It is important to make the external consultants part of the team at an early stage and explain the systems you want them to work to. At this point agreement on the brief and schedule should be reached between all members of the internal and external teams. Each member needs to know his or her responsibilities, and to be working to a specific individual brief. The brief helps us to get under the skin of the company and portray them in a way that's appropriate. One of the functions is to give an accurate portrait.
Realistic planning is the next key factor.
The time we need to produce is dependent on the time it takes to get approval at each stage. Also, there is no point expecting the Chairman to review the copy for the year in November, if he's not going to do it until January. Results and outcomes can be recorded and distributed by e-mail, and to avoid any surprises, it is important for the designers to provide an early 'feel' of the document. This needs to be shown in book form, not just as flat plans and layouts. People can see the way copy and images relate and gain a real impression of the finished document, which helps them to feel altogether comfortable about it.