Final Completion (1500 words)
Project
As a digital marketing student I wanted to use my CIPM project to produce an artefact which would allow me to use creative elements I had gained in my first year to deliver a professional set of deliverables to a client.
I decided to work with a new jewellery designer who wanted to develop his personal designing/making business. This would entail creating supporting brand material: a logo, website, social media page and business cards. As I could produce these items myself I did not need to collaborate with anyone other than my client. To plan the works I created a work breakdown structure in MS Project, a Risk Assessment and SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities & Threats) analysis to help me scope and manage the project.
Process
Everything produced links back to the initial questionnaires filled out during interviews. From this client brief I had a good idea of what my client was looking for and having researched the reference sites he suggested, I was able to start producing the elements of my artefact. I agreed with my client that I would produce a logo, a business card, a Facebook page and website. I created flowcharts of these elements to identify stages I needed to follow to create these.
The first key item to produce and agree on was the logo. This would then be used on all elements so was crucial to get right early on the in process. Having produced a set of sketches which my client liked the direction of he selected one to develop further.
A second key item was the typeface to be used and I considered demographics, legibility, copy length, serif vs sans, font family size, special features and media before selecting (with Harry) the final typeface.
The business cards could then be produced, checked off against the client brief, and sent to my client for approval. I mocked up the cards in Adobe Photoshop for client review and sign off. These were then sent to print. At the start of the project I aimed to develop designs solely on the ‘create your own’ side of the business card printing and creating website. As it went on I realised that this was not the most practical, or professional way of doing thing and moved production to Adobe Photoshop. I had initially planned to create the business cards last but changed this to allow for time taken to print.
The logo could then be transferred onto the social media page created on Facebook. This was supported by the photos of products, supplied by my client, which I was able to put into a portfolio album and slideshow to animate the landing page. A key photo was selected for the cover page which would be used on the landing page of the website for consistency.
I could then develop the website material using the logo developed and the key photo from the landing page with a gallery of products developed to date and the ‘Contact’ page requested. My client had already purchased the domain name on GoDaddy.com. Once we had agreed the content I was able to publish the website using my client’s domain this.
As well as the work breakdown structure and Risk Assessment I had created a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities & Threats) analysis. Working through the project I could see that the Strengths and Opportunities had been accurately detailed, that the weaknesses were mixed as I did not in the end find producing the logo as difficult as I had thought but I did find time allocation & Wix/Blog posting slightly more problematic. I was however pleased that the Threats identified were all manageable.
Merits & Problems
While I did worry that the final elements were on the ‘simple’ side this was what my client was looking for, and extremely pleased with. Having researched similar businesses this clean and simplistic look is fitting for his area.
Although most of the project risk factors were managed well I did struggle with time allocation and would, in hindsight, have updated the work breakdown structure as I went along to have a clear, visual clue as to when elements were not running totally to time.
I am happy with how the logo and business card designs turned out, meeting client expectations and looking extremely professional. These gave me a boost of confidence to continue the project with, and helped me in times of stress.
I am pleased with the Facebook page I created, however I would not have chosen the username that my client did. Adding the word jewellery to @harrisonbeasant mean that the username ran one letter over one line. This did not seem to be a problem to Harry, who still preferred it as it gave more explanation of what his business was. As this was a project about meeting the needs of my client I uploaded the page with his chosen username, putting creative differences aside.
With the website element I had more problems using Wix than expected. Although it is a fairly easy to operate software, I could have anticipated it taking longer as it was my first time using the service. The website produced keeps to the clean and simplistic style, but still has elements that could be improved. I was unable to get rid of the Wix banner advertisement or change tab icon to my client’s logo as he only wanted to use the first premium plan, which only hosts the custom domain name. This was to be later upgraded by my client, who only wanted to do so when he had more material to upload to the website.
I had not created a blog before so created most of my text off line and put it onto a documentation blog towards the end of the project. I had to spend a bit of time learning how to best layout the content etc and did not allow time in the work breakdown plan for this. When inputting the documentation I discovered that a blog format was actually a very useful way of sorting out content and would potentially use it on future projects.
Improvements
Although I had allowed for a feedback loop with my client, having four elements to create, to a professional standard, meant I did not have enough time to incorporate very late last minutes adjustments. These however can be addressed as I would like to further develop the website with him in the future.
I would also like to continue to develop it further with my client and to ensure search engine optimisation tools are applied to the site to enhance its ranking once my client has more product information to load.
I would have loved to include a video piece showing my client at work but commercial constraints from his main employer and workshop manager prevented this. If in future my client wants to further develop his own line of products this is something I would like to consider.
Conclusion
Overall, I am happy with the quality of the artefacts produced and with the overall project management but would in future allow more contingency time to ensure that unexpected developments could be addressed in good time. This would have taken a lot of stress off me, especially towards the end of the project.
Although I had allowed for the Christmas break I had not considered any slippage time to cover the way I was ill for two weeks or for last minute adjustments my client would like to make.
However, my client now has a logo, business cards, a social media page and a website to give him a good platform to promote his business in the future. As he was very pleased with what was produced, and it was all done within the deadline, I feel the project has been a success.
Zhi Ong - UP844415 