Give it time to percolate

Make sure you give creatives and designers enough time for the overnight test. 

If you have a relatively small amount of work to do that requires even a little bit of creative thinking, don’t ask for it to be finished that day, if you can avoid it.

Even if the work should only require 2-3 hours of effort, there is enormous value in looking at something with fresh eyes. Everyone has heard of the overnight test, and it might be more true for design than anything else. 

There is another related idea about time spent vs elapsed time that I might write about one day (latter more important than the former) but for now, if the work can wait until tomorrow lunchtime, do that. That allows for a better layout to appear in the designer’s head while having a shower that evening, and time for them to update the design in the morning.

Takeaway

• If a small job requires a bit of creative thinking, brief it at lunch on Monday for review at lunch on Tuesday.

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