Everyone at Spiral is friendly and easy to talk to. It's important to be professional, but informal efficiency, straight-talking and a can-do attitude go a long way, too.
Our clients have a lot of trust and confidence in us, mainly due to past experiences of working with us, and the control we take over every job to make sure everything goes right.
We are there to help you get things done, so we work hard to make sure you don't miss deadlines or lose track of projects. It's part of our job to stay on the ball, think for you and work out the best way to get the results you want. We're on top of everything constantly - it's the only way. This means most clients hand over a fair amount of responsibility to us. The pay-off is that they are freed up to do what they do best - while we do what we do best.
Management - How Do Clients Work Directly With Our Team?
Spiral takes a unique and highly effective approach to getting things done. Unlike other agencies, we don't have 'account handlers' and we don't just have 'designers'. You work with Designer/Project Managers (DPMs) - friendly, commercially astute creatives with years of experience. So when you talk to Spiral, you always talk to the people who are actually working on your project.
Personal Attention
When you come on board as a client with Spiral, you will work with a team headed by your DPM. They will lead your project and be responsible for your work.
Our clients are more than happy to work with the DPM directly. The DPM builds up a solid, trusting relationship with you, helping you tap into the dedicated support, collective expertise and experience of the entire company wherever required. They also make sure you are fully aware of the solid management structure that underpins everything we do.
Our most senior people also keep in touch with clients throughout a project, or if they need to discuss major issues or changes in overall direction. This helps to instil a genuine sense of confidence in the design process.
Day to Day
When a client needs a job doing they can contact the DPM directly, who then makes the whole team aware of the job by booking it in. The job is discussed internally and the best course of action decided on. The DPM keeps the client very well informed at this stage, interacting with them consistently and regularly throughout each project.
Spiral likes spoken as well as electronic communication - it's amazing what you find out in a good old-fashioned phone call that you would never glean from an email. As a rule we listen carefully and respond quickly whenever a client says something.
Creative Design Solutions
Briefing
First we study your brief and have a good chat with you to find out what you want us to do, and what you need to get from the project in terms of results. We take the time to make sure we understand all these key elements and, most importantly, we make sure you know precisely what to expect.
Creative Stages
Once we are happy with your aims and objectives, we tackle any research that we feel is necessary, then form a working team. This team is led by the DPM who deals directly with you. The team develops the direction and fundamental elements of the job and work up design ideas, which the DPM submits back to the customer. Where required, the DPM draws on the team to deliver the job and meet your precise demands.
The DPM leads the development of your job, in close consultation with you, until it is finalised, agreed and signed off.
Choice
We often suggest alternative trains of thought and think around what has been asked for. We don't expect you to run with them all, but we have found that most people like to see the options they have.
We develop design ideas from the initial brief, and aim to come up with a good range of creative options. We are perfectionists who want to get every element of your work absolutely right. Our selection process helps you choose some ideas, discard others, and be left with something powerfully effective and striking - that you really like.
Production
Our high-quality creative design is matched by a cast-iron production process. The depth of thought and understanding we bring to each job makes a tangible difference in the results, and the experience you get from working with us.
Making 100% Sure
We like to plan everything, then constantly check everything follows that plan - it's a simple, but powerfully effective way to work.
Before We Start
For a project to be right, all the constituent parts need to be right. We check we understand what you really want, then check we have everything we need (right resolution, correct formats, information etc). That way there are no surprises along the way.
Stage by Stage
At the completion of each stage of production we apply our Three-stage Precision Design System (TPDS):
- The job is checked for style, layout, and technical elements by the DPM working on your project.
- A senior management member reviews the work - a fresh, experienced perspective.
- A full proofread and technical check is carried out by our dedicated proofreader.
All three of these stages are undertaken every time a job has work done on it, so we can ensure everything gets done, that it gets done correctly, and nothing slips through the net. As a client you should never have to re-check jobs to find out that something has been missed or another mistake added for no reason.