Workflow & Process

Learn from a Content Creation Company: 8 Non-Negotiables for Enterprise-Level High-Volume Creative Production

In today's digital world, content is everywhere, and people consume it faster than ever. To keep up, brands need to constantly churn out high-quality content to satisfy, impress, and inspire their customers.

High-volume creative content production is a complex and multifaceted process, in which producing creative assets in large quantities supports a brand's marketing and branding efforts. This process is necessary to meet the demands of elevated, high-profile brands with wide customer bases and extensive marketing campaigns.

At View Imaging, a leader in digital design and retouching, we've been helping premium, enterprise-level brands satisfy the need for high-volume content production for the last eight years. But, it's not just about the quantity of content—the quality comes first and foremost. So, how do we do it? How do we create high-volume digital content that's also highly beautiful?

It all comes down to our workflow and processes. After almost a decade in the high volume game, we've got it down to a science. Thorough intake, strategic planning, and clear communication are some of the tools we use when working with our clients. This allows us to successfully deliver while maintaining our upscale standards.
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Keep reading for how we do this as a high-volume content studio.

8 Non-Negotiables for Enterprise-Level
High-Volume Creative Production

1. Pre-Kickoff
Preparations for
Digital Content
Creation

2. An Awesome
Kickoff Call for
Creative Production

3. Brand Guidelines &
Design Templates for
Digital Content Creation

4. Strategic Planning
and Prioritization in
High-Volume
Creative Production

It takes a lot of preparation to gather all the intake materials while clearly conversing around what the brand needs. And after eight years of helping clients go from "needs" to final asset deliverables, View has down pat what information and assets to include at kick-off. That's why our pre-kickoff review is so key. If we don't have something, we ask for it.

Why do we do all this? It's not naturally a simple process, but View has made it as streamlined and seamless as possible, benefitting both our clients and our production team. Client intake is all about prepping for success in high-volume digital content production, and we do our homework.

You know what they say about how important first impressions are? We think first meetings are for synergy and alignment with our clients, not to mention they set the tone for every elevated brand project. We use this first call to establish basic alignment from the get-go, discussing expectations, getting to know our clients and their requirements, and addressing potential blockers. Think of it as a first date, and we know how to get the conversation going.

Brand guidelines, upon guidelines and design templates, upon templates. Our DAM is stacked with client brand guidelines and tailored design templates for whatever they need. While an upfront time investment, making design templates based on brand guidelines really speeds things up—we don’t waste time figuring anything out or making sure what we’re working on is consistent. Pre-approved custom design templates are like a superpower for high-volume content.

We use strategy to our advantage in digital content creation. This involves looking at the entire project, coming up with a plan of action, and setting priorities. Our strategy ensures we know what needs to be done and by when before it's passed on to the next team. For example, if the project involves both copy and design, can we get that copy approved beforehand to shorten the revision-round rate? Another strategic move: determining which assets can be reused, and which ones don't need a lot of retouching, allowing us to be more efficient with the way we conceptualize ideas.From all our years of experience, we have plenty of data on how long content production takes. We use this data to create a balanced plan that allots enough time for our team to meet the client's expected deadlines without compromising on quality. You could say we've got our priorities straight.

5. Well-Defined
Streamlined
Processes for High-
Volume Production

6. Effective Batch
Work in Creative
Production

7. Clear Feedback &
Responsive Client
Relations in Content
Production

8. Client
Familiarity

It's important that we as a team have our processes so ironed out that there's no uncertainty about where to start or what to do next. Having these processes in place reassures our clients that they're dealing with experts who know what they're doing. No question!

For example, we have one long-term client who we treat as an extension of our own team, and when they have new people join their team, the View Imaging team spends time one-on-one helping to bring the new employees up to speed as part of their onboarding experience. We even have a cheat sheet for their Project Managers so that they have a resource. It includes info like how to submit projects, turnaround times, and the typical scope of projects. Not only is the client receptive and grateful, but this makes the process of working together a breeze.

Try to read this without cringing: Imagine creating 500 assets for a client, delivering on time, just to receive the feedback that they're not quite what the client is looking for. Now you have to redo all 500 assets. How do we prevent this? Batches. If the client wants 500 assets, we start with 10, getting alignment on these first and then scaling up.

So much of our creative design work is subjective. Once something is approved on a smaller scale, there's no question to our team about where the target is. You can't hit a moving target, so we want them to be as clear as possible. As humans, we all have different perspectives and often interpret things differently. Getting everyone on the same page saves us much time, which allows for more efficient high-volume production.

© View Imaging

Clear feedback and communication is huge for us. When you're dealing with a large number of assets, getting feedback as soon as possible is essential. When clients give us feedback, we ask them to provide clear, actionable items. Actionable feedback is crucial to keep things moving fast. Before asking for feedback, we often send Loom videos explaining our thought process so our clients are able to understand the reasons behind our decisions, without having to ask.

It also helps that our clients are mostly reliable and responsive when it comes to communication. They understand that it's important for us to receive feedback in a timely fashion, as this helps us meet their deadlines. It's give and take.

Pro tip: Build padded timelines to accommodate any unforeseen circumstances. Having that buffer eliminates unnecessary stress on your end and the client's.

© Mark Cross | Design Production by View Imaging

Doing repeat high-volume work for a client for a long period of time creates a positive feedback loop of efficiency. Often, we are so knowledgeable about our long-term clients that we can be their second brain, getting inside their minds and knowing what they need before they need it. We're proud of that!

For long-term clients, our team is able to create internal guidelines and reference files. When retouching, they know the color targets, how much to retouch skin, certain color tones, and how the client likes their images to look. Our designers and copywriters don't have to think twice, either—they know exactly what font and colorway to use, composition preferences, and voice and tone by channel. After time, we just get it—our team is familiar with the work and there's no need for back and forth or revisions. For such a high volume of digital content production, this makes all the difference.

Building high-volume clients relationships takes time in the beginning, but once the experience is there, it becomes second nature. The more we work together, the better it gets.

The Result: An Efficient & Successful Full-Service Digital Content Production Studio

© Restoration Hardware | Retouching by View Imaging

So there you
have it.

Our key essentials for high-volume creative production are simple in theory, but they took us time and experience to build. Efficient and successful production is key for allowing clients to keep up with the demand for beautiful content in a stress-free way. Luckily for them, we're experts in this. Elevated brands trust us with their digital content production because they can expect the ability to scale their projects, consistency across brand assets, and fast turnaround times without compromising on quality.

With these essentials, we're able to Make More Beautiful—everything we do is driven by the creation of more beauty.

Are you ready to create high-quality, high-volume, elevated brand content? As a full-service digital content production studio and high-quality photography studio, we offer a range of services to fit your needs, including line photography, E-commerce photography, post-production services, and photo-retouching services. Let's see exactly what the right fit for you is—schedule a call with us.

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Workflow & Process