One thing I have learned after publishing several games and working with different graphic designers is that a good plan for the graphic stage of your project is absolutely critical. I will try to give you a few tips.
- It may seem counter-intuitive but the first decision to make are the dimensions of the box; once done, everything else will follow accordingly. So, how do you do that? If your game includes a game board, estimate its size when folded and that will give you the minimum size of your box. Then you can play with the box height to accommodate the rest of the components. Tiles and other cardboard elements will be on a punched board the same size of your folded map. In any case, the final height of the box is something that can be defined later.
2. List all the unique components in your game and put an image of the prototype against each. This allows your graphic designer to navigate through the different tasks while preserving their mental sanity. The list also serves to you for checking progress with the work and ensure nothing has got forgotten.
3. Define a graphic style and stick to it. At the start of a graphic project I do my own research and provide my graphic designer with images conveying the style I seek. The more guidelines you provide the less frustration later.
4. Keep the pressure while staying gentle. Graphic designers work in parallel on different projects and you should not assume to have priority. Agree deadlines but be prepared to soften them and be elastic.
