One of the most stressful parts about my job, surprisingly, is not the actual creation of the invitations but hitting the send button on an email to a client for them to see my design for the first time. EEEK!
I feel so much pressure and worry. “What if they don’t like it!?”
Really, it’s pretty hit and miss.
Often I am given a sentence or two description of what a client is looking for. “Old Hollywood Glamour with pink, charcoal, and black for colors.” Or “vintagey, circus glamour using purples and chartreuse and pops of red and turquoise.” That’s great, but I always want to just interrogate them for more information. :) Do you want an accordian style invite? A booklet? Separate pieces all layered into an envelope? Do you hate stripes? Are you opposed to animal silhouettes? Do you like this look more than that look? What about wording; more formal or more casual?
Instead, I take what I get and just use as much as I can to inspire my ideas of what I think they want to see. Always in the back of my mind I know that I might be totally off! And I know that most likely there will be changes! And that’s okay with me…because I can only do the best I can do with what I’ve been given to work with…and changes are to be expected! There’s no way I can nail all of those elements perfectly the first time around, especially when I don’t even have all the details like the spouse’s name, or the time of the event, so I can’t take it personally. I’ve had to learn that the worst case scenario is the client might tell me they are looking for something more like “such and such.” Then I can go ahead and make exactly that- so I end up getting what I wanted in the first place: more description and specifics. Right!? That’s really not so bad.
Really, my job would be a lot easier if I was just told exactly what to make! Duh, because the hardest part of my job is the research and coming up with the idea and the look. If only I could just be the middle man- you tell me exactly what you want and I’ll make it, but no thought has to go into it for me. Fabulous.
Nah…I really don’t want that. The BEST, most FUN, and most REWARDING aspect of my job is the hardest part….and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
I’ve realized that my job really is to use my ideas and personal style to create invitations for my clients that are stylish and “in” right now, and to create something my clients may not have been able to envision themselves- as I am finding out is often the case. As time goes on I am becoming much more aware that my clients often don’t know what is “in” or exactly how they want their invitations to look. This is such a foreign concept to me because as I planned my wedding, my invitations…and even now as I plan my house remodeling…I know EXACTLY what I want the end result to look like and I am very picky about not liking certain elements! I guess I just assume when I send my first draft of invitation ideas on to a client they will be that way too! So far, not the case. How cool!
That’s what being a designer is I think. At least to me, a designer is someone who puts their own vision & interpretation of an idea onto paper (or canvas, or wood, etc right?). People come to designers to have THEM create the look, to do the work for the client instead of the client doing it themselves! It’s a lot of trust really for a client to hand off the design of something important, whether it be invitations or a logo, to the creative genius of someone else.
So, when I create an invitation or a logo or anything else, I create it as if it was my own. I put my whole heart and soul into it as if this was the invitation I would be sending for MY birthday or the logo I’d use for MY business, and that way every piece of work I do is not only one hundred percent completely me and my vision of my clients description, but more importantly is created as if it was the most important assignment I’ve received. I hope my clients are able to see and feel that passion!
Here’s a sneak peak of the initial Circus Glam Invitation suite for the uberly stylish Jeanne E. You can click it to view a larger version. Some names & personal information such as the address have been changed to prevent a bazillion uninvited guests from appearing on Jeanne’s front door for the party! 🙂
First draft…here we go with hit and miss, right?
My thought is those bottom accessory pieces will be laser cut in that fun shape. They will be inserted into a brown Kraft envelope that will be attached to another card with the purple striping on it. Fun fun!
Of course, this invitation could change a ton, or maybe not at all, depending on if I hit it close or not.
In the meantime, the anticipation is nerve wracking! Hope YOU like it at least! 🙂
Tags: circus, creative, graphic design, inspiration, invitation design, paper goods, paperie, wedding
