(2014) #3 How to Anticipate Design Needs

Now that you know you need interactive content, think about who’s going to build it.

How to

anticipate

design needs

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Now that you know you need interactive content, think about who’s going to build it.

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Congratulations: you’ve rallied your company—or the key stakeholders, anyway—around the idea of interactive content! Great job! So... now who’s gonna build it?

You’ll need someone—a graphic designer or design-savvy marketer—who is willing and able to use an interactive content platform. And if you don’t have that person in-house, you might need to line up external resources. This planning requires equal parts budgeting and trust-building, but it’s not as daunting as it may seem. Every organization is different, of course, and ultimately that means the process and the outcomes are unique. But a few simple steps can help you anticipate your design needs. When you’re allocating resources and beginning to build a business case (more on that in the next piece of the series), the best place to start is to determine what you’ll want to create and who will create it.

Ask the right questions

To plan for a future of interactive, begin with an audit that establishes where your interactive content now stands. Think about the type of content you produce, how much you produce, the production process, and how you share it. Ask yourself:

Who is currently responsible for creating that content?

How many graphic designers are on the team now, and how do they spend their time?

Which teams and individuals currently need creative content? Brand and marketing? Human resources? Sales?

Once you've got a clear understanding of the current state of your content creation process, it's time to envision your future. These questions will will give you the answers you need:

Which teams and individuals would benefit from the ability to create interactive content, and how many interactive pieces would you need to produce each year? (Be honest now…)

Are you planning any pieces that would make great interactive experiences? Which old standbys (legacy content that continues to perform) could use an interactive refresh?

Will you rely on templates for quicker production and scalability, or do you expect to start from scratch on each interactive piece?

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What's the best path forward?

Once you do the content audit and have a solid sense of your future needs, you can decide which path you’ll take to get your interactive content produced. Here are some possible scenarios:

Handle it in-house

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Already got team members who know their way around interactive content? Run with it! Most companies already have a creative team with a few crucial members - a writer, a designer, and a supervisor, such as an editor or creative director. To keep content creation in-house, you'll need the right design platform and the right individuals eager to maximize its potential. If this isn't the case, consider bringing a full-time designer to strengthen your team. Many freelancers are experienced with platforms (like Ceros, for example) designed to facilitate interactive content. Genevieve Gillespie, the media design manager for McCarthy Building Companies, has found that producing interactive content in-house through Ceros has been the company’s best option. She says, “We’ve used developers for interactive content in the past, and it's always involved a lot of back and forth. There are also a lot of last-minute changes that were hard to do with an outside agency. And so when I first learned of Ceros, I realized we could do this in-house, save a lot of money, and empower our employees to make necessary changes to content themselves. Being able to bring that in-house has made it so much easier.” The work of just one or two dedicated designers can go a long way. For example, one designer might build a robust template that marketers or salespeople can customize to their individual needs. Again, the approach depends on the organization and its objectives for interactive content.

Handle it in-house

If your current team doesn’t have the bandwidth to create interactive content on its own, you may have to enlist design help from outside your company to get the job done. This could entail engaging a freelance designer or hiring an agency to oversee the entire creative process. Contracting a freelancer is best for those interested in a more flexible price point, as the freelancer only needs to be leveraged when there’s a specific need for their services. Though of course, that freelancer will likely be juggling the projects of a number of clients at once. Alternatively, you might not even want to think about actually creating the content—you just want it on your site, but don’t especially care how it gets there. In that case, you could work with an external agency that will handle the content creation from start to finish. This option is certainly the most costly, and the turnaround time is longer, but it removes the burden of responsibility from your team.

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Make your case

Once you’ve got a clear idea as to how interactive content creation could work for your organization, and what you’ll need to create it, you’ll probably have to present your case to an exec, like your CMO. Did you fail out of public speaking in high school? Dreaded mock trial meetings? Stay tuned… up next, we’ll run through how to prepare a clean, persuasive business case for interactive content.

What is interactive content?

part 1

Build a team of allies

part 2

Anticipate your design needs

part 3

Make a business case for better content

part 4

Build, track and scale interactive content

part 5

This five step guide gives you everything you need to introduce interactive content to your organization.

Get interactive: the complete series

Request a demo

Start making interactive content. Click now to find out how Ceros can help.

Request a demo

Admit it. You're ready to get interactive. Click now to access the full guide.

Get the guide

Now that you know you need interactive content, think about who’s going to build it.

Already got a staff that’s equipped to make the most of an interactive tool? Run with it! Most companies already have a creative team with a few key individuals—someone to write, someone to design, and someone to oversee the work, like an editor or creative director. To keep content creation in-house with your existing team, you’ll need the right design tool/platform and the right individuals to dive in and make the most of it. If not, consider adding a full-time designer to bolster your staff. Many freelancers have experience working with the platforms (Ceros, for example) that empower interactive content. Figuring out who will actually work in the platform is key. Troy Parks, a senior communications specialist at architecture firm HDR, finds that it works best for his company to have a small team that consistently works on interactive content—in HDR’s case, Troy and a senior graphic designer.

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Handle It In-House

Start making interactive content. Click now to find out how Ceros can help.

Request a demo

What is interactive content?

part 1

Build a team of allies

part 2

Anticipate your design needs

part 3

Make a business case for better content

part 4

Build, track and scale interactive content

part 5

This five step guide gives you everything you need to introduce interactive content to your organization.

Get interactive: the complete series

What is interactive content?

part 1

Build a team of allies

part 2

Anticipate your design needs

part 3

Make a business case for better content

part 4

Build, track and scale interactive content

part 5

This five step guide gives you everything you need to introduce interactive content to your organization.

Get interactive: the complete series