Industry insights: independent fashion
By Annette Wagner
Most of us are acutely aware that the mainstream ‘fast fashion’ industry generates mass-produced garments directly to the retail floor in only a few weeks, and consumption comes with a hidden price tag. The ‘slow fashion’ movement has personally made me more conscious of the pieces I seek out and the designers that have a unique approach. Additionally, when Australian fashion is still relatively young compared with UK, European and US markets (despite our recent milestone highlighted in the brilliant exhibition ‘200 years of Australian Fashion’ held at National Gallery of Victoria, Australia) how does a label start, compete and compare in fashion landscape?
Behind the racks, I really don’t know much about the fashion industry at all, so I asked Melbourne-based Australian label Chorus' Cassandra Wheat and Louise Pannell about their experience.
How exactly did two high school textile friends transition into business together? What was the exact point that you both committed and started planning to launch Chorus?
In 2012 Cassandra had just returned from five years of living overseas to take up a position at RMIT, knowing she didn’t want to go back to designing for another brand. I was working at Mimco as their Visual Merchandising Manager and found out I was expecting my first child. We’d discussed starting some kind of label or business on and off for years and when I was on maternity leave it seemed like the right time to take the leap and start something. It really happened quite fast in the end.
What are your roles within Chorus?
Cassandra – Design, toiling, sampling making, fabric sourcing and selection, production management, Marketing and social media.
Lou – Day to day operations and finance. Running the website, email design, customer orders/ relations, PR - managing the relationship with press and stylists. In saying that we each step in and out of many of the above roles, and both do what needs to be done on any given day. Cas can invoice and I can cut out production if need be!
Cassandra, after graduating from RMIT with a BA in Fashion with Honours, then completing a masters in design at Domus Academy before working for Viktor & Rolf, you are now now currently undertaking a PhD in fashion. Have you always been so focused on fashion and pursuing your passion and career?
Yes, since I was very young in fact - there are sketch books of imaginary labels from my primary school years. That does not however mean that I have not doubted this path many, many times. Studying my undergraduate was hard, as was my masters and even more so my time at Viktor and Rolf, and I must say the work just gets harder, but I can’t imagine what else I would do. I have also, as made obvious by your question, been interested in pushing my education, taking that into the research space gives me a perspective not many practicing fashion designers have.
Louise, after studying Visual Merchandising at RMIT, working in the industry here and abroad for over 13 years and consulting at many big name brands, how has your journey directed you into creating a fashion label here in Melbourne?
What I loved about VM was the fact that its very operational and sales focused as well as creative. (I initially I wanted to do fashion design at uni, but when I met Cas in year 11 and saw how passionate she was about becoming a fashion designer and how dedicated a student she was I knew I wasn’t that person! A career advisor at school suggested the VM course at RMIT and the combination of creativity and retail felt right to me). I come from a family who has run businesses so I think wanting to work in sales and for myself is in my blood. Especially after the arrival of my first daughter I knew I wanted to work and work hard, but I wanted to channel my skills, time and energy into building something over the long term that was ours. I knew Cassandra and I would be able to run a business together, having been such close friends for so long, and knew our combined skills would work well. Cassandra has the design and making skills and I have the practical organisational skills that are required to run the business. And I still get to be creative with our shoots and image making, and in the past (and I’m sure again in the future) at our events and retail space.
In such a competitive industry, what sustains both of your interests in building Chorus and continuing in fashion?
We are working in rhythm now that just keeps things moving, having a resolved creative output every month gives us the opportunity to feel like we have achieved something good really often. So celebrating the small things helps. Also working with others in the way we do – collaborating with another creative for every second outfit - is very stimulating creatively, sharing ideas and making the work of others come to life is very sustaining.
Chorus has a unique approach to launching new designs. What inspires your monthly capsule concept?
It was really a response to feeling like the traditional fashion calendar of bi-annual collections was not working for us – on many levels. It was involving continued large investment, leaving us with stock we had to clear, and only providing us with two sets of images per year to promote our work with, so we had to shift. This way we can offer the newness people want from fashion in a manageable way.
Knowing the right people is critical in most industries. How important is networking in your industry?
It is important for sure, but for us it’s more about building relationships with like minded people that encourage us.
What has been harder, getting started or being able to keep going?
Keeping going with out a doubt. Starting was a lot of man hours, but keeping going demands innovation and flexibility.
I think its safe to say that the fashion industry is predominately women. How supportive are women in the industry?
There are actually a lot of men in the industry, particularly at the top, and in the past we have both worked alongside many talented men and women. It depends in what part of the fashion industry you are in, for sure in our sector of independent labels in Melbourne there is a swing towards women. I think there is a perception that the fashion industry is very closed and that brands keep their secrets and don’t support each other, however I feel like the network of Melbourne designers is very supportive of each other.
How important was working OS for you both? And, why?
Cassandra - For me it was pivotal, I think being from Australia we feel we are somehow inferior to countries that have larger industries and longer histories of the discipline. It was important to prove to myself that I could gain employment in a fashion house that showed in Paris. That being said my job there was so similar to those I had had in Australia, it really highlighted that skills are transferable and that my RMIT education was a good one. Travel also gives a great perspective on your own culture, I think its important to keep travelling, and wish I could afford to do it more.
Lou – I agree with Cassandra, it was vital time of learning and discovery for me. Being tested in all the ways a new city and country can test you – not being able to find work, not having your support network around you and literally have no money, to finally getting my ‘dream job’ which was the VM for Mimco when they launched in the UK. Working for an Australian brand trying to establish itself in the UK was a challenge as the UK and Ireland is such a broad, established and saturated retail environment. At the same time it was lovely to work with familiar people (Australian HQ and lots of Aussies in the UK stores) and brand. It was a hard slog, but again I learnt so much about people and communication and working in different cultures and across very distant time zones! The retail environment in the UK, particularly London is so inspirational. I loved nothing more than heading into central London on the weekend and checking out Liberty, Selfridges or Harvey Nichols latest windows and collections.
What is the Australian fashion industry like compared to UK/European industry?
The Australian industry is small and it doesn’t have the hundreds of years of history, which is great in one way as we get to be more innovative as we don’t have the established rules of working. However, because we are not so established and also a relatively small population compared to the other big fashion centers of the world there is not the investment or support for Australian fashion brands as there is in UK, Europe or the US. In saying that the advent of the Australian Fashion Chamber recently has been a positive step for the support and strengthening of the industry both here and overseas.
Where do you often find the most inspiration?
In working with other creative women. Working with our various creative collaborators’ provides us with endless inspiration.
What is the best advice you have ever been given?
To always follow your gut and that cash flow is king!
Do you have any recommendations for others wanting to pursue a career in fashion?
Don’t do it unless you mean it and although it’s a cliché, you have to be prepared to give it your all.
Collaboration 101: Painting
Making an art piece with another artist is so rewarding, whether it is a small illustration, a series of canvases or a giant mural. Together, you can make things you could never create on your own. You can teach each other new techniques, finish bigger projects and reach new audiences.
For shy people (like myself) it's also one of the best ways to network both at home and when traveling. You can easily reach out to an artist you admire, and meet up to do something you both love.
A successful collaborative piece achieves a common vision. It uses each artists strengths to create a result that is unique and that they could not have created alone. After painting with someone, you should feel that the piece is a good joint effort that displays both your skills, surprises you in a good way, and that you are both proud of.
When collaborating goes wrong, the final result leaves you feeling that you've compromised your art and ended up with a piece that is below your standard, looks disharmonious, or favours the work of only one of you. Here are a few tips that can help you avoid that:
Develop a shared vision
Choose a theme that you are both excited about and that you are both comfortable painting. It can be something broad that you both draw inspiration from, or as specific as a particular type of animal. Take time to discuss ideas and experiences around it.
Agree on a common goal, discussing what effect you'd like your piece to have on people. Maybe you are trying to create something calming, communicate a political message, or just weird everyone out. Whatever it is, it should be clear to both artists before you start.
Share inspiration and ideas visually. If you have particular colours, reference photos or artists that inspire you, show them to each other (apps like Pinterest are a great way to do this).
Plan your process
Think carefully about your colour palette. If you paint with heavy contrasts, and the other artist uses subtler colours, your work might overpower theirs. Discuss how you can adjust your use of colour to complement each other's work.
Be mindful of each other's rhythm. One of you might paint a lot faster than the other. Keep this in mind when setting up your workspace and your timeline so that no one feels rushed or bored. Spend some time getting to know your own rhythm so you can communicate about it.
Delegate sections of the painting to each other, choosing in advance which elements will be painted by who. You should both be happy with what you are painting, and if one of you is uncomfortable about their section, discuss alternatives. Share tasks and sections that you might both consider monotonous or challenging.
Communicate openly
Before, during and after the painting, chat regularly about your experience and how it's coming along.
Be honest but constructive with your feedback. Before criticizing the other, question your reason for doing so: is something compromising the quality of the work, or are you just not liking it because of your personal preferences? If you think you need to speak up, do so in a sensible way.
Give each other advice in a respectful way. One of you might be more experienced or more skilled, but avoid turning the painting into a one-sided coaching session.
Respect each other's art
Stay flexible and open minded to things not going exactly as you expect. Remember that the result will be something you could not create individually. Respect that your styles might be very different, and try to use those differences to create a dynamic piece. Don't try to control each other's creativity.
Don't make major changes to the piece without consulting each other. If you feel the need to paint over the other's work, speak to them first.
The more you collaborate, the more you'll get to know what works for you and what your boundaries are. Why not get started? If there's an artist you'd love to work with, message them today and invite them to create with you.
Júlia Palazzo is a visual artist from Brazil. Since moving to Melbourne in 2013 she has been running a partnership, Mayfield Palace, creating mural art for businesses and organisations all over Australia. She shares her art daily on Instagram: @julia.palazzo
How to chuck a sickie when you're self employed
By Jes Egan
Taking a sickie when you are running your own small business can be a very hard thing to do, with too much to do and no-one other than yourself or a few employees to pick up the slack. Sometimes it’s harder to accept illness and take a day to recover than it is to just keep on going and to put your health on the back burner.
When you are running a small creative business you are often doing a bit of everything, if not everything and having a day off sick can mean that things don’t get done on time or get done at all and this can lead to a loss of income, unhappy clients, delays etc. But sometimes an illness or bug will just stop you in your tracks.
Don’t feel guilty about taking a day to look after yourself, to be able to continue your business running you need to be fighting fit. And to do this sometimes it means you have to spend a day or two in bed, doing nothing, other than resting and recovering.
Here are a few of my tips on how to manage such days when they come around:
Write a list
Write down all the things you were planning on getting done that day, the little things plus the big things. Put it all down on paper or online so that it is out of your head.
Prioritise
Look at that list and prioritise it: is there anything that absolutely has to be done this day? If so, is it something that can be done from your bed or couch? Move all other non-vital tasks to the next day or later that week.
Delegate
If you have the option to delegate anything from that list then do so. Getting help where you can is really important to reduce your workload on these sick days. If you need to deliver, pick up, place an order etc then ask a friend or relative if they could help you out with that task.
Do it early
If you have to do something that can’t wait and that no-one can help you with, then do it early in the day so you can rest and not worry for the rest of the day. Get it over and done with so it isn’t weighing on your mind.
Manage expectations
If there is a knock-on delay for delivery from you taking a day or so, send a few emails and let people know that this is coming. Manage their expectations so when you are back you have less work to tidy up. It will also stop people chasing you up and hopefully stop any anxiety you may have about the delay. If you are a heavy email user, put your out of office message on, if it is an option. Once you have done what you need, turn your emails or phone off and try to rest fully without distraction.
Don’t feel guilty
Taking time out to look after yourself can be easier said than done - try not to feel guilty or worry about it. Stress doesn’t encourage recovery!
Taking time out and not continuing on is sometimes not an option, but either is looking after yourself. So where you can reduce the workload when you’re sick and take a day to focus on you, because without you there is no creative business.
Jes is a ‘practical creative’ and a very busy lady, doing the business in a digital agency, being an artist and an university lecturer. Follow Jes on Instagram.
Creative blues: five common fears and how to beat them
By Emma Clark Gratton
Working for yourself or passionately following a creative project requires a level of mental toughness and self-confidence that is hard to maintain. Dealing with rejection, financial challenges, working long hours with just yourself as taskmaster… all these things can build up until you are having an existential crisis before your morning coffee.
To make it even more difficult, these days of stunning Insta feeds and #humblebragging tweets can feel that everyone else is kicking goals while you are still slogging away. The reality? Even Frida Kahlo and Gertrude Stein and Madonna have done crappy work, and spent days pottering around in their pyjamas eating toast and not producing much. The people who are at the top of their game aren’t talking about it on Facebook, they are simply doing the work.
Here are some of the most common fears, self-doubting phrases and negative feelings that crop up, and how to deal with them.
I don’t deserve this!
You do. Whether you are taking the giant leap of quitting your day job, or simply ditching a family Game of Thrones marathon to dig out your old painting gear, all creative pursuits are worthwhile and valid. At the risk of sounding like an inspirational Instagram post, we only get one life, so why the hell wouldn’t you give it your best shot?
It is not a matter of 'deserving' or 'earning the right' to be creative. You don't need to justify it to anyone!
But (insert name here) is already doing this waaaaay better than I can!
You know the feeling: you’re feeling pretty good about yourself, chugging along on your creative projects,when a friend/colleague/stranger makes a big announcement. Perhaps they have an amazing book deal, or a huge solo exhibition, or they landed their dream creative job in Japan. You hug them and celebrate, but deep, deep down you feel a little stab of “Why not me? What is wrong with me? Do I suck?”
Morrisey even wrote a song about it: “We hate it when our friends become successful”, which goes “You see, it should’ve been me / It could’ve been me / Everybody knows / Everybody says so.”
This is a hard feeling. This feeling doesn’t make you a bad person (you can be genuinely happy for someone and still be slightly jealous at the same time), but it can be useful to examine that feeling further. Remind yourself of all the cool stuff you HAVE done, and the awesome things you are planning to do. There is room for all of us, and there is plenty of work to go around.
I don’t know what I’m doing!
Want to know a secret? Nobody actually knows what he or she is doing. It is a total ruse! Making mistakes, failing spectacularly, and starting again is all part of life. There is nothing you can’t find help on, either online or by asking people who have done it before.
When you are feeling overwhelmed and lost, try to cultivate a “what if?” attitude. Just try something that feels like a fairly good idea, then go from there. And remember, no one was born knowing how to code, or design, or knit. Learning new things is part of the fun!
But this is too scary/hard/overwhelming!
All the best things are scary. Sometimes, jumping in headfirst is the only way to give yourself the kick you need. But if you are feeling overwhelmed, then break the task down to the smallest component that you feel comfortable with. Want to start your own Etsy business but feeling totally overwhelmed? Just start by making a list of the kinds of thing you could sell. Take tiny, incremental steps towards your goal, then use the momentum to keep going.
I’m too poor/lazy/busy!
Well then, do what you can. Anything is better than nothing, right? Even the busiest working mother with multiple kids and a busy job can find time to crochet a few rows before bed, or scribble out her plans for starting a ceramics business. Work with what you’ve got. Heaps of resources and creative inspirations are free: go to the library and borrow art and business books, practice your floristry using blooms from your garden, or write your novel on your lunch break from your desk job.
Generally, a good way to deal with these kinds of doubts is to allow yourself to fully experience the negative feeling, acknowledge it, and then get on with your day. Let the fear and negativity in, say hello to it, but don’t let it stop you from getting on with being awesome. A favourite quote of mine is “A garden grows where you water it”, which means the things you nurture and pay attention to are what will grow the fastest. This goes for thoughts and actions as well as gardens: prioritise your creative pursuits and see what happens.
If you are genuinely struggling with anxiety, depression or feelings of overwhelm, I cannot stress the importance of talking to someone. Talk to your partner, your mum or a friend who gets it. Otherwise, seeing a counselor is an excellent way to sort out any issues in an objective way, and can help you get back on track. You don’t need to be in the depths of depression to seek professional help. In fact, seeking help when you are feeling good can help you handle the more serious emotions when times are tough.
Branding basics: Communicate your brand
By Mirella Marie
This is Part Two of designer Mirella Marie’s series Branding Basics.
Once you define your brand, you need to communicate it. This is done through a brand identity. An identity supports your brand to convey its values, products and services, and the overall experience you provide your clients and customers. It is one of the most important investments you can make for your business.
What does a brand identity do?
- Communicates to your audience on your behalf
- Differentiates your business from competitors
- Establishes consistency
- Influences perceptions
- Attracts the right audience
- Inspires people to take action
What does it lead to?
- Brand trust and loyalty
- Increased and improved brand awareness
- Stronger credibility
- Higher profitability
- Motivated employees
- Positioning as an industry leader or expert
What does it involve?
Effective brand identity is achieved through the consistent use of strong visual elements to create distinction and differentiation. These are the five fundamentals of a brand identity:
Logo
At the core of every identity is a logo. A logo is used to identify a company, product or service with the use of a graphical mark, symbol or words. It should not literally describe what your business does, but, rather, identify it in a way that’s recognisable and memorable. In order to do this, it must communicate in its simplest form. Ensure that your logo is not complicated or cluttered — it must be legible and readable at 25% of its original size, without loss of detail. Do not include your tagline or any other text in your logo.
Consider the following:
- What kind of message do you want to convey?
- Can your logo be simplified even further?
- Does it differentiate from your competitors?
- Is it legible and readable?
- What makes your logo memorable?
Typography
Typography is the art and arrangement of type that makes written communication readable, legible and aesthetically pleasing. Typography adds tone, subtlety and even context to a message. For example, using a heavy, bold font may be suitable for a builder, but may not be suitable for an architect.
Consider the following:
- What type of message do you want to express?
- Which fonts will best achieve this?
- Are those fonts overused in your industry?
- Does they suitably portray your business?
- Are they legible and readable?
Colour
Colour is one of the most important considerations of a brand identity. It conveys messaging and emotion, and has a fundamental impact on readability, legibility, attracting people’s attention and maintaining engagement. The colours in your identity must have a purpose — if you want to use your favourite colour, ask yourself if it is the right one for your brand. For example, bright red may not be suitable for a masseuse. Warm colours (reds, oranges, yellows) evoke different psychological and emotional responses to cool colours (greens, blues).
Consider the following:
- What kind of message do you want to communicate?
- Which colour(s) will best achieve this?
- Are those colours overused in your industry?
- Are they legible and readable?
- Are they suitable for your brand?
- Are they eye-catching?
Tone of voice
A brand’s tone of voice provides an overall narrative for the brand to speak to its audience. It must complement and communicate your brand’s personality. If your voice is direct, your writing, content and engagement should be brief, clear and succinct. If your voice is outgoing, your writing, content and engagement should demonstrate a responsive attitude to your audience. You must use the same voice across all of your brand’s touchpoints to achieve consistency. If you are outgoing on social media but direct on your website, it will cause confusion.
Consider the following:
- What tone of voice will speak directly to your audience?
- How will you use it to maintain engagement?
- Are you speaking in a language they will understand?
- Are you able to incorporate some of your own personality?
- How do the tone of voice of your favourite brands resonate with you?
Imagery
Humans are highly visual — we first learned to communicate through pictures before words (hence “a picture is worth a thousand words”). Images such as photos, illustrations, and icons are used to visually describe your brand, products and services to your audience, so it is crucial they are clean, clear and easy to recognise.
Where possible, always hire a professional to create your brand's imagery and avoid using photos taken on a smartphone.
Consider the following:
- What do you want to express with your imagery?
- How will you use it to reach the right audience?
- Is it memorable?
- Is it clear?
- Is it of a high standard?
- How do you feel when you see other businesses using low quality images for their brand?
These five fundamentals must be consistent across all your brand communications, including your website, social media, print materials, templates, ads, newsletters, apps, etc. It is this consistency that what will help make your brand memorable.
Remember, your audience is overwhelmed with choice. Presenting your brand with a cluttered logo, unsuitable typography, inappropriate colours, conflicting tone of voice, or low quality images may see your audience turning to your competitors.
Your brand identity is the very first thing people see before even engaging with you, therefore you have one chance to make a lasting impression. The way something is presented will define the way people react to it.
Mirella Marie is the owner and creative director of Vertigo, a Melbourne based graphic design studio specialising in brand identity and design. She is also a contributor for Women of Graphic Design, a project examining the work of female designers around the world. Join her on Instagram @studiovertigo.
Branding basics: Define your brand
By Mirella Marie
This is Part One of designer Mirella Marie’s series Branding Basics.
What is a brand? A brand is more than just a logo. A brand is who you are.
There are five fundamentals that form a brand. One cannot exist without the other, and for a brand to be successful, the fundamentals must work together to communicate everything you think, say and do.
1. Promise
Your brand is a promise to your clients and customers. Incorporating more than just products or services, your brand looks past what you’re selling to reach the feelings evoked in people when they use your products or services. Creating a powerful brand promise is essential, but unless you keep it, your brand will not stand up to the scrutiny of consumers, your industry or the marketplace.
What does your brand promise to deliver?
2. Perception
A brand is identified by the way people perceive it. Developing consumer perceptions that accurately reflect your brand is crucial; otherwise it will suffer limited growth potential. Everything a successful brand does is designed to trigger specific consumer awareness and inspire action.
What perception is your brand creating?
3. Expectation
Consumers develop expectations based on your promise. If you advertise your products or services as being the best in the world, people will expect the best in the world. If your visual communication is careless and unclear, people will expect your products or services to be low quality. If your brand does not deliver, people will become frustrated or confused, turning to your competitors for those expectations to be met.
Are you representing your products or services based on what people expect?
4. Personality
Every brand has a personality. You can determine the personality of your brand by using five key words to describe it, for example: quality, reliable, local, honest, sustainable. Now look at what you’re offering. Do those words accurately describe your brand as it is, or how you wish it were? From the very first impression, people will assess your brand’s personality to determine if they want to engage with it. The best way to measure this is to think of your brand as a human. Ask yourself honestly — would you want to be friends with it?
What would your brand be like if it was a person?
5. Identity
An identity is the visual representation of your brand. The way something is presented will define the way people react to it. If your brand is who you are, your brand identity is what your look like. Humans are highly visual so your customers’ attention must be attracted in a matter of seconds. The most effective way to do this is with an engaging identity. An identity consists of elements such as a logo (name/symbol), typography, colour, copywriting, photography, icons, imagery, etc. All of these visual elements must come together cohesively and consistently to communicate your promise, shape perceptions, meet expectations and define personality. If one of these fundamentals is weaker than others, it can affect your entire brand.
How are you using your brand identity to communicate to your audience?
With so much competition in your industry, does your brand identity stand out, or fit in with everyone else?
Creating a Brand Strategy
To understand how these brand fundamentals work from the perspective of your audience, consider your favourite brands and why you gravitate to them when making your own purchasing decisions.
– What triggers your desire for the products you buy?
– Why do you buy one type of product over another, exact same product?
– What draws you to the services you use?
– What makes you recommend services to people you know?
“Human behaviour flows from three main sources: desire, emotion and knowledge.” — Plato
Assess your own purchasing decisions as a consumer, and then use those factors as the foundation for your brand strategy. This way you will better understand your audience, its needs and its motivations, creating the empathy you need to provide an engaging, memorable experience for your clients and customers.
In a world of information overload, the last thing people need is more of the same. What they need is a reason to believe in you.
Mirella Marie is the owner and creative director of Vertigo, a Melbourne based graphic design studio specialising in brand identity and design for creative and commercial clients. She is also a contributor for Women of Graphic Design, a project examining the work of female designers around the world. Join her on Instagram @studiovertigo.
Project planning 101
By Jes Egan
Being organised is a skill. It’s something that you can learn and refine but it doesn’t always come naturally. I have always been an organiser since a very young age. Today in my day job, that is exactly what I do. I plan and manage projects from start to finish and all that stuff in between. You may be lucky enough to have a specialist around you who will do this, or like many small creative businesses have to become a bit of a jack of all trades and apply this skill to what you are doing. Here are a few of my tips to help plan away.
Project planning
Planning a project at the very beginning before you start the job/work can save a great deal of time, stress and unneeded work being done. It’s one of those things that you can put at the bottom of the list as there are so many more interesting or fun things to get your teeth stuck into. For many people it isn’t the most enjoyable part but is definitely something that I would recommend doing for most projects, not just the larger ones.
Plan the entire project
Define the scope of the project clearly and precisely, make sure you have set the parameters of what you agree to do before you start. Try and define this at the beginning so you don’t have what we call scope creep, doing things for free that you didn’t originally agree or quote for, unless they’re prepared to allow you to charge more for it. Knowing what you are doing at each stage is a massive time saver as you move through the project. This can make you more efficient and make your project more cost effective and possibly more profitable.
Don’t know where to start? Sit down and think about what you need to do. This may be by starting at whatever the end result needs to be and working backwards. Work out what you need to get done and in what order you need to do it in. Start by writing this down as a task list.
Gantt chart milestone plan
Creating a timing plan or gantt chart is common practice and is really helpful. It allows you to plan what order everything needs to happen, factor in supplier deliveries, client approvals and reviews if required. There are many programs that can make this easier for you such as MS Project and Merlin Project or some great free online ones such as TeamGantt. Take the above task list and start to add dates to it, if you have a deadline start from there and work backwards. A good tip that I learnt many years ago is to put any key dates or milestones into a diary/calendar as an additional reminder.
It is helpful to group tasks together under headings in a clear and logical order. Some tasks will be dependent on another task being completed, find these dependencies and pin point them out. Know when if one task is delayed where the knock on effect will hit.
When changes happen such as delays in approval or from suppliers, make sure you map the changes as they happen so you can see the knock-on effect. It’s not always possible to complete a project on the agreed deadline. If there are delays throughout, sometimes you can make up time elsewhere. This isn’t always the case so make sure you update the plan when they happen so it is a realistic completion date and doesn’t leave you stressed trying to do a million things right at the end.
Daily todo lists
A big part of project planning is not just mapping it out at the beginning, it’s following it. I’m a massive list person - I write a new one at least once a day. It keeps me on track with what needs to happen that day and it also gives me clarity and allows me to prioritise what to do when I am overwhelmed. Handwriting lists, using apps or your calendar are all good ways to do this. Start the day by writing one todo list, bringing items over from the previous day that didn’t get completed and add to it. Prioritise it and tick off the items as they are done. The satisfaction of each tick can motivate you to get working on ticking the next one off.
Status meetings
If you are working with a team, suppliers or clients, regular status meetings is a good way to keep progress of how the job is tracking. These don’t have to be too long - simply review your timing plan and check that all items for that day/week are on track. If not, find out why and try to address it or make a plan to tackle it. Make sure any task delays or early completion dates are applied to your timings so that you are keeping as up to date as possible. If it helps, apply a traffic light tracking system to each task, where green = on track, orange = at risk of causing delays and red = delayed / needs attention.
Be realistic
Thinking ahead can save you loads of time in the future. Understanding this and putting the time into this can be boring but it is worth it in the long run. Just remember to be realistic and allow yourself the time to do what you want to do as best as you can do it.
Jes is a ‘practical creative’ and a very busy lady, doing the business in a digital agency, being an artist and an university lecturer, who can creatively be found cutting up a storm at paperchap.com. Follow Jes on Instagram.