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In the years, over 20, in the direct marketing production/creative industry I have developed a great appreciation for the phrase “approved as is”, proceed.  Music to my ears.  Ah, if only all projects flowed through the system with such ease – start to finish.  Here are a few (seriously three) ideas that may help you achieve production approval bliss.

First, read write only.  Before you or your copy writer unleash a “final”, make it so.  The print or laser set-up is a last chance for punctuation and the like to be updated, but not the point to alter the flow of the content with an overabundance of edits.  This always leads to more than a few alterations and the main reason for production delays and budget increases.

Second, design for the medium.  Recognize that printing white ink on a black sheet is not the best way to achieve a knock-out design.  Coordinate the design and print team (or better yet – hire a team to manage the process – hmm) to work out the nuts and bolts – before art is released.  You will save money on printing/redesign.

Third, don’t kill the messenger.  When the approval process is mired down in rewrites/redesigns  usually precious time is lost and nerves can grow thin on all sides.  But hesitate before you lose your cool about seeing a fourth set-up because a small edit was made – like italicizing a word.  It happens – but pointing fingers over process is counter-productive.

Having lived all three of these events recently, I have found a revived appreciation for the perfect approval.