Which comes first, the graphic design or the content ?

Content means words, writing, headlines, sidebars.  It can also mean pictures, photos, and/or drawing.  Graphic design is how it all gets laid out on the page or the website—the fonts, the colors, the spacing, the borders.

Too often, the writer and the graphic designer work separately.  I write it, then my client e-mails the content to a graphic designer, who lays it out.  Pictures can come from any of us—client, writer, graphic designer.

This works okay—not great, but okay—if you’re just plugging words into an already-designed format, such as letterhead, a blog, or a magazine with a good editor.  
It works badly for a brochure or advertisement, or any new undertaking: website, newsletter, magazine, special project.   Why?

What if I write too many words to fit the brochure, or advertisement? 
What if the designer and I have completely different notions about the audience and the message?

The best work comes from collaboration.  For that, you can hire an expensive marketing company.  Or you can hire people who know, like, and work with each other.

To find out about my designing friends, check out my website.  Or theirs:
Julie Manners, Graphic Ideas
Camilo Nascimento, 544 Productions Web Design
Monroe Payne, Payne Family Photographers