End The Endless Cycle Of Design Revision

Revisions can be extraordinarily frustrating, but we make them anyway, and we do so for a reason. Revisions bring the work closer to the project’s objectives, ensure the design fits with the target audience, and overall, make sure the client is happy with the final result. That being said, it isn’t a perfect process. Designers often end up making more edits to the original work than they initially signed up for, and while some of that is just part of the job, at a certain point, those edits are no longer worth the artist’s time.

Luckily, there are a few ways to put an end to the endless cycle of design revision. While the review stage is crucial to the creative process, it doesn’t need to last forever.

Understand the Brief

The creative brief, a short document outlining the project’s strategy, is the foundation of any design project; it provides clarity, acts as a guide, and gives the artist the full picture of the project’s objectives and goals. Assuming the client doesn’t change their mind about what they want (and they might), the success of the design is often reflected in how closely the end result matches what the brief laid out.

Misinterpreting even one section of the brief can be disastrous; nothing crushes the spirit like showing a client your finished masterpiece only to have them tell you that it looks nothing like what they were hoping for. By gaining a complete and thorough understanding of the brief before diving into the work, artists can rest assured that they are moving in the right direction from the start. Not only will this prevent you from working off of the wrong information, but understanding the brief can significantly reduce the rounds of design revision necessary, as the brief will help you create a design that aligns with the client’s vision.

Make a Design Revision Plan in the Work Contract

The next step in ending the endless cycle of design revision, and an important step at that, is to work your terms for revisions into the graphic design contract. By clarifying exactly how revisions work, you leave no room (or at least, less room) for clients to ask you for more than you signed up for.

Lay Out How Revisions Work

Sometimes, clients truly are looking to take advantage of the artist they hire, but more often than not, clients will ask too much of designers simply because they don’t know how the process is supposed to work; they aren’t aware of what all goes into bringing the final piece to life. The solution, then, is to let them know.

Designers can do this by keeping their clients in the loop as they move through revisions. For instance, you could send an email at the start of each round of design revision that reiterates the changes the client has requested and specifies which round you’re on. By doing this, clients will not only be clear on what they can expect from you, but be confident that the project is moving forward as it should.

Clarify What Counts as a Design Revision

The term “design revision” isn’t all that specific – depending on who you ask, a revision could be anything from changing the color of the text to basically starting from scratch. To make sure you and the client are on the same page, clarify:

• What counts as a major revision
• What counts as a minor revision
• How you plan on billing both of those possibilities in your work contract

It can help to provide a few examples of each.

In addition, clarify what constitutes a round of revisions. An easy way to do this is to set a specific amount of time for clients to give their comments after sending the work over for review (making sure the timeframe is long enough for them to fully articulate their thoughts). Then, the changes you make to the design based on that set of feedback will count as one round of revisions.

Set a Limit for Revisions

To prevent misunderstandings down the line, specify how many rounds of revisions you are willing to make right off the bat. The exact number will vary depending on the project’s complexity, but regardless, it should be clearly stated in your work contract.

If a client wants additional revisions beyond your agreement, you have options:

• Bill for additional time (recommended for maintaining client relationships)
• Say “no” outright if necessary
• Offer complimentary revisions occasionally to build goodwill

The key is to describe the procedure for extra revisions in your contract so clients are aware of your terms before asking.

Utilize Proofing Software

A well-written, well-understood creative brief and a thorough design contract can go a long way in shortening the revision process, but to truly streamline review and approval, you’ll need some help from technology. Proofing software ensures that the feedback you receive is useful, your work stays on track, and communications run smoothly.

Improved Feedback

Like misunderstanding the brief or having an inadequate work contract, poor quality feedback can throw a wrench in your timeline. When feedback isn’t clear, revisions stretch out far longer than necessary, designers end up implementing the wrong changes, and time gets wasted redoing work.

With Ashore, you can rest assured that the feedback you receive will be clear, direct, and actionable. Instead of vague comments regarding the piece as a whole, reviewers can point to something directly and comment on it, as their feedback is tied to a specific location on the proof.

Automated Communications

Proofing software can also reduce the time spent on design revision by automating communication. Designers often send work for review, then wait indefinitely for clients to respond – a problem amplified when multiple people are involved.

On Ashore, you can:

• Send fully customizable automated emails reminding clients to review
• Specify the time of day those reminders are sent

This keeps projects moving without requiring manual follow-ups from the designer.

Get Your Designs Approved Faster With Ashore

With:

• Contextual commenting for better feedback
• Automated communication to reduce the designer’s workload
• Version stacking and categorized cloud storage for organization
• Proof timelines for process transparency

Ashore has all the tools you need for a better review process. Once you set up your workflow, the process practically runs itself.

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