How Designers Can Manage International Creative Projects More Smoothly

A creative project can now be produced by a graphic designer, web designer, interior designer, or design agency anywhere in the world, working with clients, manufacturers, and developers worldwide. Digital tools allow for near-instant communication with collaborators.

Nothing stops designers and their clients from working worldwide, opening up new ideas and approaches to specialization. However, while these projects may be ideal for creativity, different time zones, communication methods, currencies, and production workflows can create difficulties that affect project management.

Managing an international project has little to do with where the design work is done and everything to do with having a solid process system in place from the outset.

Establish a Clear Workflow Before the Project Begins

Most international design difficulties start before the creative work begins. Confusion over roles, timelines, and approval decisions is common throughout a design project. These difficulties can be cleared up by establishing a clear framework for the project’s overall workflow before it begins.

First, create a workflow. These are the tasks required to complete a project. This could include creative development, client feedback from the technical team implementing the design, and final approval by the creative designer. Each person should know when their part of the workflow starts and what information they need to complete it.

Your team should establish the tools it will use early on. These can include design and development tools as well as project management software to track progress and to ensure all parties are aware of upcoming deadlines. Cloud-based storage can also help designers on international projects by enabling them to create and share a replicable folder structure and ensure they are working from the most up-to-date version of a file.

Scheduling meetings can be complicated across different time zones. To work around this, designers can set up overlapping hours to complete important discussions while working asynchronously on routine updates.

Following a strict workflow in the initial stages of a project may seem too bureaucratic. However, doing it this way at the start actually gives designers more freedom during implementation.

Plan for International Payments and Project Expenses

A creative project can involve more than just a designer getting paid by a client. A US-based design studio might work with an illustrator from another country, use custom materials, work with a local photographer, or work with a production partner in that country.

For example, a U.S.-based design studio working with an illustrator, supplier, or production partner in Mexico will need to account for the practicalities of international payments. Before the project begins, the studio can research how to send money from USA to Mexico, taking into account exchange rates, transfer fees, and processing times. Factoring these details into the project budget and payment schedule can help avoid unexpected costs or delays later in the creative process.

It doesn’t matter whether the collaborators are next door or in a different country. Payment schedules need to be agreed upon at the outset of the scope of work.

This can also affect the cost of outsourcing work, such as commissioning custom artwork or illustrations, or even the cost of materials for a production. A designer must factor in any exchange rate changes over the life of a long project to provide the most accurate cost quote possible.

While it’s best to separate the financial aspects from the design aspects of a project, the design team can focus on design while handling administrative and financial issues along the way.

Make Communication More Visual

For designers, much of their work communicating ideas and feedback already happens visually.

Key design concepts in progress or under development can also be communicated visually through annotated mockups, prototypes, reference boards, and even annotated screenshots with changes highlighted.

For feedback, be specific rather than amorphous. ‘Make it more modern’ or ‘this doesn’t feel right’ is likely to generate multiple rounds of refinement. If commenting on a design element, clearly state changes required to that element rather than starting from scratch.

It is also important to keep written records of decisions made in meetings afterward so everyone remembers them the same way.

Account for Local Production Differences

A design that works perfectly in one market may need changes in others.

The way you produce printed items can differ greatly from country to country. Not only print sizes and paper types, but also packaging, electrical components, manufacturing processes, and color reproduction can differ significantly. Even commonly used colors can look different on local printing equipment and materials.

Ask for production technical specifications before finalizing files to send for production, and request samples, proofs, and prototypes to catch issues before a full production run.

Local partners are usually best placed to understand local production limitations, know which suppliers are best suited to a particular job, and have previous experience producing in local factories.

Build Extra Time Into the Schedule

When working on an international creative project, it is wise to allow for a little more flexibility in the planning than you would with a purely local project.

International projects benefit from having extra time. While a deadline on a calendar looks good, shipping delays, national holidays, customs, and different working hours can affect the timeline. Add these to normal project risks and build buffers into key milestones, especially printing, fabrication, shipping, and installation.

Rather than seeing this as another obstacle on the road to great designs, incorporate it into your risk management. Build time buffers into the key milestones in the print, make, move, and put up phases of your project.

Do not make the final client deadline depend on all other tasks being completed just in time.

Treat Distance as a Design Constraint, Not a Barrier

While working internationally can add complexity to a creative project (due to the lack of face-to-face contact), it also offers ample opportunities to improve your workflow and processes.

Clear documentation, organized files, precise feedback, and realistic schedules are generally good practices that help complete any project. The designer’s job becomes slightly more complex when working with a team remotely.

When a well-organized team speaks the same language (formally or informally), physical distance becomes just another project constraint. The creative process can flow freely, drawing on talent and ideas from across the globe and utilizing the best tools and platforms to organize and manage all aspects of the project.