Be prepared.

One client of ours captured her favorite things with her phone’s camera, showing them to us early in the process. She took assorted pictures of anything that caught her eye:

You’re paying for our creativity, for our ability to create order from chaos, to communicate your message, not for the time we need to solve your specific problem. The time it takes is our burden, not yours (so long as we meet deadlines). Is a brilliant logo worth less because we had the idea during our initial meeting? Is it worth more because we

Be nice.

A young colleague was asked to submit a proposal for a job he really wanted. No budget was given, leaving him agitated about having to make a wild guess. He decided to submit a very low bid—he landed on $5,000—hoping that after they saw how awesomely talented he was, he could raise his fees on the next project. The next day he got the job, but in r

Vision is not a group activity, and the group inevitably interferes with the possibility of greatness.

Reference images can also help where words fail—especially valuable in architectural or interior design projects.

As crucial as it is that you let us know what your brand stands for, it is equally important to let us know who you are.

the contract should include project scope (all services and deliverables included), fees, project and payment schedules, number of revisions, expenses, and final product ownership and usage rights. It should also include a “kill fee” in case the collaboration isn’t working out and you want out (see No. 59, “If It’s Just Not Working”). Hope for the