I first heard this adage applied to branding and logotype design: You can have it cheap, fast, or good. Which two do you want? It’s meant to rein in the expectations of organizations who think they ought to be able to get a world-class brand in two weeks for $1,000.

What surprises me is how often clients are willing to settle for one of the three. Often (but not always) nonprofits are willing to settle for cheap, thinking they can’t afford good. Often (but not always) for-profits want fast, and they’re willing to pay top dollar even though the product may be less than top notch.

But really, which is most important? Your website, your newsletter (print or e-), your brochure, your event materials–everything you send out has to reflect well on you. It’s got to be well-written, attractively designed, and easy to use. It’s got to be good.

Once in a while, you can get all three. When I’ve worked for the same client for a while, I internalize their mission and message, so I can put together a top-notch newsletter or webpage fairly quickly. I can therefore charge them less than I would charge a new client, and certainly less than it would cost in an employee’s time. Cheap (or at least reasonably priced), fast, and good!

Most of the time, though, you have to choose. Choose good. Be prepared to jettison either cheap or fast.

If it’s got to be cheap:

• Ask your vendor for a discount in exchange for a flexible deadline.
• Combine projects–for example, the new website pages with the report or the e-newsletter on a similar topic–for economy of scale.
• Do it yourself, or assign an employee (if and only if you or the employee truly is good at writing or web design or whatever), and expect work to get done when it gets done, during down time.

If it’s got to be fast:

• Ask yourself: “How real is this deadline? What will happen if we don’t make it?” If there aren’t real, serious consequences to missing this deadline, move this project into the cheap column.
• There’s no way around it: Fast costs money. When you hire a vendor, you lose any room for negotiating a fee. When you do it yourself or use an employee, things have to come off that person’s plate for the duration. The cost may be hidden, but it’s real. And I would argue that it’s generally higher than what you would pay a professional consultant (like me!) for a truly high-quality product.

So I’m changing the adage. It’s got to be good. Now, do you want it cheap or fast?