Every month, my son gets a bag full of papers and supplies from his first-grade teacher. It can get a little overwhelming (OK, a lot overwhelming) trying to sift through everything and get it organized, so the teacher sends out a little instructional video to explain what’s in the bag. In each video, she holds up an item from the previous month that can get tossed out, and then holds up each new item from the bag and places it into folders we set up in the beginning of the year. After about 10 minutes, the new bag is empty, the recycling bin is full, and my son knows exactly where all of his school papers and supplies are located.
It’s got me thinking about ways I might incorporate video into what I do for my graphic design clients. I’ve never really been interested in filming myself, but I’ve been hearing a lot about Loom videos over the past few months from colleagues.I’ve been meaning to check it out, but I never got around to it. Then, the perfect opportunity popped up last week. I was designing a brochure for a school district that had a bit of a tricky fold; so, rather than trying to draw a diagram or explain it in an email, I signed up for Loom and made a quick video showing exactly how the brochure folding would work. It only took 10 minutes of my time (I may have re-recorded it a few times), it was so simple to do, and it was easier for my client to understand.
Now that I’ve recorded my inaugural video, it’s got me thinking about other ways I can use Loom videos for my graphic design clients, projects, and services. For example, I could:
- record how-to videos for something that’s tricky to explain
- create an instructional video for a client, so they can make updates to a template later on
- use a quick video to explain a process to a contractor or to give feedback on a project
- Include a short video with notes when I send design drafts for a project, or
- Include a video in my proposals that gives a more guided tour of what’s included.
On the other hand, I don’t think video would be helpful for giving or receiving detailed feedback and edits, but there are lots of possibilities here.
Do you use video? I’d love to hear what’s working for you. Or better yet, tell me how you might want to see video when you’re working with me!
Let’s Jump on Video Together
I’ve got a new way to schedule video meetings called Calendly. Visit https://calendly.com/weihercreative to grab a video meeting time (or we can chat over the old-fashioned telephone, if you like).