The balance between good design and budget allocation is a classic struggle. As critically important as it is to any custom software development project, it can be difficult to allot portions of the budget to the look and feel of an application. So how does one balance this need for rich graphic design and the budget? The key to a custom graphic design project on a budget is information sharing beforehand.

Because miscommunication can often lead to budget overages, making sure you are on the same page can often keep you on-time and on-budget. Here are a few tips to help you approach the graphic portion of your application development project.

Set a clear budget, ahead of time

This can be difficult; no one likes dealing with the numbers. However, between you and your graphic designer, it can often set the scope of the project from the offset. Your graphic designer will know ahead of time the kinds of things that may take too long, and can make suggestions to fit your budget. Additionally, they will have a better way to set time limits on key items you’d like to have done (1 hour to create top header, 5 hours to create the logo). And as we all know, there’s nothing like a deadline to get what you want.

Requirements

This is something our directors of client engagement are very good at; gauging the exact needs of our custom application development and graphic design clients. Here is how we break things down to ensure that nothing gets lost, but priorities are made:

Set of Musts – these are critical to the initial launch of the software application

Set of Maybes – would be nice to have, but are non-essential to the function

Down the Road Enhancements – growth opportunities for future iterations of design

Breaking these down can not only help you figure out the design priorities of your project, but it can give your designer a starting point for the project. It will also pick-off the non-essential items that might bog down budget and time.

Message Alignment

People are just starting to really come around when it comes to the messaging behind graphic design. Its way more than just how the application looks, but who is this design supposed to appeal to? (E.g. a tech user, an older user, a thirteen year-old, a business user). Some of the key things that you and your graphic design company can align on are:

Who are we designing for?

What is the message we’re communicating with the design?

What design follows that particular message?

Specificity is Synchronicity

This is something that we all do. We have a very clear picture of what we want something to look like, but getting that picture to translate to someone else, let alone your graphic design company can be difficult. We have noticed that people are uncomfortable about being very specific about their design needs, but our creative services team welcomes it. The clearer the picture, the better the outcome, and the more in-line you are with budget. Do not be afraid to be specific about the following items:

Exact pixel sizes of images, fonts

The specific font (Calibri, Times New Roman)

Location of images, text (right next to the text box, in-line with the header)

Send examples of the color you are after (not plum, or dark blue)

The last key to this is also the terms that you use, try to steer away from vague terms like ‘make it awesome,’ or ‘I’d like it to look technical.’ Because design is opinion-based, your designer might spend a lot of time on something ‘awesome’ that you may not like. If you have a specific website, image or tangible example, feel free to send it.

Weigh the cost-benefit of stock

Because these are extremely common in modern web application design, there are definitely plusses and minuses when it comes to using stock images or photography. It can seem like it carries a high sticker shock, but here’s how to know if it is right for you, and how it can benefit your budget.

Consider your graphic designer’s hourly rate and how long would it take for them to make a custom graphic? If it is less than the amount to purchase and license the picture, go custom. If not, it may be worth it in time and expectation to purchase the image.

Know that less is more

This is especially true in web application development. Because software and application design is mostly function-driven, it is important to keep only the essential items in a graphic design project. This will help your users interact with an intuitive and simple interface without being confused or overwhelmed.

Learn more about how Amadeus Consulting’s Creative Services team can help you with your graphic design project, and how to keep it within your means.