define "finished" ....
Out of context: Reply #5
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- d_rek0
Working in a small studio that has a large number of glaring inefficiencies, I am constantly confronted with this very issue. Actually having seen some of the documents our clients sign off on (and agree to budget-wise) it really is no wonder that they would ask, "when will it be done?" Part of the problem is that there is no creative personell involved in any up-front client meetings. It is simply our salesman bullshitting his way into the client's pockets.
Huge problem.
For example, when he sells 'brand identity' he has, not once in my experience, brought back a list of items that he has 'sold'. It is simply a document with some numbers and a rough timeline. No deliverables, very little scope and a whole lot of guesswork.
For my freelance clients I have taken the completely opposite approach and I think airey is spot on. Defining expectations, defining deliverables, setting a schedule with milestones, delivery and/or launch dates, is all crucial to 'finishing' a project. My freelance clients get a well-itemized document that lets them understand exactly what they are spending their money on.
Without defining the goals, expectations and deliverables for a project we simply set ourselves to be stuck in a cycle of design perpetuity.