Word templates - what's needed for a project?

Over the years a vast number of template projects have passed through the Kessler Associates office. A vast number of designers and end clients have also asked lots of questions about what we need to be able to handle the project, and a great deal of time has been spent writing specific replies to questions. Now, in order to save a bit of time in future and make it easier for everyone involved, this checklist has been compiled to cover what's needed.

The bits you need to send

Firstly the most important item is your design layouts. We can't really assess the amount of work involved - or the costs - without seeing these. Any costs provided before this can only be rough guides, and they may be substantially higher then the actual cost due to the need to cover all possibilities.

Your design layouts will be perfect if they're presented as full page PDFs

Design layouts should be provided in the form of full page PDFs which mimic the appearance of the final template(s). That means including sample content to show text positioning, even on letterheads. Please note that we don't use InDesign files. The PDFs are what will be used in the construction process, so it's important that element positioning is accurate.

We also need any images and logos in a ready-to-use format (straight InDesign exports are rarely suitable). JPG is best, highest quality as possible but with a file size which is as small as possible. It's a bit of a balancing act so don't be afraid to ask for advice. PNGs are also good, especially in PowerPoint or for use where a transparency is needed. AI, EPS, and PSD files will require extra work and will therefore incur an extra cost.

Plus we'll need solid colour values for any coloured text or shapes in the form of RGB values - Microsoft Office doesn't do Pantone values or tints - and any custom typefaces required for use in the templates, to be provided in OpenType or PC TrueType formats.

What we'll do next

We'll use the PDF layouts to build the first template in any set. This will be sent back to you and/or the end client to test and approve. We'll often also create a sample document to show you how your designs appear 'in real life'. This is handy as a guide for users of the template to show them how to create their documents using the new text styles.

This first template needs to be approved because any tweaks need to be done now. This is especially true of late amendments or additional work, because both of these carry a potential additional cost factor, especially if we later have to apply changes to several templates instead of just this one. It's far better to get this one just right and then build the rest to match.

The finished templates will match your design layouts as accurately as possible, and potential problem areas can be flagged at the design finalisation stage

 

The general details

An average templates project involving two or three Word templates and perhaps a relatively straightforward PowerPoint template should normally take around three working days.

Studio availability is generally pretty good, but if you have a specific deadline - or an especially tight one - then please let us know and we'll do our best to fit in with this.

Letterhead templates will automatically come with a continuation sheet whether it's wanted or not. It's best to provide some design specifications for this from the outset.

Any additional work will be costed at an hourly rate due to its open-ended nature. This comes in blocks of four hours and each four hour block declines in cost until a base level is reached.

We will build what you ask us to build, so it's important that you ask the right things of us so that we can get it right.

Whatever you need, we have the solution.