (Oddly enough, I don’t even use a consistent number. I base how many designs I show on the client, and the feelings I got about the project from initial meetings.)

The balance is to show opportunities for final designs while not overwhelming the client with too many ideas or options.

When in doubt, show your two best working concepts, and have one or two more ideas in your back pocket just in case.

4. Define Unfamiliar Terms or Keywords

As you navigate the presentation, it is important to get a feel for who is in the room – physically or virtually – so that you can stop and explain unfamiliar words or jargon if someone looks lost.

As a general rule, it is best to avoid too many “designer words.” But because these terms are probably part of your everyday vocabulary, they will slip out. Go back and provide a contextual definition if someone looks lost.

And don’t make them ask. If you see a blank look, define the jargon or design terminology with a bit of context, and then move on. Work it in so that it seems intentional and doesn’t draw attention to the person who didn’t know.

5. Stop and Allow Questions

Plan natural pauses in the flow of the presentation for questions.

Sometimes if you want until the end, people can forget or it can be difficult to get back to that train of thought or explanation. Shorter bursts of information paired with the opportunity for questions keep a natural feedback loop in play.

The link will also keep you can the client audience more engaged in an active conversation rather than a simple design presentation. It can also help you read the audience to help shape later parts of the presentation, skip ahead if something isn’t relevant, and provide an idea of where they are leaning in terms of the concepts on display.

6. Show the Process or an Alternative

This directly goes back to showing design work. Explain the process for the top contender – you don’t have to do it for all of the design options – and preview an alternative.

Weight the options against each other. What are the pros and cons of each option?

This also creates a great place to insert a pause for questions.

7. Weave a Narrative

Don’t forget your storytelling skills. Weave a narrative into the design. How did it come together, what was the ah-ha moment, why does the design solve the problem outlined at the beginning of the project?

The best presentations have a story quality to them. Don’t just read slides or recite data points. Tell the story of the design and why it works.

8. Use Visuals

You might be giggling at this tip because it seems so obvious. If you are presenting a design project, you have to use visuals, right?

Note visuals. Plural. If you only have one visual element to show, that’s not going to encapsulate the story of the design.

You need multiple visuals to really get the message across.

A website design draft might include a home page as well as one or two other page types, and detailed images of key features or design elements that make this project special.

The big design picture is important, but it can be the little things that push people over to the “love it!” side of the equation.

9. Explain What’s Next

Are there next steps to the project?

Often that includes a timeline for the approval process of the design presented and edits. It may also include components of other design elements that are related to the project r later phases or iterations of the design.

It’s always a good practice to create a pathway for moving ahead with a clear trail. Make it clear what needs to happen now, in the next week, and in the next month to keep the project on the right track.

10. Control the Format

Design presentations may happen in person or virtually. Make sure you control the environment by getting comfortable with the tools, the environment, and the content of your presentation in advance.

The last thing you want is for a project to stall because of poor delivery. Practice in advance, use tools that you understand and work well for where you are presenting, and ask questions of the host ahead of time if you have them.

Presenting designs can be one of those tasks that some creatives loathe. But it doesn’t have to be. The trick is to remember that you are way closer to the design than those you are presenting to.

Break it down. Go slow. Answer questions and talk about the design in terms that make sense to the broadest audience. And remember to incorporate visuals into the presentation so that you can show and tell at the same time.

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The Sega Logo History, Colors, Font,

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How to Measure Brand Loyalty Effectively

The Square Enix Logo History, Colors,

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• Graphic Design

How to do a great logo presentation for your clients

• BY Bogdan Sandu
• 12 April 2023

When you design a logo, you might think that the entire process is all about designing. However, there is also another important element when you want to deliver a project, and that is a strong logo presentation .

You might feel really confident about the way you do your work but when it comes to presentations some of us might be anxious.  Presenting your logo can actually be the most important step of the logo design process .

Sometimes graphic designer fails to communicate well and understand exactly the client’s needs and this results in confusion and undesired redesigning efforts. One of the key aspects when creating a logo is to take your client into confidence. They don’t know what colors to choose or to give certain guides but still a client will be part of the design process because in the end they give the final approval!

How to present a logo

The Nike logo (symbol) and the history behind its simple design

Get the hulk font or similar options for your designs.

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• 19 March 2018

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• 26 October 2018

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Top 10 Graphic Design Proposal Templates with Samples and Examples

Nidhi Aswal

Graphic design stands as the emissary of a brand, enriching messages with meaning and dimension. It not only captures attention but also weaves stories that resonate and remain memorable.

With visuals the obvious answer, the importance of graphic design is paramount. It elevates brands and guides consumer decisions through visual storytelling. Having an already prepared, ready-to-present graphic design proposal PPT Template is career and life -saving for designers and businesses.

It streamlines the proposal process, ensuring critical elements are covered – from conceptualization to final design delivery. It's not just about showcasing talent; it's about demonstrating an understanding of the client’s needs, the project’s goals, and the strategic thinking that will drive results.

SlideTeam’s editable PPT Templates emerge as the answer, and offer immense benefits. These are time-savers, allowing you to focus on the creative aspect rather than the repetitive structuring of proposals. They ensure consistency, which is key in maintaining a professional image.

Most importantly, these templates are 100% editable and customizable. These can be edited/tailored to fit any client’s requirements, making your proposal as unique as the design solution you are offering.

Refine your approach to problem-solving with key insights from our blog featuring essential issue proposal examples, complete with templates and samples with a click here .

A graphic design proposal is more than a mere document; it reflects your project insight, professionalism, and commitment to delivering a strategic addition to your client’s brand. SlideTeam’s slides enrich your graphic designing process and equip you to set industry benchmarks. Boost your pitches with our Top 10 Graphic Design Proposal Templates with Samples and Examples.

Let’s start.

Template 1: Graphic Design Proposal PowerPoint Presentation Slides

Launch your pitch with our Graphic Design Proposal PowerPoint Presentation Slides, a top-notch slide crafted for precision and impact. It presents your company, proposal title, client name, and delivery date, framed by the presenter’s credentials. This PPT Theme is your initial step in showcasing thoroughness and commitment to quality. Tailored to be impactful, it invites your clients to a professional journey, aligning your artistic prowess with their business goals and marks the beginning of a promising collaboration.

Download now!

Template 2: Graphic Design Project Proposal Example Document Report

Present your freelance prowess with this PPT Deck design that features specified spaces for both the submitter and the receiver of the graphic proposal, neatly listing your professional details alongside the client's information. This template paves the way for significant client interactions, marking your identity as a graphic design expert. It prepares you for a pitch that stands apart and communicates the tailored nature of your services. Download this PPT Layout now from the link below.

Template 3: One-Page Graphic Design Proposal Presentation Report Infographic

This One-Page Graphic Design PPT Proposal streamlines your presentation, delivering a polished and comprehensive snapshot of services. It ensures your message is both clear and compelling. This PPT Template conveys your company’s ethos, design methodology, and unique value proposition with clarity, highlighting your brand’s professional distinction. It covers elements like team details, risks, workflow and project cost and duration.

Template 4: One-Page Freelance Graphic Design Services Proposal Report 

Introducing the One Page Freelance Graphic Design Services Proposal, a PPT Template that blends style with substance. It articulates your proposal's specifics with visual finesse, ideal for freelancers working with recruitment agencies on specific projects. It details your services from scope to compensation and confidentiality, proposal details, and client agreement details, etc, laying out all vital elements for transparent collaboration. More than a visual asset, this report PPT Slide serves as a crucial reference for service agreements, fostering clear communication and mutual understanding between you and your clients.

Template 5: Designing Process for Graphic Design Project

Explore the essentials of our graphic design workflow with our concise PPT Infographic, highlighting five key stages: Gather, Brainstorm, Conceptualize, Modify, and Deliver. It starts with information collection, evolves through ideation, shapes into tangible concepts, refines through revisions, and ends with a finished design. This PowerPoint Presentation is crafted to outline your unique process, ensuring you convey your approach with clarity and impact to your clients. It's a streamlined blueprint that showcases the journey from concept to creation.

Template 6: Graphic Design Project Proposal Example Document Report

Explore our graphic design project summary with this comprehensive PPT Slide. It presents a clear narrative of client needs alongside your customized solutions, showcasing a strategic blend of requirements and innovation through project context and solution. This PPT Deck communicates the essence of the project, aligning client objectives with your creative output. It serves as a testament to your approach, condensing complex concepts into a concise overview that appeals to stakeholders and highlights the strategic insight your services contribute.

Template 7: Addressing the Methodology and Pricing Model for Graphic Design Project

This PowerPoint Presentation presents the methodology and pricing structure for graphic design projects. This PPT Theme outlines the systematic approach and the pricing details, ensuring a clear understanding of the design process and associated costs. This visual guide articulates strategic planning behind creative execution and transparent communication of value, allowing clients to grasp the project's direction and financial implications.

Template 8: Project Context Graphic Design Proposal

Our Graphic Design Proposal PPT Deck delineates a clear path from client needs to creative solutions. It captures client demands like logos, templates, layouts, and web elements, and offers a structured five-phase solution approach. Starting with creative discovery, it moves to competitive analysis, concept sketching, plan revision, and concludes with project finalization. This PPT Template is designed to convey a detailed and systematic process, ensuring that client specifications are addressed with accuracy and innovative design strategies.

Template 9: Our Services and Offerings for Graphic Design Proposal

Discover our collection of graphic design services with informative PPT Templates. This PowerPoint Presentation highlights seven core offerings: Cover design, brochure layout, wall stickers, outdoor hoardings, flyers, banners, and PowerPoint Presentations. It also introduces additional services, including logo creation, branding, social media graphics, email templates, packaging, promotional merchandise, and custom illustrations. Overall, 14 creative solutions showcase our adaptability and dedication to fulfilling your design requirements with exceptional quality and ingenuity.

Template 10: Our Packages for Graphic Design Proposal

This PPT Presentation outlines our versatile graphic design pricing options, crafted to match project needs. The hourly pricing model is perfect for intermittent tasks requiring adaptability. For sustained design work, our full-time equivalent model offers a cost-efficient solution. Alternatively, the fixed pricing model suits projects with precise goals. Our pricing structures give clients the flexibility to choose an option that aligns with their project's scale and financial plans, promoting transparency and ensuring value. In this lucid PPT Layout, our approach to pricing is designed to foster a transparent and valuable partnership from the start.

SEAL THE DEAL NOW!

Wrap up your hunt for exceptional presentation resources with SlideTeam’s Graphic Design Proposal PPT Theme. Take your pitch to the next level and engage your clients with a sharp, professional display of your creative expertise and thoughtful strategy. Our PowerPoint Presentations showcase your extensive service offerings, emphasizing a commitment to quality and attention to detail. From clear pricing models to comprehensive project overviews, our infographics are the key to unlocking potential client relationships. Let your proposals reflect the caliber of your work and make a lasting impression. Explore SlideTeam’s offerings today and arm your business with the finest resources for success.

Are you looking to enhance your consulting pitch? Read our blog with a click here for insights on creating an impactful consulting proposal cover letter, complete with PPT Templates.

PS Boost your consultancy’s client engagement with our expert Business Consulting Proposal Template. Click here for a blog tutorial on enhancing your pitch with our tailored PPT Resources.

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The Ultimate Graphic Design Checklist for Clients

Kicking off a graphic design project with a new client is always a challenge. Whether they’re new to graphic design or you’ve never worked with them before, aligning expectations and setting milestones is critical to delivering the project on time and on budget. That’s where a graphic design checklist for clients can help. 

Creating a clear series of steps that you can tick off as you progress ensures you’re both on the same page about what needs to be done, who needs to do it, and what the deadlines are.

In this article, we discuss each phase of a project, from kick-off to final product. In each phase, we’ll detail the responsibilities of the client and design team, introducing how technology can streamline the process. 

Let’s get started!

Your Complete Graphic Design Checklist for Clients

Project kick-off.

You’ve received an order from the client! In the first stage, you’ll begin by laying the foundation for all the steps to come. That means planning, planning, and more planning. 

Outline the project’s scope, timeline, and deliverables – get a solid idea of what the client wants, what it’ll be used for, and how you’ll run the project.

Include these aspects:

• Graphic Designer’s Responsibilities. Define the project’s scope, objectives, and timelines. Provide a comprehensive project brief that will act as a roadmap through the upcoming steps.
• Client’s Responsibilities. Provide all necessary information, assets, and final objectives. Should answer communications and provide feedback in a timely manner.

Also, explain how you’ll communicate – that could include using online proofing software, messaging service, or some other communication medium.

In this phase, the designer delves deeper into the project, taking the time to research the client’s industry, target audience, and competitors. The designer should collect and organize all this research for later. 

The client, meanwhile, should provide any and all materials related to their final objective. Think about the target audience, branding materials, design inspirations, and examples of other work they like. 

Online research tools and databases work well to gather and collate information. Some mind-mapping software can also help keep the information organized and make connections between ideas. 

• Graphic Designer: Conduct industry, target audience, and competitor research.
• Client: Provide brand materials, design inspirations, and examples of preferred work.
• Organize research using online tools and mind-mapping software.

Initial Design

Based on the designer’s research and information provided by the client, it’s time to start the initial design. While the designer will put significant effort into this step, it’s still only a first draft. Only through further evolution will the final design begin to take shape. 

• Use design tools for creating and tweaking designs.
• Establish feedback loops for design refinement.
• Consider multiple design variations for client selection.

Client Review & Feedback

As any graphic designer will know, this stage is often the hardest. Endless email exchanges lead to confusing cross-communication. Vague client notes can further complicate matters as designers struggle to understand what specific changes should be made.

There’s a simple solution: Ashore’s online proofing software. 

Developed for creative collaboration, it works for images and PDFs, videos, HTML & web screenshots, and even live websites. Using the platform, clients can annotate the design, noting what specifically they like or dislike – and what they want changed. 

There’s no confusion or chasing up clients for feedback. The platform will automatically notify the relevant parties what they need to reply to. 

• Use Ashore’s online proofing software for clear and organized feedback.
• Clients can annotate specific likes, dislikes, and requested changes.
• Automatic notifications ensure timely responses from relevant parties.

Revisions are a breeze once you’ve collected all the feedback through a centralized platform. There’s no scratching your head wondering what a client means or what to change. Simply work your way through the annotations and notes.

You can even ask your team for feedback – seeing who left what comment and replying if necessary. 

Remember – your job is to bring the client’s feedback and vision to life. If you need clarification, ask for it. 

• Work through client annotations and notes for revisions.
• Use feedback from the team for additional insights.
• Review the revised design and provide further feedback if necessary.

Final Review

Another important task on the graphic design checklist for clients: the final review. Hopefully, the majority of the changes should already be completed. There may be a few last tweaks the client may request to make the final product absolutely perfect. 

Once again, an online proofing platform’s annotation and feedback tools streamline this process. You can see the client’s feedback instantly and make changes within a few hours for their review. 

• Make any last tweaks based on final client feedback.
• Use online proofing tools for streamlined annotation and feedback.
• Client: Give final approval on the design.

In the penultimate stage, you can get the final seal of approval. That usually comes after all the comments and revisions are completed, and the client gives the final piece the thumbs up. 

• Ensure all comments and revisions are completed to the client’s satisfaction.
• Provide final approval of the design.

That’s it! It’s time to check off the last box on our graphic design checklist for clients: The Final Design – whether that be getting it printed or turning it into a functional digital tool, e.g., a website. 

The production stage shouldn’t involve any more feedback or revisions. However, the graphic designers will need to hand over the project to another department or team member. 

• Finalize design for print or digital implementation.
• Hand over the project to the relevant department or team member for production.

Closing Thoughts

That’s our complete graphic design checklist for clients. Work your way through the stages, and tick off the points as you go. Interest in Ashore? Get started for FREE to streamline your graphic design process, speed up revisions, and take your client collaboration to the next level.

Get Responses From Your Clients 2X Faster

Regardless of the situation, there’s an art to writing a follow-up email after no response from a client. Let’s break these situations together to see what you can do for each type of client. Then, we can delve into what makes a good follow up email for them.

Watch a Demo Now

Want to see how to get started with Ashore? Watch our quick demo!

How to Get Graphic Design Clients: A Comprehensive Guide

How to get graphic design clients..

Getting clients is hard, whether you’re a great designer with an amazing portfolio or a brand new graphic designer with no work experience.

I’ve been there and done that. I’m going to share my best tips on how to get graphic design clients in 2021!

AND at the end of this article , I’m to share with you the exact strategies I used to reach multi-six figures in my design business inside of a year.

But before we jump into those strategies, there are two fundamentals you must have regardless of which strategies you decide to use: a positive mindset and knowing your ideal client. Because you’re unlikely to make any client attraction or marketing strategies work without these two fundamentals, we’re going to talk about them first.

1. Positive Mindset

Regardless of which stage of your business you are in, approaching any marketing strategy without a positive mindset will likely lead to frustration and defeat. While it would be AMAZING for all of us to wave a magic wand and have our perfect client attraction strategy running flawlessly, that’s rarely how it works.

You’ll have to tweak them to work for you and your ideal client. Some strategies you may realize, only upon giving them solid effort for a few months, aren’t actually the right fit for your business. Others may work quickly, but will need some minor tweaks to bring in as many leads as you may like. Staying positive, and tweaking your strategy as you go will be essential to seeing success with ANY marketing strategy.

Going into your journey to attract new design clients – especially high-end clients – will require this positive mindset to persevere in the face of inevitable challenges you will face.

Here are three ways to stay positive while implementing your client attraction strategies:

• Have a realistic expectation about implementing marketing strategies. Expect it will take you 2-3 months to work out the kinks.
• Stop and appreciate that you have taken the courageous step to TRY a strategy, even if it’s uncomfortable.
• Appreciate that every task you complete and every tweak you make to your strategy will get you one step closer to reaching your goal of having your ideal clients reaching out and eager to work with you.

2. Define your ideal client

The next fundamental step in getting more clients is understanding where they come from and why they hire designers like us in the first place. Once we understand our client’s needs, it makes it easier for us to build relationships with them and ultimately ensure them that hiring us will benefit their business goals.

Market Segment

For our purposes, our client’s market segment includes their geography, industry, company size, and role. Here are some questions to help you define your ideal client’s market segment:

Where do they live? Do they prefer local designers or those in other states/countries.

What industry are they in? For instance, educational and financial institutions are a lot more traditional than tech companies. Their industry can impact the way the client values about graphic design in the context of reaching their own business goals.

Are there design trends in my ideal client’s industry? If you love cutting-edge graphic design work, your ideal client is probably not a textiles manufacturer, where design is less valued. It’s more likely to be a tech company. Make sure your ideal client’s needs align with your skills.

How established is their organization? Startups will likely have less rigorous brand guidelines than large, established brands. Startups may have lower budgets, but pay faster whereas larger companies have larger budgets but pay more slowly. Knowing what is important to you, and aligning your services with businesses of the right size to support your creative and business needs is important.

Struggling to get clarity on your ideal client’s market? Click here to learn more about the highest-paying design jobs for inspiration in finding your ideal projects and clients.

Once you’ve defined your ideal client’s market segment, we can determine their “persona,” which includes the right person in the job role that would hire graphic designers like us. Here are some questions to help you define your ideal client’s persona:

What types of personalities do you work best with? Serious personalities or super fun? Organized or more free-wheeling? You can adapt your messaging to appeal to your ideal clients. For instance, I prefer to work with friendly people. All of my messaging is designed to be warm and welcoming, which will be appealing to clients who are similar and unappealing to those who aren’t.

What is their role in the organization? Again, think of this in terms of WHO needs your service and WHO you best support. Where do they overlap? Do you collaborate better with a hands-on Creative Director or with a strategic VP of Marketing?

What is their social media preference? Do they actively use LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter? You’re going to want to know WHERE your ideal clients are online so that you prioritize your efforts in the right places.

What types of in-person events do they go to? Some industries go to more conferences than others. Consider the type of events your ideal client attends so you can engage with them there, rather than trying to sell yourself to someone who really doesn’t need you and probably won’t hire you!

With all of this insight on who YOU best serve and who NEEDS YOU, you have the foundation for a really effective marketing strategy. After you’ve answered these questions, you should literally be able to go to LinkedIn or Google and search for companies in the right industry, at the right size, find the names of people in the right roles, search their social profiles and determine if they’d be an ideal client.

And, if you’re thinking, “I don’t need to be that specific because everyone is my ideal client,” you are seriously mistaken. By appealing to everyone, you are actually appealling to no one. By tailoring your services, messaging and portfolio to a specific market segment, you’ll get more of the right clients for YOU!

Now that you’ve got the fundamentals down, we’ll get into the marketing strategies you can implement to start attracting your ideal clients. By the end of this guide, you should have enough information about each strategy that you can pick one (or several), that is right for your freelance design business.

3. How to make a graphic design portfolio that gets you new clients

Start the process of appealing to your ideal clients by updating your website and portfolio. The first thing you should do is ask yourself these questions:

• What problem is my ideal client trying to solve? It may seem overly simple, but if you aren’t crystal clear on what the problem is, you can’t possibly convince them that you can solve it. Define the problem your ideal clients are trying to solve and make them want to hire you!
• What language would that client use to describe their problem? Using the language your client uses based on their industry and role in the organization is a great way to build rapport and trust with that ideal client. For example, let’s say you have a VP of Marketing and a Director of Technology who are both looking to have a website designed for their respective companies. A VP of Marketing is going to be focused on copy and conversion rates, whereas a Director of Technology may be more concerned about site speed and integrations. Where do you shine? Make sure that comes through by using your ideal client’s language!
• What would my ideal client need to see in my portfolio to know I am the perfect designer to help them solve their problem? Don’t highlight the last thing you worked on, look at your portfolio through their eyes to see what they’ll find important and compelling based on their needs. As in the previous example with website design, are they interested in seeing a case study with your designs with conversion rates? Or are they interested in seeing demos of the sites you’ve built and poking around in the code? Everything in your website and your portfolio should lead clients through a process of knowing your value, understanding how you solve problems, and showing them proof that it can be done. Your website serves as a digital brochure for what you have to offer, so make sure the information on there is clear and makes sense to your ideal client.
• Call to action Your website and portfolio should lead your ideal client to take the next step towards hiring you. What action do you want your ideal client to take? What would they be expecting based on the industry or their personality type?Maybe the call to action is to schedule a phone call. Perhaps it’s to fill out a form on your website with more details so you can provide a quote. You need to be crystal clear on what the next step is, and have a way for them to take that step.

4. Demonstrate your expertise

Okay, so now you have a website and a portfolio that is SEO optimized, speaks the language of your ideal client, and clearly demonstrates how you solve their problem.

Now it’s time to work on creating content for your blog or social media platforms that will make clients want to hire you! To trust this isn’t just an outdated website, but someone who is experienced and actively capable of helping them solve their problem.

Social Media

The first step is to demonstrate that you know are a real, live human being who knows how to solve their problem. Social media is a great platform for getting your name out there as a freelance designer since it’s free and allows you to connect with potential clients across many different industries. Using social media helps people get to know you on a personal level and builds your web presence.

It’s also crucial that you’re actively posting to social media so there is proof of your activity, which then shows off your expertise as well. For example, if someone wants to hire a freelance designer who is active on social media, they’ll want to see how many Likes or Tweets you get.

Where many freelancers go wrong with their social media strategy is they post once and then forget about it for six months. That isn’t going to impress anyone, and will likely deter them from reaching out to you, so make sure you’re posting regularly to keep your web presence active!

On the other end of the spectrum, some freelancers overdo it with social media and are annoying, spammy or not strategic. A complete waste of your time! Make sure to be strategic with your posts: go back to your ideal client’s market segment and persona. What topics are they interested in? What would they want to see from you to know that you are an expert in your field? What hashtags do they follow? Some of those may be related to your services, but some may be related to their broader industry. By using hashtags related to their industry, you can potentially get in front of several of your ideal clients all at one time – and that’s the goal!

Next up: blogging! Blogging is a great way to add value by sharing helpful advice with your audience. Writing content that focuses on educating people in the industry also demonstrates expertise, establishes you as an expert. Someone who knows their stuff and can actually solve the client’s problem. The more specific the topic is, the better.

An example of a good blog post might be one on design trends in their target industry or breaking down website design case studies and showing how you can help improve conversions. Remember: show that you can solve your ideal client’s problem. That you have deeper expertise in their industry, their role, their problems than anyone else.

Testimonials

Another way to establish your expertise is to include testimonials from previous clients. Do you have testimonials from clients that you’ve worked with? It’s a great idea to add these to your website – it demonstrates proof of your capabilities and expertise. If possible, showcasing this on your home page is going to be beneficial for establishing social proof and improving client acquisition.

These testimonials can also be incorporated into your social media strategy! In fact, I typically ask clients to leave testimonials on LinkedIn, so I get the social proof, but then leverage the text on my website and social media posts.

5. Ask for referrals from your existing network

Look, I have no idea why freelancers hesitate to ask their network for referrals, but it’s a huge missed opportunity, especially when you’re just starting out. Maybe it’s because they’re embarrassed, or it feels weird somehow. Well, it shouldn’t – this is how you build your business!

I’m going to let you in a little secret here: most designers’ number one source of new clients is referrals from their existing network. It’s called the relationship factor. Clients already know and trust you before they decide to hire you, based on the relationship you had with the referrer and their relationship with the referrer. That trust is passed through both relationships and is hugely powerful in securing a new client. Pair that with a website and portfolio that conveys your expertise and you’ll be unstoppable!

6. Join freelance job boards

Freelance job boards are a great opportunity to find new clients as well! There’s nothing wrong with joining up with Upwork, Guru or PeoplePerHour. Especially for those of you who are JUST starting out, freelance platforms are a great way to hone in on your signature service, test out different client industries and personalities, and build a portfolio and testimonials.

While many freelancers make good money working on freelance sites, that didn’t happen overnight. Here are some strategies for making the most of those job sites:

Market yourself as an expert in your field, not as a “jack of all trades”

As a new designer, you don’t want to get pigeonholed into designing everything under the sun. This is not only confusing for clients, but it’s also just doing yourself a disservice. If I wanted my website designed on WordPress, why would I hire a photographer?

Be active on the platform

When you have a new client, or even when you’re on the job board looking for your next client, it’s important to be active and engaged. That doesn’t mean “spamming” everyone who posts an ad with a link to your portfolio – that is just going to annoy people. You want to respond to the RIGHT job opportunities quickly and thoughtfully. Those at the top of the list will get more attention than those at the bottom. Keep in mind your ideal client’s language and personality so that you make it a no-brainer to work with you over all the competition.

Know you’re going to need to start on lower budget projects before you get the big ticket work

As a new designer, you’re going to need to prove your worth and gain confidence from clients before they trust you with their biggest projects. Even though it can be frustrating and a little demoralizing, don’t pass up those low-budget jobs that help establish you as a professional in your field. They are a great way to build up social proof and increase your rates on each platform.

Diligently raise your rates each time you take a project on the platform

As your portfolio grows and your testimonials build, you want to be on the lookout for opportunities to raise your rates. Keep track of each job that you win from these platforms and increase your rate consistently. Over the course of 3 months on Upwork, I went from making $15/hour to $100/hour. With each successful project, I raised my rate by $5/hour. With a positive review at the previous price point, it was easy for clients to feel comfortable that I could deliver a lot of value – because they saw social proof I had just exceeded the expectations for someone at just a slightly lower price point.

7. Network where your ideal client already is.

Online communities.

Online communities and groups are great places to meet your ideal clients. Try posting in niche Facebook group, Quora or LinkedIn. First and foremost, be sure to follow all of the rules of these online communities. It’s important to find the balance between being helpful, informative and promote your services in a subtle way.

One way to do this would be to answer questions people have. Make sure that your social profile clearly demonstrates your expertise and how people can get in touch with you.

Please note, it is generally frowned upon to slip into the DMs of unsuspecting group members and many times is against community rules. Respect the communities and the members of the group or you will likely lose access to them.

In Person Events

I cannot stress the importance of attending in-person events. Not only are you a stronger candidate, having attended an event and showed up to support it – you will also make connections with like-minded people who need your services! There’s no better way to network and get business leads than from meeting people face-to-face.

The trust that can be built in-person is much faster than that built virtually. Like all things in this article, be strategic with your in-person events. If your ideal client is a VP of Marketing for Financial Services companies, you probably don’t want to go to a Financial Services Compliance conference, as that conference will be filled with people in the right industry, but the wrong role. Attending in-person events can be very expensive, especially if travel is involved, so make sure to use those dollars appropriately!

8. Use cold outreach strategies

Cold outreach is a great way to network with people who have needs similar to your ideal client. Make sure you’ve actually done enough research on the person you’re going to email, so that when they receive it, they are compelled and willing to engage further.

Start by doing tons of research on their website and social media platforms like LinkedIn and Twitter. Make sure you have a good handle on their position, company culture, ideal client, etc. Once you’ve done that thorough work, it’s time to fire off an email with your pitch! Again, this pitch should only be going to clients you’ve identified as your ideal client. Clients whose specific pain points your website and cold outreach email should address!

How will I find my ideal clients so I can message them?

One of the most powerful ways to find your ideal clients now that you are clear on their industry and title is to use LinkedIn. First, you can search for the title of your ideal client in LinkedIn’s search. Then, click the “People” tab.

Doing this, you should find a big list of people in your ideal client’s industry that have LinkedIn profiles like you’ve been searching for. You can even filter by degrees of connection and location!

If you’ve been asking existing clients for testimonials or recommendations as discussed above, your network will also grow to include your clients’ connections. This is a great way to leverage the relationship factor and reach more of your ideal clients.

What should my cold outreach messages say?

• Be brief but friendly
• Be specific about how they will benefit by working with you
• Use the client’s name and company a few times in your email to personalize it.

The important thing is that your process is consistent and scales as much as possible.

The biggest challenge I see designers make when using cold outreach is lack of consistency. Like we talked about earlier, you’ve got to go into these strategies with realistic expectations.

Here’s the reality of cold outreach – for every 100 messages you send, you’re likely to only get 2-3 clients. It can feel like you are doing something horribly wrong if you don’t know that’s typical.

How many times have you gotten a cold message from someone and it wasn’t the right time? Or maybe not relevant at all? That’s going to happen. So just going into it knowing it’s going to be hard work, but if you have no clients, it’s work that will pay off.

So if you know you want 2-3 new clients every week, then you should plan to send 100 cold outreach messages a week or 20 per day. However, you decide to manage it, just be sure to be consistent, because the challenge with cold outreach is if you stop doing it, you stop getting new clients.

9. Search engine optimization

While Search Engine Optimization (SEO)sounds like a crazy, complicated term, it’s really not. SEO is the process of optimizing your website and posts so that they are easily found by search engines like Google, Bing, etc.

The are several reasons SEO is so powerful:

Search engines send visitors directly to your website, and clients trust those search results, so they trust you are a reputable designer. Speak their language, give them testimonials and a solid portfolio and they are eager to work with you.

The majority of traffic is search engine driven as the second biggest driver (social media being number one). Because clients looking for your solution can find you when THEY need help, SEO allows your website to work for you even when you’re not working.

Best of all, it’s a free source of traffic – no cost involved!

SEO can be very complex, especially for sites that are monetizing with low-paying ad revenue – meaning to make money they have to have A LOT of traffic. But for our purposes, it’s not that complex at all! As freelance designers, we don’t need even hundreds of visitors a day to fill our pipeline – just a handful!

There are two essential ways to optimize your site:

On-Page SEO means optimizing the actual web page you are creating. To start, what words would your client type into a google search if they were looking for your service? For instance, if you provide medical illustrations for device manufacturers, your ideal client may search for the term “medical illustrators” or “freelance medical illustrators,” so you want to make sure your site includes those keywords so that the search engines can understand what your site is about.

Off-Page SEO means optimizing the other pages that are linking back to your site. In our case, as freelance designers, we want to get links back from anywhere and everywhere – especially industry sites!

My favorite way to get quality backlinks is to use Help a Reporter Out, which has a great community of reporters looking for experts to source content from. They send out three email digests a day that you can peruse and reply, as fitting. If your quote is used in the article, you’ll typically get a link back to your site, which functions as a thumbs up to google that you are a reputable site.

10. Paid Advertising

Paid advertising is another way to get traffic to your website. You can run paid ads on many platforms, but you make sure to be strategic or you’ll just be throwing money away.

So, if you design websites for Interior Designers, do you run paid ads on LinkedIn or Pinterest? Maybe neither. Maybe both. Only spend the money on paid ads if you can afford to lose that money OR if you KNOW your ideal clients are on that platform. And that your messaging is on point and will be able to convert them into clients – now or in the future.

When it comes to having realistic expectations, it could cost $100 to $1,000 to acquire a new client depending upon your industry and area of expertise. You are unlikely to spend $5 and get new client…

11. Following up with prospects

There are many appropriate ways to follow up with prospects, though many designers don’t out of fear of being pushy.

Once you’ve sent your cold outreach messages, replied to a contact form or sent a quote, you should absolutely follow up with emails! If they don’t reply to you within 2-3 days of initially messaging them, send another email.

Mention that you reached out a few days ago but didn’t hear back, and ask again if they need any help or have questions.

If you’ve already spent the time to find and research this prospective client though, you shouldn’t just reach out once and give up. A second message is a good way to follow-up without being spammy. If you haven’t heard back from them after two messages, you likely never will, so move on to greener pastures.

12. Staying top of mind with your existing clients

It’s important to remember that when it comes to our ideal design clients, they have many priorities that likely don’t include us. We need to be their saving grace! We need to be visible so when a project that does involve us comes up, they think, “I know exactly who can help!”

At a minimum, you should connect with all of your clients on social media, so that as your posts show up in their feed, your name and information becomes memorable. This allows them to more quickly recall it when they need your service.

Another tactic I like to take with my existing clients is to periodically send out an email letting them know of upcoming unavailability or time off. My message typically goes a little something like this, “Hi! Hope things are going well with you! Just want to let you know I will be out of the office from [date] to [date]. I want to make sure to give you priority over new clients on any upcoming projects you may have, so just let me know if you’d like to hold some time for you.”

Choosing the best client acquisition strategies for you

I think it’s important to know who you are and what kind of personality you have before you start looking for clients. If you’re introverted, then SEO which lets clients seek you out might be your best option for getting clients.

On the other hand, if you’re extroverted and have a lot of friends on social media platforms, then marketing yourself on social media might be more effective.

If you have a budget for marketing, paid advertising may be a good strategy to use. If you have a limited or no budget, and plenty of time, then cold outreach may be a great strategy to start with.

It’s important that you are able to find the one strategy that works best for your individual needs – and will align with your ideal clients’ preferences so that you can get clients easier and faster.

With so many options to choose from, it can be difficult for a freelancer or small business owner to know where to start. We hope this article has helped you better understand how your strategy will impact the success of your marketing efforts.

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