External research never depends on the size of the payment being received it is primarily determined by what is needed to create the best possible solution to the client's desires and requirements. The research required is also dependent upon the specific project or industry.
Jeff FisherFor me, between "Reference" and "Sketching & Conceptualizing" is the "Get the Hell Out of the Studio" step. I most often NEED to shut off the computer, push myself back from my desk and escape the studio space to let possible ideas percolate in my gray matter before committing anything to paper or digital imagery as a sketch or a concept.
Jeff FisherReally successful designs can be created without software produced "special effects." Identities do not NEED bevels, gradations, 3-D imagery, Web 2.Oh-Oh and other oh so "special" treatments to be great design solutions for clients.
Jeff Fisher