Creo uses ProofHQ to improve the quality of client reviews

Having experienced problems with clients not paying close attention to reviewing creative, Creo turned to ProofHQ to give clients greater responsibility and to eradicate errors and rework costs in print production

Background
 

Creo are a design and web development agency based in Oregon

Creo is a design and web development agency based in Oregon, providing integrated marketing solutions, from websites and applications to brand identities, print design, web optimisation and software solutions. Consisting of more than 12 team members, the agency created works for small and mid-sized companies such as Plant Lust, Indulgence Salon and Spa and Green Goose.

The Problem

A lack of attention to detail by clients when proofing led to reprints at the agency's own expense

As a mid-sized agency, Creo pride themselves on delivering outstanding work for clients. Agreeing concepts in person, Creo would then send proofs as emails with PDF attachments for final approval. Once granted, the work was able to go to press.

The agency were finding that not only was this a lengthy process (involving the collation of individual feedback from all reviewers), there was often an issue with the quality of proofing being done by clients.

Creo found that clients weren't paying close attention when reviewing proofs and as such, errors were being spotted once the designs had gone to print. More often than not, the agency would feel responsible and would have to pay for the work to be re-printed at their own expense. This began to become really costly and was often out of their control.

"ProofHQ is a product that delivers what it promises and does it simply, making it a useful tool for fast moving companies", Ryan Littrell, Art Director

ProofHQ Solution

ProofHQ allowed Creo to give greater responsibility to clients

Creo were looking for a solution that would make review and approval easier and also keep a record of all of the decisions made, which could act as an audit trail for future reference.

Creo selected ProofHQ as a simple and effective tool to help them achieve all of their goals. Combined with the personal support that they received to set up their workflow, this meant that implementation was incredibly fast.

The current process that the company has adopted is as follows:

• The Marketing Manager briefs the graphic and/or web designers with an outline of the project
• The designers complete the creative work and upload to ProofHQ
• The proof is shared with reviewers. This normally consists of people from marketing and sales as well as the Product Manager
• Feedback is given by all reviewers, who leave comments and mark-ups on the proof
• The designer will be notified when all parties have submitted their comments or decision
• The designer will take the feedback, revise the creative work and upload it as a new version of the existing proof
• All reviewers from the original proof are notified that there's a new proof that needs their attention and this continues until everybody is happy with the finished design
• Once the designer has received notification that all parties have approved the artwork, they share the proof with a director-level group for sign off. Once this has been given, the work is put live or goes to print

Ryan Littrell, Art Director adds "The site is very intuitive, loads proofs quickly and gives alert options. It also saves us some serious dough by helping us and our clients catch potential errors that would cause us to reprint a project".

"The ability to integrate with Basecamp sealed the deal", Ryan Littrell, Art Director

The Results

With reprints eradicated, quality control has improved beyond recognition

Since introducing ProofHQ as a standard process for internal and external stakeholders to review and approve design work, Creo has found that its quality control has improved beyond recognition - with no errors occurring in printed files, saving them potentially thousands of dollars.

The main features that have benefited the agency are:

• Decisions: As the client is responsible for ultimately signing off the proof, this means that they are much more vigilant when it comes to checking a proof and providing feedback. This has resulted in the eradication of errors being found on printed work and therefore vast cost savings for the reproduction of this work
• Collaborative Review: All reviewers are able to see the comments of other reviewers in real time and the threaded discussions on comments enables them to discuss issues in a single version of a proof. This shortens the review cycle, reduces the management time needed on each proof and reduces the number of versions that are needed to get final approval. Ultimately, this means delivering clients product to market sooner
• Archive Facility: ProofHQ allows Creo to keep a record of all feedback provided by their clients and precise records of clients having signed off work. Archived proofs can be referenced at any time and this allows them to invoice accurately per round of revisions.
• Compare Mode: This allows Creo to quickly and accurately ensure that all feedback has been incorporated into the new version of the proof before sending across to the client. This is also a useful feature for the client to use too, making feedback easier and quicker to provide.

Ryan Littrell summarises "ProofHQ is a product that delivers what it promises and does it simply, making it a useful tool for fast moving companies".

"It saves us some serious dough by helping us and our clients catch any potential errors that would cause us to reprint a project", Ryan Littrell, Art Director