Can you be creative and structured?
You probably know what we’d answer to this.
At Top Left Design, we pride ourselves on being “Efficient, Effective, and Reliable”
It’s one of our core values! We do believe that it’s crucial in a creative business to adhere to good systems and structure.
And while we continue to improve, here’s a list of things we have applied structure and systems to:
🦜 Communication:
- We use clear and concise messaging to communicate our brand.
- We have a structured onboarding process for new clients.
- We have a structured onboarding process for internships.
- We provide regular progress updates to clients.
- We gather feedback at each stage of the project.
- We use structured templates for proposal and contract creation.
🎨 Design and Code
- We follow a structured design process to ensure client satisfaction.
- We adhere to established design principles and best practices.
- We have a full briefing process before starting a project.
- Branding is consistent across all marketing materials.
- We’re consistent with ongoing client support and maintenance.
- We use templates and guidelines for consistent document formatting.
🚀 Website Development Workflow:
- We have a well-defined workflow for website development.
- We use project management tools to stay organised and on track.
- We have a structured client feedback and revision process.
- We prioritise tasks and set deadlines to ensure timely delivery.
- We follow a structured approach to website maintenance and updates.
🤩 Marketing and Promotion:
- With our SEO starter kit, we have a structured SEO approach.
- We have a structured approach to email marketing campaigns.
- We have a structured content creation process.
In fact, we’re always reminding people who want to work in this industry that it’s not all about art and feeling free. There are many rules, and some might find it rigid.
Is structure boring? Maybe for some, but not for TLD!
Yes, some may associate “structure” with boring and rigid processes.
However, at Top Left Design, we believe that structure is the foundation for success and unleashing creativity.
These are the reasons why creative businesses need structure:
- Efficiency: Structure streamlines workflows, allowing creative teams to work more efficiently and effectively.
- Consistency: Structure ensures consistent branding and messaging across all marketing materials, reinforcing your brand identity.
- Productivity: With clear processes and guidelines in place, creative professionals can focus on their work without unnecessary distractions.
- Time management: Structure helps creative businesses prioritise tasks, set deadlines, and meet project milestones on time.
- Client satisfaction: By following a structured approach, you can deliver high-quality work that meets or exceeds client expectations.
- Collaboration: Structure facilitates smooth collaboration between team members, enabling seamless communication and idea exchange.
- Creativity enhancement: Contrary to popular belief, structure provides a framework that fosters creativity and encourages innovative thinking.
- Risk mitigation: By implementing structured processes, creative businesses can identify and mitigate potential risks more effectively.
- Client communication: Structure ensures clear and concise client communication, helping to manage expectations and build strong relationships.
- Project organisation: Structure allows for better project organisation, enabling easy access to files, assets, and project-related information.
- Accountability: With structure in place, team members have defined roles and responsibilities, promoting accountability and ownership.
- Adaptability: Structure provides a solid foundation that allows creative businesses to adapt and respond to changing market demands.
- Quality assurance: A structured approach includes quality assurance processes, ensuring deliverables meet the highest standards.
- Efficient decision-making: Structure facilitates efficient decision-making processes, reducing delays and bottlenecks.
- Scalability: With a structured framework, creative businesses can scale their operations and handle larger projects or increased workloads. This is a clue to us we have room to improve as we’re pretty small. In all honesty, I prefer it this way!
- Long-term success: By embracing structure, creative businesses set themselves up for long-term success and sustainable growth. I believe this is why we’ve been here for over 20 years!
Enabling creativity to thrive
At Top Left Design, we understand that creativity thrives within a well-structured environment. Our team combines creativity with strategic planning and efficient processes to deliver exceptional results for our clients.
I have to add, that we also recognise that we are not perfect and that there is always room for improvement. This is why “Teach and Learn” is another of our values! We are constantly learning and refining our approach and internally, there are many instances where we know we can do better.
Putting structure into these makes us feel safe, knowing we’re less likely to get any surprises, and our clients feel secure and informed.
How do you incorporate systems and structure into your business?
