“Do you remember that piece you worked on last year? It had a picture of a man or a woman on the cover, a headline and some different colors on it?” A question that I am asked almost every week by a client.

I work on an average of 400 to 500 print project per year and I have found that the most important aspect of my job or skill I can bring to the table is to be organized. Running an agency or an In House design team requires the ability to know what and where every piece of collateral and it’s native files are at. Being able to repurpose a flyer, brochure, trifold, etc…is a time saver at minimum but more importantly, a dollar saver. Being able to turn around a small project like those gives me the time to be creative on higher profile projects, mailers, web campaigns, etc…

My advice to any young designer is that creativity and artistic ability are a great skill but organization and a mind for business is what will give your career legs. Partnering with and working with folks in sales and leadership roles has shown me that no timeline is ever real and most of them consist of needing it yesterday. I wish I could tell you that I have ever been in a position to say “No” but it has never happened and probably never will. Being able to be organized and make a client feel as if you are accomplishing the impossible for them and give them the tools to sell their product or market their materials  is what design is all about. Dollars, dollars, dollars is the name of the game.

A good naming structure has always been the key for me and placing that tag somewhere in the design footer to help me locate a native file has been a lifesaver. I have come to organizations that have no file database or name and it shocks me every time. Placing a file folder called “Sales Brochure 2016” is about as easy to remember and find as “Flyer”.

As I reach my 20th year in this industry I reflect back on lessons learned and experiences and I have come to realize that the business of design is more about business than design and that a common sense approach is what has gotten me this far.