Starkis Design - about Starkis

What services do we offer?

Why use Starkis Design?

Where are we located?

How does it work?

Who is Starkis Design?

How does it work?

No two design projects are ever exactly the same. Just as our clients’ businesses and organisations vary enormously, so do the requirements of the products we design for them. Even so, the following guide to the design process will help new clients familiarise themselves with what’s involved.

1. Brief

The first step towards a successful design is a thorough brief. A brief can be contained in a written document; or it can be transferred verbally, usually at a meeting. This is where you, the client, let us know what it is you want produced, and what benefits you hope to receive from producing it. We will also want to know about your business or organisation, your clients, products and services, etc. The brief is a learning time for us—so that we are in the best position to offer you sound practical advice on the best way of implementing your project to achieve your desired goals.

2. Assessment and quotation

Having assessed the brief, we will consider all aspects of the project, and where necessary liaise with subcontractors (i.e. printers). In some cases we may suggest alternative solutions to those already discussed in the brief, which we will discuss with you further before proceeding.

In most cases, you will want to receive a written cost estimate, which we would normally fax to you. Then, to start work on the job, all we need is your signed confirmation that you wish to proceed. Before signing your approval we ask that you take the time to read our Terms and conditions of trade.

3. Additional consultation and supply of material

If necessary, we will discuss with you aspects of the job that need to be confirmed in finer detail. At this stage you will (depending on the nature of the job) supply us with material we need to work with such as text, logos, etc. If you are unfamiliar with standard formats and procedures for supplying material to us, we provide a publication called Guide to supplying source material, which is freely available from our web site.

4. Submission of first proof or sample layout

Having developed and refined various concepts, designs and layouts, we will produce a first proof of your design. In the case of a publication with many pages, or a series of similar products, this will be a sample layout, or one of the series. In this way we welcome your initial feedback before proceeding with the entire project, so if fundamental changes need to be made to the design they can be made without the expense of redesigning the entire job.

5. Subsequent proofs

Once we have received your approval of the initial proofs, we will proceed with further design and production in accordance with your brief, and supply additional proofs for you to check. Proofs can take a variety of forms depending on the job, including: electronic files, black and white or colour laser prints, and mock-ups constructed to look like the finished product.

6. Changes and corrections

Before we print a million copies of your wonderful publication and send you the bill, we ask you to read over the text and check every detail of the proofs carefully. In many cases, mistakes in the supplied text will be picked up by us, in which case we will bring them to your attention, but ultimately the responsibility rests with you to satisfy yourself that everything is okay. Hopefully, your efforts will congratulate you on finding no errors, but it pays to be cautious. It’s better to find a mistake now, than after the one-million copies arrive from the printer!

If you are unfamiliar with the standard procedure for correcting proofs, you can read our publication titled Guide to making text corrections which outlines industry standard symbols and procedure to use when making corrections.

We usually allow for minor text corrections in our initial quotation, but keep in mind that large, time-consuming changes at this stage of production will almost certainly increase the cost. This will appear on your invoice as “Author’s alterations.”

After we have made your requested changes and corrections, we will in most cases supply you with updated proofs for you to check and approve.

7. Final artwork and approval

Any jobs that require printing will then require us to produce final artwork (sometimes called finished, camera ready, or print ready art). This will often be in the form of negative film that we supply to the printer. As film can be quite difficult to check for mistakes, we produce a final proof directly from the film. We will check this proof to make sure that the film was output correctly. We then ask you to check and sign your approval of this final proof.

8. Finishing the job

Once we have your final approval it’s full steam ahead: producing, printing, manufacturing, and/or delivering. In the case of a web site, we would upload it to its final destination, ready for the world to see. In many cases we can include your project in our online portfolio, giving it even greater exposure.