Mark’s article, “Graphic Designer – Organized Chaos“, highlights the need for organization and structure from a design production standpoint. But what about the other end of the business?
As the Project Manager and Writer here at Absolute, I get the taste of the production world and sales world every day. Over the last few years, I’ve been able to tame the wild wordsmith in me and get structured. Certainly, I’ve got a long way to go, but here are five things that everyone can use to help get a little structure.
For the Type A personalities that subscribe to the Absolute Truth, this may seem redundant. Maybe you could bestow a little organizational wisdom on us and leave a comment on an organizational tip?
Here are the 5ives.
5 Things A Project Manager Can’t Live Without
1. Clear File Sleeves
Everyone’s going digital, right?
Wrong.
I’m blown away by the amount of paper that exchanges hands. From meeting notes, to business cards, to contracts, to printers proofs, you will touch ink. I load up as much of that information and stuff it into a clear sleeve organized by client as much as possible. That one corner you sketched on during a meeting may just prove to be the most important part of a campaign, so hold on to it for a while.
Clear folders work best because there mystery about what’s inside, especially if its a printer’s proof.
2. Garbage Can
Waste paper basket is too soft of a term. Sometimes, things are just garbage. Knowing what to keep and what to throw keeps you sane. My dad has a system when getting the mail: archive, act or trash. Clutter equals stress, so why stress about clutter?
3. Portfolio Archives
Most people consider a portfolio to be the top 10 or 15 best pieces of work. While that’s true, it’s important to hang on to all of your print work. You’ll never know when someone will want to reprint something. Furthermore, most advertising deals with space and time – specifically placement and duration. Print offers current and potential clients the opportunity to touch the works created. In the world of print, there are so many paper stocks, folds and coatings, its important to be able to showcase that flexibility live and an on a whim.
Luckily at Absolute, Mark’s digital file coding system translates easily into hard filing. There’s around 500 print projects sitting in our print archives ranging from business cards to full scale catalogs. I can pull anything and drop it into a meeting on a moment’s notice.
4. Measuring Cups
An overly weak or pungent cup of coffee can ruin the morning. Enough said.
5. Pens, Markers or Anything Permanent
Things change. Concepts and deadlines ebb and flow. However, writing a concrete idea or deadline in pen delivers a perception of permanence. Perception might be the biggest key to maintaining an organized structure. A business philosophy and mission statement often fuels a company to stay on the same page. Branding by its very nature means to continue along the same beaten path to insure a customer can look at a logo and know exactly what he or she is getting. Writing in ink delivers a message. It’s the same reason why contracts aren’t valid in pencil. Ink is affirming. Keep order. Keep consistent. Be steadfast in yourself so you may be flexible in the world around you. Did I over-analyze a pen? Yes. Do I buy into it? Absolutely.