How Can You Create a PDF Document?

How can you create a PDF document, such as a sales sheet that can be customized with a vendor's logo and contact information?

I’m a designer (for over 30 years) and I can tell you that is a tricky dance. I’ve learned that the most important step in designing for any client is asking the right questions, then listening to their answers. Politely accept the info t give you, but always ask questions to get the real information you need. You’ll be surprised how much more information you’ll get, besides the answer to your specific question, when t start talking. Things to consider. Deadline, obviously Do your homework. Before your first meeting or before your first design presentation, research their competition. You don’t necessarily have to talk about their competition, but your research will help you ask questions. If the client talks about their competition, then take that opportunity to mention something you noticed in your research. “In doing some background work before our meeting, I noticed that XYZ Company puts more emphasis on speed than accuracy in their advertising.” This tells your client that a) you prepare in advance and b) you’re taking the competition in consideration in order to better serve them. T will be impressed. Do your first and last design presentations in person if possible. Dress appropriately and mount your concepts separately on foam core if you’re presenting to more than one person. You can do the same thing via a PowerPoint presentation, but I’ve found most clients like to hold and pass around something that’s printed. For the second and subsequent rounds of revisions, email is acceptable. I like to do the final presentation of the completed logo in person. Bring mounted print samples of business cards, stationery, small cartons, labels, whatever is appropriate to their business, etc. Do a digital mockup of their website’s homepage and present that on your laptop screen or PowerPoint. Being there in person reinforces your identity and it’s a nice personal gesture. How will t use the logo? Besides basic brand identity, will t put it on exterior packaging? Digital? Business cards? Direct mail? Print advertising? Specialty/giveaway items? Trade shows? Product labels?Even if you think the answers are a given, ask anyway. You’ll get valuable feedback not only from what t say, but how t say it. Is this a new logo for an established company/brand or a logo for a brand new company? If you’re designing a replacement for an existing logo, be prepared that some of the decision makers will likely be attached to the old one. Don’t take this as a personal critique of your work, because it’s indicative of an internal struggle within their company. If you detect a lot of resentment toward changing an old logo, offer one revised concept that is based somehow on increments of the old logo. That will help smooth the way for those who are resisting change and position you as a designer with both sensitivity and skills. Even the resistors will respect you for honoring their old logo. T may get outvoted in the end, but t’ll still like you. Always court favor with everyone in your client’s business. It will come back to you over and over in repeat business. Don’t depend on your client’s ability to tell you what t really want. Most of the time t won’t know what t want until t see it. Don’t pour your heart and soul into the first round of designs. Show your client no more than 3 basic design concepts, then listen closely to their reactions and feedback. It’s very rare to hit a home run on the very first try. I call these sacrificial designs. When your client sees them, most likely, t will suddenly be able to articulate what it is t DON’T want. Non-designers aren’t as able to visualize as we are, so t can’t tell you accurately what t do/don’t want until t actually see the first design attempts. Accept that you will, at some point, be asked by your client to make a change in your work that’s a really BAD design choice. To head this off at the pass, make it a part of your design process to always explain your rationale either verbally or in writing or both. Do this before you ask for feedback. Say something like ‘Here are 3 design concepts. Let me tell you a little about each one.’ Then, proceed to explain why you created the elements the way you did - consideration of white space, contrast, visual accessibility, what the graphic element suggests or exemplifies. Never use phrases like ‘this square shape is supposed to represent..’ The word supposed creates a question - does it or doesn’t it? That implies that you’re asking for their judgment. Instead, simply say ‘this square shape represents..’. There’s a lot of psychology involved in being a successful designer. Communication is very important, especially during the first project with a client. It will set the stage for all subsequent communications. Clients are less inclined to make bad design changes when t understand the basic design principles behind your creation. By presenting the client with your design rationale before you get their feedback, you’re giving them credit for understanding why you made the choices you did (before t can tell you to ‘make the font bigger’ or some other thing that designers hate to hear) without being involved in a conversation that might come across as argumentative. Unfortunately, most clients don’t know ‘good’ design when t see it, but t can understand when it’s explained to them. Then, you’ve brought them into your process and made them a part of it. That leaves them with a positive feeling of teamwork and an overall warm feeling for you. Considerations such as the client’s choice of color are less important than what the client wants to communicate. Colors can be tweaked in the last refinements. It’s more important to find out what t feel is the single most important thing about their company or brand to communicate to the world. usually that’s something that t believe sets them apart from their competition. If you’re designing a graphic element to go along with the company name, that element should suggest that quality. For example, if t believe t’re faster than their competition, the logo should suggest speed or motion - letters leaning forward, that kind of thing. That example is a cliche, but it gets the point across. If you can zero in on one big thing that your client is trying to communicate to the world, then you’re off and running. This is probably more than you wanted to know, but maybe it will get you started. Just remember to listen to your client, to both what t’re saying and what t’re not saying. Depending on how comfortable you are with your client, you might even ask if t mind if you record your conversation while you ask questions in the first meeting. Never do it without their permission and if t agree, put your phone (or other recording device) in plain view. If t’re reluctant, abandon the request immediately. If t allow it, listen to the recording over and over while you’re working on the first designs. Often you can hear things on the second or third listen that you didn’t hear before. Good luck!