How I Worked with a Graphic Designer in a Recent Build

While designing and developing a new onboarding program, I realized I needed to pull our graphic designer into the mix. The program needed a responsive newsletter template, a program map to orient learners, and some icons for the LMS.

For context, our team of ~20 has one graphic designer who manages multiple learning programs across the organization. And lots of other teams reach out to our graphic designer for program logos, deck templates, etc. They're very skilled and in high demand.

To make the best use of the limited time I had with them, here's what I did to set the project up for success:

Schedule Meeting

I scheduled a meeting as soon as I knew I needed their talent and invited the relevant stakeholders, including the LMS director and my program manager. And I made sure to share the meeting's goal, the agenda, and the ask.

Create Mock-ups

I created some mock-ups of the different assets I needed. The designs didn't have to be perfect, but enough to give an idea of what I wanted. When I did this, I made sure to:

• Use the branding center so I didn't ask for something against guidelines. This also helped me make sure I used colors and images already approved.
• Save the photos I used in the mock-ups so I could send them to the graphic designer too.
• Use the exact language in the mock-ups I wanted the designer to use and label anything where the exact language was unknown.

Tip - If you create your mock-ups in PowerPoint (or some other commonly used tool), you can ask the graphic designer to use this tool in their design too. Then you can change the language as needed or make small edits rather than give the graphic designer more work.

In my mockups, I also listed the challenges certain assets had. For instance, our program map is based on onboarding milestones within the role, but each learner's milestones are different date-wise. So how do we make a program map if we have inconsistent dates? Things like that.

Finally, I pulled from other programs and shared what I did and didn't want to exemplify in their designs. (i.e. "I like that this one is a literal map, but this road has too many curves.") I wrote all these notes within the mock-up so that the graphic designer didn't have to find their notes later.

Write a Follow-up Email

After the meeting, I sent a follow-up email with the key takeaways and next steps. I also shared the mock-ups and pictures referenced and made sure to include everyone who was invited and anyone else who needed to be looped in.

Check-in

Because I was managing all the aspects of this onboarding program, I also wrote my check-in and milestone emails ahead of time, scheduling them out so I wouldn't have to remember. This kept us on pace.

Final Thoughts

I strive to be the person people want to work with. So I'm considerate of other people's workloads and try to set everyone up for success. During the initial ask meeting, our graphic designer shared, "This looks great, very clean!" and "Thanks for making my job easier. I can get this to you next week." I don't always feel confident in my graphic design skills so that feedback felt good. And ultimately, our stakeholders were pleased with the final results. That program is running now and getting lots of high engagement and positive feedback. ??

Working with others is a huge part of Instructional Design!

Design Time with Mandy focuses on elevating your ID craft and the people element of ID. We focus on being client-centered with practical applications for corporate case studies and low-lift, accessible tools.

For this $32.97/month membership you get

• Biweekly workshops (That's 26 workshops a year for less than $400!)
• On-demand lessons to review between workshops
• Real-world case studies and projects with meaningful feedback.
• Weekly emails with further support and resources.
• Member discounts on services and sneak peeks at new offerings.

Build your portfolio and level up your craft by enrolling here.

Aspiring instructional designers and transitioning teachers are also welcome!