Mollie’s Guide to Working With Outsourcers

1) Flesh out a design and concept with the Design Team.

– Full GDD so you can figure out what you need on the asset list

– Create basic concept art and moodboards in house to get style approved

2) Create an asset list with descriptions, reference, and specifications for each asset (Recommend: Googledocs). You can also put this into ADD (Art Direction Document) form if your outsourcers will be handling integration. 3) Provide Moodboards to communicate style. 4) Provide samples of previously done assets. 5) Provide Mockups—if you have specific ideas, mockups are necessary!

If you give garbage direction, you will get (highly polished) garbage back.

Provide your OS team with what they need to succeed.

Give high quality feedback and direction to make it more likely to get what you need!

• Be Available: For answering questions, helping with blockers, and

clarifying your feedback.

• Give timely feedback. With our teams, we normally like to get

back to them the day they deliver.

• Give clear, concise feedback. More on that later

• Be Polite: Outsourcers are human too.

• Does it read the way you want it to? Is the important information there? Is it readable?

• Does it function like it needs to? Do we see the most important symbol as the most important?

• Are there glaring art mistakes? Tangents, colors, sizes.

• Are there minor art mistakes?

When looking at the assets from the outsourcer, what must be changed and what can you let go? This is a good way to approach giving feedback:

Do this: “On the Dog: Take out the highlight on the left ear. Add a highlight on the tip of the nose. On the Frame: Add a second gold bevel.”

Not This: “The frame doesn’t feel right to me because it feels too weak and frail. Make it stronger and more robust. The highlight is distracting and is competing with the dog’s nose and the most important thing is the dogs nose so we should make that brighter.”

Mockups give you the chance to solve your art problems visually while also helping you structure your feedback. Its more powerful to show than tell—and a mockup can do that. Mockups help the outsourcers understand your written feedback (and vice versa). Draw right on top of their art and paint in what you’d like to see.

– You have to solve art problems for the vendor – Don’t use “maybe” “possibly” “if” “might”.

Do This: “Make the UI inlay dark green.”

Not This: “We’ll have to change the inlay on the UI to something more readable. Maybe use a dark blue or dark green. If that doesn’t work possibly use a dark red.”

The compliment sandwich is confusing and just adds unnecessary direction to your feedback. If you want to give praise for a job well done, send it to the producer but don’t include it on individual assets.

Not This: “Nice job! This looks really great. However, it’s not reading correctly and we need you to change pretty much everything. But really good first start!

-Make sure you’re not giving inconsistent or contradictory feedback.

-Keep the vision the same from one round of feedback to another.

-Sometimes you will have to change your mind: Realize that this comes with deadline changes! Note that the vision is changing in your feedback.

Do This: “Add a drop shadow under the dog”

Not This: “Open up your file in photoshop and create a new layer under the dog layer. We’ll be creating a drop shadow for the dog on this layer. Create a shadow that fits the dog.”

It doesn’t have to be perfect, it just has to get within the range you’re aiming for. Things that change the bars: Timelines or budget changes.

• Keep it Polite – Our outsourcers do good work, and if they aren’t “getting” it, rephrase how

you are trying to explain it to them. – Being rude or using disrespectful language will only make it more difficult to

work with them, and less likely that you will get what you want.

• Is the asset in the Range of Accepted Art?

– Let it go.

• Last Resort:

– Can we retouch it in house?

• Mockups Mockups Mockups

Set your outsourcers and your team up for success by getting your OS team everything they need. Crap in is Crap Out! Communication is key: Be available to answer questions and be prompt to give feedback. Decide what you need to give feedback on—Does the asset fit its functional requirements? Give clear, concise feedback that doesn’t contradict itself. Use mockups! Be willing to approve an asset that isn’t perfect.