Questions to clarify the direction of your project

By Marti Naughton

1. What is the key message?
2. What is the desired outcome (response) and how will you measure success?
3. What makes your company or product different from the competition?
4. Why are you doing this?
5. Have you done this before? What worked, what didn’t?
6. What feeling or mood do you want to convey?
7. How does this fit in with the rest of your marketing efforts?
8. Do you have something in mind andwhy do you think that will work?
9. Do you have examples of other work? What do you like (or not like)?
10. What is the approval process?
11. What are the givens or restrictions (ie. logos, company colors etc.)?
12. Are you open to other ideas?
13. Is there a hierarchy to the information you want to present?

Marti Naughton, sMart desigN, is a freelance designer based in North St. Paul, Minn., smartdesign.mac@mac.com