One of my favorite part of running a stationery business is working with AWESOME clients who have some of the most creative ideas. While the custom design process is pretty easy, I haven’t shared this process with you so today’s Studio Diaries post is all about the SPS custom design process.
Since I mainly design custom invitations, announcements and some personalized stationery, the lead time needed to create these stationery designs is about two weeks. That time allows the stationery to be created as well as printing and delivery too. Here’s the process:
When I receive an email from a client, She will tell me the stationery that she needs. She will also detail her timeline and from there we’ll discuss my availability and I will also provide a price estimate to her. If everything works for my client, then I’ll ask her to send all of her inspiration photos to me.
Most of my clients send me photos for inspiration or direct me to pinterest boards with all of their creative ideas. Receiving inspiration photos is great and the more inspiration the better. These photos tell me about my clients style and her vision for the celebration she’s hosting. If my client doesn’t have photos to share that’s fine too. If she tells me the party theme, colors, shares a link to the venue or that she wants a “Kate Spade”, “Anthropologie”, “Rustic” or “Glam” themed invitation or stationery, this can also help me when I start to create her stationery.
I will review all the inspiration and do a rough sketch on paper of my design ideas. I’ll note colors and fonts (yes sometimes by name) that I’d like to use and then begin creating the stationery in illustrator. The design process can take two to three business days. Once I’ve completed the designs I will send a proof to my client to review.
Depending on the stationery that is requested, I will send one to three design samples that she can review. When I send these design proofs to my client, I will also share any details like why a design element may not be included or how I varied her design idea. This part of the process can take some time. I would rather my clients take their time reviewing stationery to make sure that everything is correct. Since I do not proof read what is sent to me, it’s up to my client and sometimes other party hosts or family members to review the stationery to make sure there are no errors.
Once my client approves the design it is then set up to be printed. There’s a small process that I do before sending stationery to the printer so that it meets their specifications and will print correctly.
When I work with clients on custom projects, I want to make sure this process is easy and that the creation of their custom invitation is also fun. There are plenty of details that make up each part of this process so that the stationery that I design is what my client envisioned.
If you’re interested in custom design stationery you can contact me and let me know the stationery you are looking to create. If you want to see a sampling of other custom work that I’ve done you can see a mini gallery here.
Happy Wednesday everyone!
