Learn how to leverage Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to track and better manage your design budget.

1. Title Text
Where Have
All the Dollars
Gone?
Utilizing KPIs (Key Performance Indicators)
to track your design spend phototype.com

2. “That’s what it costs”
For years, the time it took for a designer to
develop the big idea was very hard to
challenge. Design often took as long as
needed, with rounds of revisions adding
up quickly.
Marketers were often left feeling reactive vs.
proactive as costs escalated. It felt like no
one was in control.
But those days are gone.
phototype.com

3. “What am
I paying for?”
Today, Marketing is being asked
to manage budgets more closely
than ever.
The demands of less expensive,
better and faster have made
their way into design.
Delivering the big idea may still
take longer and cost a little more,
but finding out late in the game
causes an unwanted ripple effect.
phototype.com

4. The truth is, every “what if” and each
additional color study takes time –
and time is money.
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“Why so much?”

5. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) track
your spend in near real-time, so you…
• Know where you are
relative to budget, at any
given point in the project
• See overarching trends
by department, brand
or activity
• Get an objective overview
of your process and
identify areas for future
improvements
phototype.com

6. Create an Executive Dashboard
of all your KPIs
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See, at a glance, an
overview of all your
customized reports,
manage your spend
at a high level,
or “click” to evaluate
specific details

7. phototype.com
Review
overall
category
spend
Drill down to individual custom reports
Compare
spend to
see trends

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Customize
reports to
view month,
year or any
date range
needed
Review data by custom date ranges

9. phototype.com
Isolate costs
based on
activities such as
design,
production art,
separations or
print materials
Create spending reports
Review and share
customizable
charting for best
analysis and
comparison

10. phototype.com
Identify which
categories are
generating the
most rework
Track costly revisions at a high level
Review
rounds of
project
revisions

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Drill down to
see revision
costs at a
brand level
Get an in-depth view of revision costs

12. phototype.com
Get easy to read details
about who is requesting
changes
See who is requesting revisions

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See what’s driving the
change requests and
how frequently they
are occurring
Review why they are making revisions

14. phototype.com
Look deeper and
see the number of
changes within the
scope of the
design brief, as well
as how many were
out of scope
Understand revisions and budget needs

15. KPIs are a valuable tool to help you...
• Make informed process
improvements by focusing
on areas causing delays
or increasing costs
• Plan yearly budgets
• Have an accurate idea
of the cost and time
associated with getting
an idea to market
• Make high-level business
decisions while you have
time to affect change
phototype.com

16. How to get started…
• First, meet with your design teams and see how
they’re recording project information: estimates, budgets,
allocated hours, revision requests, etc. If they are using
any form of database for order entry, you’re on your way.
• Next, determine how to track and publish the
information, creating KPIs that are actionable and
produce effective results. This will require some type
of business reporting software.
• We’ve developed our own system, Phototype BizIQ™,
but several business intelligence software solutions are
commercially available.
phototype.com

17. What to track
• Work with your design teams to determine what to track; they have a
unique perspective on your business and may suggest metrics you
wouldn’t have considered.
• Remember to keep the metrics actionable – for example, tracking the
number of times the color blue is used may not be an actionable metric.
• It’s as important to track the reasons for a change as it is to track the
number of changes. If you are tracking design brief revisions, establish
criteria for the reason behind the revision.
• Lastly, be honest. When tracking revisions, incorrectly attributing the
reason for the change will produce false data and make it difficult to
make real process improvements.
phototype.com

18. Sample metrics...
Many of our clients find it useful to track:
• Total number of projects by category or sector
• Number of projects by brand
• Types of projects by brand or category
• Project duration, time budgeted versus actual
• Budget versus actual spend (by brand and/or project)
• Design brief revisions (scope creep)
• Revision requests and costs
• Reasons for revision requests
phototype.com

19. We’d be happy to share
specific information with
you!
Where Have All the Dollars Gone?
was written by thought leaders:
Keith Beckelheimer,
Director of Brand Strategy
at gravity (a subsidiary of
Phototype)
Chuck Rovito,
Vice President of
Creative Services
at gravity (a subsidiary of
Phototype)
Want to know more about KPI technology?
phototype.com