Proposal Graphics Today: When Pushing for More Graphics May Be Wrong

We’re sure you’ve heard from some proposal experts that it is best to put a picture or graphic on every page of a proposal. Some companies have even gotten into the habit of putting a random photo or graphic on every page to fill space. But pushing to include “more” graphics may actually make your company less likely to win the award – because sometimes more is not better, it’s just more.

Graphic by Seaberry Design

If there is not enough compelling text, just throwing a couple of graphics in may be your undoing. The point is to keep reviewers interested in reading your whole proposal. Reviewers will look at a graphic on a page first, and that graphic should be strong enough to make them want to get an even deeper understanding of your proposal by reading the text.

Some graphics are designed to replace blocks or pages of text, and they are essential (an org. chart or a project timeline for example). But graphics have to support and supplement the text of your proposal. It’s about the quality of graphics, not the quantity. The aim is to put out highly customized proposals with targeted messages and unique, proving graphics that support those messages.

Here’s a tip: On pages where a graphic won’t better explain the text, use things like pull-quotes and call-out boxes to break up the dreaded “wall of text” in a proposal. Well-designed text boxes compliment your content and break up boring text blocks while serving to further convey your message.

Need a little help?

Download the Seaberry Design Graphics Cheat Sheet to get a sense of how graphics work to display data and processes and check out “The Way to Great Graphics on Deadline“, for tips on organizing graphics from RFP to proposal submission.

Contact Us for graphic support on your next proposal.

Proposal Graphics Today: Avoiding Deadline Stress and Drunken Mistakes

The proposal deadline is looming and you have been working double duty writing text and creating graphics in PowerPoint. Did you know you have the same mental impairment as someone who is legally drunk? When multitasking under stress, and focused on a single project, like a proposal, your IQ drops, perhaps as much as 40 points, and that’s a significant disadvantage when you consider what’s at stake. Can your company afford to have someone who is not legally competent to drive, making multimillion dollar decisions?

Illustration by Cameron Farrior/Seaberry Design

If long hours, a last minute push, and running on adrenaline are standard in your company, consider expanding your team to include contractors whose skills are not part of your core competencies. Since neither PowerPoint nor Microsoft word is graphic design software, an experienced proposal graphic design firm might be a good place to start. Their work will ensure your graphics contain the critical details evaluators need to make your company the rational choice.

Contrary to some of the articles we’ve seen, finding a reliable source for proposal graphics is not as simple as searching e-lance or holding a contest. You will need someone who is reliable, experienced, understands the deadline driven proposal process and is within easy reach of your team members. Search the web for firms in your specific area, i.e. “Proposal Graphics Washington, DC”, evaluate the results and then give the firm that best meets your needs a call. And please…don’t work while impaired.

Need a little help?

Download the Seaberry Design Graphics Cheat Sheet to get a sense of how graphics work to display data and processes and check out “The Way to Great Graphics on Deadline“, for tips on organizing graphics from RFP to proposal submission.

Contact Us for graphic support on your next proposal.

Proposal Graphics Today: Editing Proposal Graphics

If the original graphic file is available, editing proposal graphics can involve both imagery and text.

In the case of imagery, let the proposal graphic designer handle the edits. Unless you have the actual graphic design software and the expertise to handle complex image development, photo re-sizing and toning, you will save time and money with professionals.

For text only edits, there are a couple of solutions that can be applied, but each has its caveats.

Solution: If the graphic was originally produced in Adobe Creative Suites, ask your designer to provide a PDF file of the graphic. Open the graphic in Adobe Acrobat pro to edit the text. Choose “Tools” then choose “Edit PDF”.  All of the text will appear in text boxes. After editing the text, export the graphic to a .jpeg or .png file for insertion into the proposal.

Using Adobe Acrobat to edit graphics: Graphic by Seaberry Design

Caveat: Be certain all edits meet requirements for font and font size so the graphic remains compliant. Remember that any significant changes in text length may require text boxes to be re-positioned within the graphic. You may be better off sending any major edits to your designer.

Solution: If the graphics were created in Microsoft Word or PowerPoint, open them in the software and edit the text. PowerPoint slides can be saved as .jpeg or .png files for insertion into the proposal.

Microsoft Word files should be saved as images to avoid elements shifting in the proposal. First save the graphic as a PDF file. Then export as an image from Adobe Acrobat. Crop the graphic to size in your image editing software and insert into the proposal.

Caveat: Just as before, be certain your edits meet requirements for font and font size so the graphic remains compliant. Text boxes may need to be re-positioned to accommodate significant changes in text.

If .jpeg and .png are the only file formats available, making changes gets a lot more complicated. A proposal graphic designer may need to recreate the files, and provide an updated version, inclusive of the necessary edits. If this is the case, be certain the designer maintains and original in its native software.

Need a little help?

Download the Seaberry Design Graphics Cheat Sheet to get a sense of how graphics work to display data and processes and check out “The Way to Great Graphics on Deadline“, for tips on organizing graphics from RFP to proposal submission.

Contact Us for graphic support on your next proposal.

Proposal Graphics Today: Organizing Your Visual Assets

Proposal graphics are your most important assets. Some will be reused in proposal after proposal. Others will need updating from time to time and a few will require complete revisions. It is important to keep your proposal graphic library in order.

Here is a simple approach:

Graphic by Seaberry Design

Give them a home

Proposal graphics should reside in a place all their own and not on the computers of proposal team members. Give them space on a server or external hard drive and back them up as you would any other important files.

Organize them

Set up file folders by year and proposal title so graphics are easy to find.

Decide on a naming convention for graphics that includes title and graphic type (i.e. 2008_it_solution_flow). Use numbers, lower case letters, dashes or underscores to reduce search errors across platforms and in searches. Create separate folders for image files and native files.

Share naming convention with everyone

Make sure you share the naming convention with everyone involved in the process from proposal team to graphic design consultants. During the production process, change versions, not names. This will help in the long run. When files need to be reused or updated, everyone will be referencing the same file name.

Create summary sheets

Use MS Word to create graphic summary sheets for each proposal. Summary sheets or “logs” make it easy to identify graphics at a glance and avoid the inconvenience of opening every file.

Need a little help?

Download the Seaberry Design Graphics Cheat Sheet to get a sense of how graphics work to display data and processes and check out “The Way to Great Graphics on Deadline“, for tips on organizing graphics from RFP to proposal submission.

Contact Us for graphic support on your next proposal

Let us meet your design challenges.

Contact Seaberry Design.

Get your guide to the color palettes of more that 411 federal agencies.
Purchase  “The Book of Federal Colors” today!
Winner, American Graphic Design Award and Silver Winner, Creativity International Awards!

  

Proposal Graphics Today: Can Outsourcing Graphics Make Sense?

Outsourcing graphics to a design firm with graphic artists who have expertise in proposal graphics, and working knowledge of proposal production processes, could get you closer to winning bids.

Graphic by Seaberry Design

Companies sometimes try to compensate for the lack of a proposal graphic resource by recruiting a staff member with some skill in PowerPoint or Microsoft Word to create graphics for the proposal. The results are mediocre at best.

While plenty of freelance graphic designers are available, a lack of specific expertise in conceptualizing graphics based on written text, reduces many to graphic renderers who don’t actually get into the proposal content. Designers who don’t know the specifics of proposal graphics may not understand how to read an RFP, or make graphics compliant. Proposal graphics must communicate your strengths, be compliant with the instructions, and be easy to evaluate. It seems obvious, but many proposal graphics don’t meet this quality measure. If you do decide to hire freelancers, make sure you obtain references and have another plan if you need to make that 3 a.m. phone call.

There are also pre-made graphic templates available from some vendors, but these would still need to be adapted to fit your unique organization and solutions. This can be more costly and time consuming than the initial purchase.

Advantages of a Proposal Graphic Design Firm

Employees Can Focus on Core Activities.
Engaging a graphic design firm, with expertise in proposal graphics, allows your employees to focus on writing and communicating your strengths in the proposal effort, and improving the products and services that have made your company successful.

Cost and Efficiency Savings

It takes resources to hire, maintain and manage staff in a non-core area. Ultimately your company saves effort, manpower, operating costs and training costs by outsourcing. Proposal graphic design firms follow processes just like your company does, resulting in a more efficient use of time. You get the specific graphics skills you need, only when you need them.

Let us meet your design challenges.

Contact Seaberry Design.

Proposal Graphics Today: You Know You Need an Infographic if…

Infographics are fast becoming the most effective item in the proposal writer’s toolbox. They save time in understanding complex ideas, processes and data – saving space in the overall proposal production and presentation. But, how do you know when you need one? We have provided some clues below. Click on the image to download the full infographic or just click here.

We would love to hear how you know you need an infographic. Follow @seaberrydesign on twitter and use the hashtags #youknowyouneedaninfographic or #infographic.

Proposal Graphics Today: The Book of Federal Colors

For nearly a decade, Seaberry Design has focused part of its design practice on filling the graphic design needs of federal government agencies and contractors. Attending countless kick-off meetings has afforded us some unique insights into the development of color strategies for proposal graphics and covers. Our best guide for successful color usage has always been to include the colors of the federal agency requesting service.

To our delight we discovered that the world of federal agencies is quite colorful. There is also a great deal of loyalty to brand colors and concern when brand elements are misused. Now we’ve published The Book of Federal Colors. Stepping back to take a fun look at the broad universe of U.S. Government color palettes, we’ve cataloged the colors of 411 agencies, in a design that reveals both the incredible diversity of color, and the variety of government agencies.

This unique 32-page book, with its stunning cover, is printed on high-quality paper and is now available for pre-order.

Estimated ship date is July 30, 2015. Pre-order price is just $12.95 plus shipping. order yours now.

Proposal Graphics Today: Maybe You Shouldn’t Use That Logo

There is a reason some government agencies don’t want you to use their logo on proposal covers or in any of your company’s other marketing materials. It’s the same reason  corporations have. They are protecting their brand.

An agency’s brand is its promise of service to constituents. How the brand is perceived affects the agency’s credibility. Most government entities have strict guidelines and standards for the use of logos and other marks. Take a look at the USDA visual standards guide for example. Unless you have downloaded an agency’s style guide and have permission to use their branding on materials not sponsored by that agency, you could be losing points in the review process.

What’s true for federal agencies should also be true for your company. You wouldn’t want anyone to violate your company’s brand standards, would you? You do have a brand standards manual, right? If not, give us a call. The graphic below illustrates how a brand standards manual might address logo usage.

Need a Little Help?
Download the Seaberry Design Graphics Cheat Sheet to get a sense of how graphics work to display data and processes and check out “The Way to Great Graphics on Deadline”, for tips on organizing graphics from RFP to proposal submission.

Proposal Graphics Today: A Very Brief History of Icons

In its early history, the word “icon” had a very specific meaning. It referred exclusively to the religious art of the Orthodox Churches of the East.

Today, the word is used for many other objects, including computer shortcuts, mobile device user interfaces and information graphics. Essentially, icons use symbol to communicate meaning or to represent a task.

The history of modern icon design dates back to the early 1970s with the introduction of the first Graphical User Interface (GUI), the Xerox Alto.

As you consider graphics for your next proposal, discuss your data needs with a graphic designer who specializes in proposal graphics. They will be very helpful in determining the style of graphic that best fits each section of your proposal. Need a Little Help? Download the Seaberry Design Graphics Cheat Sheet to get a sense of how graphics work to display data and processes and check out “The Way to Great Graphics on Deadline”, for tips on organizing graphics from RFP to proposal submission.

Throughout the 90s, major computer companies took the design of their desktop icons very seriously, using icons within operating systems, and as a way of distinguishing themselves from their competitors. The Windows Recycle Bin and Apple’s Trash Can became more than just functional elements, they were branding elements.

Since then, the icon has evolved into a critical part of modern communication systems, most notably in sign systems and in smart phone applications.

With the dramatic expansion of information graphics on the web and in print, icons have become an important tool in clarifying processes and, in telling the ever important stories data has to tell.

Proposal Graphics Today: Same Data – Two Infographics

Information graphics or infographics are visual representations of information, data or knowledge intended to present complex information quickly and clearly. Because infographics can pack more information into a smaller space, they are an attractive tool for proposals where page count is an issue.

You can present data in an information graphic in more than one way, depending on the amount of space you have and the goal you want to reach.

Displaying data in a clear and concise manner can get the job done, but if you do have the space, including an image or icons to represent data sets makes the graphic easier to read and the data easier to comprehend. Rather than creating small graphics for each page of your proposal, you may be able to combine numerous graphics or several paragraphs of text into one graphic tied together with an image. This way the infographic tells the larger story, saving space and keeping you compliant with page count.

One example would be putting an org chart, a flow chart, and a personnel matrix, all in the same graphic to help evaluators visualize the overall capabilities of your company.

The examples below, created for American University, were not used in a proposal, but they are good examples of how the same data can be expressed in two different types of information graphics.

As you consider graphics for your next proposal, discuss your data needs with a graphic designer who specializes in proposal graphics. They will be very helpful in determining the style of graphic that best fits each section of your proposal.

Need a Little Help?
Download the Seaberry Design Graphics Cheat Sheet to get a sense of how graphics work to display data and processes and check out “The Way to Great Graphics on Deadline”, for tips on organizing graphics from RFP to proposal submission.