Huffman Interactive

Getting Started

The first thing we'll do after earning your business is to schedule a meeting between our creative team and your key staff. We are interested in numerous aspects of the projects goals such as establishing a timeline, agreeing on a budget and assigning responsibilities.

We're also interested in your marketing preferences, such as identifying your target audience, helping you to define clear communication objectives for the product and providing you with the necessary information to measure the value of your investment after the project's completion.

And, of course, we will want to know all the user features and benefits of the product. Although this process can be time-consuming (we don't like meetings any more than you do), it is crucially important. It will help you sharpen your focus and objectives, and it will help us ensure that what we produce is not only creatively excellent, but strategically targeted.

Setting the Right Expectations

“It is the process of deduction and revision that leads to success.”

Despite popular misconceptions, quality creative work doesn't often come in a flash of inspiration; it typically comes through trial and error. This is why we take the time to consider several approaches, work them through, and try them out. Then we revise them, eliminating the unwanted and improving on the strengths that emerge. It is this process of deduction and revision that leads to success. In addition, there are usually some practical and functional ends we need to tie up before submitting our ideas-sub-contractor availability, scheduling requirements, etc.

All of this, plus the need to schedule our workflow in a businesslike fashion, means that we normally ask for up to two weeks, depending on the job's complexity, before we submit our rough approaches (concepts) for your review. Of course, if you have a rush project or deadline pressure we adjust our workflow and timing accordingly. It is our experience that it is best if we first present our rough concepts to your project manager and just one or two others. This ensures that we all stay focused on the problem and are not distracted by too many personal opinions.

Our rough concepts consist of images and/or mock-ups. These are adequate to convey what we believe is the best approach to take, taking into consideration your budget, schedule, objectives, and preferences. On the other hand, they are not so well-developed as to have wasted time and effort if we need a course correction.

After presenting, we'll ask for comments. The more objective and specific you can be, the better we will be able to respond. Comments are our input for revising the rough concepts into a finished one. Revision normally takes about a week, and we schedule a second presentation shortly thereafter. From the input at this second presentation meeting further minor refinements are made as necessary. We also finalize the production timetable, and the scheduling of any additional services such as photography or illustration.

Ensuring Your Satisfaction

We recommend the finished product be routed to the appropriate decision makers for fact and detail checking only, reserving stylistic and subjective decisions to your project manager. To avoid costly confusion, it is also important that all communication with us come from the project manager.

During the course of the project we keep your project manager informed of our progress. Activities that will affect the schedule or budget are identified in writing. Our goal is to keep your project moving ahead quickly, smoothly, and cost-effectively; to make sure that we'll produce even better results than you hired us for.

How We Charge

“You will always know our rate in advance - before we begin the work.”

Huffman Interactive invoices based on the time we invest in a project. We currently bill our time at $85 per hour, a very competitive rate to what other firms of our quality and experience charge. Project costs range from a low of a couple thousand dollars up to tens of thousands, depending on our clients' needs and budgets.

We will always provide a detailed proposal and estimate for approval before starting. We adhere to our estimates unless project specifications change and you will always know our rate in advance - before we begin the work.