Sometimes deadlines are self-induced or sometimes they can be client driven, either way, pressure is pressure. Who knows, maybe your best work is done while the clock is ticking down to zero? Or are you more of a slow cooker, simmering ideas to perfection over several days or weeks if you can get them? Whichever way your creative personality leans, it is hard to escape the inevitable reality of deadline pressure in the commercial design world.
My fear is that work done under-the-gun gets sloppy. Extra spaces get missed, paper selections aren’t considered and printing options become limited, stock photos don’t get color-corrected and the ultimate, typos don’t jump out on the page. A tight deadline can create a slippery slope for a good job to go bad when too much of a rush is put on something. What if a URL is misspelled, or a phone number is inverted on a direct mail piece? The call to action is then useless and the whole piece is a failure.
As designers and project managers, ensuring an ample timeline for any project is a necessity to curb these kinds of quick mistakes. Managing client expectations of timing and delivery is key. Closely reviewing hard copies of printer proofs is also important. Looking at a pdf on screen doesn’t always do the trick, especially if you’ve sent a similar pdf to the printer for output. Have you ever tried to ask your client for more time or a project extension? Try it – maybe no one will blink an eye at the request.
How do we handle the creative team that would rather design under pressure and leave everything on their plates to the last minute anyway? It’s hard to change how people work their creative process. Back in college, some of my classmates would work all night on an oil painting the day before it’s due. The painting usually turned out fabulous, but using 3 fans to try dry it an hour before class the next day is a little overboard. I prefer to have time to go back and review my work and improve it.
There are times where pressure is just what you need to get the work pumped out. A looming deadline will make anyone kick it up into high gear and really focus because you have to nail on the first try. There is no time for exploration, just dive in and get it done. I will often have a deadline in my head for a couple days and be contemplating the final outcome. Then sitting down and doing the work is not as hard. But a fast turnaround is a fast turnaround and the standard of quality work can still be there, in fact it can have the best outcome.
If you don’t like pressure just try it sometime – the adrenaline rush can be invigorating. Close down your email and shut off your cell phone, pour a cup of coffee and turn on your hour timer and see what you can get done. Or if you are always racing the clock, try faking yourself out with a day earlier deadline and see if you still can perform. Perhaps you will have time to refine it to perfection OR maybe you are just meant to live in the pressure cooker?
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