You have a new company or new product focused in the medical and health field and you want to do the best possible job of marketing it. How do you do that? You can go the traditional route and find an advertising agency or graphic design firm to assist you with getting your message out. Or, you can find a firm or studio that specializes in medical graphic design. They will have both a depth and breadth of relevant experience that will give you an edge in crafting your message and creating visuals that attract appropriate clients.
What services do I look for?
Medical Illustration. A key component of medical graphic design is medical illustration and the presence of a certified medical illustrator or an illustrator that is a member of the Association of Medical Illustrators. If it's not online, ask to see their illustration portfolio.
Medical Animation. Telling the story of what your product or service does may require animation - either using Flash for your web site or 3-D Animation. Expertise in on-line rapid downloads, as well as producing CD's and DVD's for marketing and sales purposes is something you want to be sure of. A good medical graphic design studio will have either in-house ability or an on-going connection with medical animation resources.
Medical Web Design. Today, one of the most important marketing tools is your web site. And not just the design, but the optimization as well. The medical graphic design studio you are looking for will have success stories and their clients will fare well in internet searches. As part of your evaluation, assess if you like this medical graphic design firms web site, and then do the same assessment of their clients.
Medical Print Design. To go from web to print, the studio must show experience in translating 3-d explanations into 2-d graphics that focus on communicating the benefits of your product to your target audience. Benefits is the key word here. What's in it for your potential client? Examine their portfolio. The work of a good medical graphic design studio will focus on benefits. If the brochure you see makes you want to know more or to buy, you have the right firm.
Photography for the Medical Graphic Design Field. Again, medical photography is a specialty. Does the studio have a medical photographer in-house or a relationship with one they use often? Check the portfolio. Look at the clients that have used their work.
Ask for References.
Finally, pick 2 or 3 firms that you like and ask for references. Then call the clients and ask about the firms services.
- How satisfied were they with the services they received
- Did the medical graphic design studio deliver on schedule
- Did the web site, brochures, etc. deliver the promised results
- Would they use them again? Why or Why not?
- Were they easy to work with when there were changes?
Rate each of the firms on a 1 to 5 scale. Putting your impressions into numbers often assists in becoming clearer about what you've learned in your interviews.