Working with Vendors

Your vendor is key to your project's success. Depending on your project, you may need a graphic designer, illustrator, typesetter, web developer, or other kind of role. While each skill set is different, we have some general tips for vetting a vendor for your project. 

Locating a Vendor

Questions to consider when selecting a vendor:

• Does this person have experience in the relevant program (InDesign, Photoshop etc.)?

• Can this vendor execute the art style we are aiming for?

• What is this person's background or past experience? Have they ever worked with our intended audience (age range, culture, etc.)?

• Does this person have availability during the project time frame?

• Can this vendor work within our planned budget?

• Have we worked with this person before and were they dependable, professional, and communicative?

Ready to get started? You can start your search in our vendor database. Click on the button below to access. Need help evaluating your vendor options? Reach out to the QA Designer assigned to your project for help.

Onboarding Vendors

Once you've located a vendor, there's a lot they will need to know in order to get started. QAD will work closely with you to check files and ensure the work is of the highest quality. But there are definitely some things you can do to equip your vendor ahead of time so they know what to expect during our process.

Below is a sample slide deck you can use to walk through an onboarding conversation. Choose the version below that matches whether you are working with a graphic designer or an illustrator. Be sure to add your specific project details to the slides. If you have questions, or would like a QAD designer to join you in the onboarding conversation, don't hesitate to ask!

Collaborating with Vendors

With your vendor onboarded and ready to start designing, it's time to look forward to seeing their creative direction for the project. It's always a good idea to request a sample of a few pages of the design before laying out an entire book. That gives an opportunity for feedback and revisions to ensure we are heading in the right direction.

It's a good idea to communicate to your vendor ahead of time that we are a highly collaborative team. For every sample and draft, we will request the original art files in order to check them for proper setup and print quality. They should expect us to be "under the hood" with them, and should not be surprised by detailed feedback at every stage of the process. Checking the files in progress ultimately saves them time and energy down the road. 

Preparing Vendors

The more your vendor knows ahead of time, the better they can be prepared for the file check process. Here is a helpful PDF that includes some specific tips for file setup and exporting. Be sure that each time the vendor sends a draft, they include the packaged art files for review. Not sure what a packaged folder looks like? See here.

File Naming

You should also let your vendor know your naming convention for the project. Each draft of the file should be saved with the proper acronym followed by the date in this format: language_REGION_COUNTRY_PRODUCTACRONYM_YYYYMMDD

Not sure what your acronym should be? Look in the description box in your project's HopeWorks entry or consult R&D's file naming guide.

Any images or illustrations linked in your product also need to be named with the same naming convention and page number. This helps us file these assets later for future access. Follow this format: language_REGION_COUNTRY_PRODUCTACRONYM_p#

Image Licensing

If your product will use images, they will need to be purchased and properly licensed for use. OneHope currently has an account with Shutterstock to purchase images for print. Unsplash is another website that provides free to use images, but has a smaller selection. You will want to advise your vendor to limit their search to these sites. 

Please note that we cannot license Editorial images from Shutterstock or Unsplash+ images for use in print products. 

Font Licensing

Font selection is a big decision for the look and feel of your product. You will want a font that conveys the right style and mood for your content and target audience. It also needs to be readable and have language support for future translations. Vendors can use Google Fonts, which offers free to use options in a variety of languages. OneHope also has catalogs of fonts we have curated or purchased for use.