There are 12 of them (and probably more).  For myself, rules 1 and 4 are ones I need to remember, regardless of how soon the client wants the project completed.  For video or instructional design work, lock down the requirements and a script and storyboard.  For printed collateral, write the copy then design the layout.

Also make sure you and the client understand the terminology each other uses in the design process.  During a phone meeting to kick off a video production, an offisite manager for one of my former clients asked why he hasn’t seen a storyboard yet.  I said we don’t have a script yet so we can’t storyboard.

There was silence on the line.  Then, “You can’t do the script without a storyboard,” he said with (I guess what he thought was) authority.

I explained to him, patiently, that the storyboard is where you develop sketches of the visuals that are called for in the script, and it shows how the visuals flow in sequence.  The storyboard comes after the script is written and approved.

“No, the storyboard is the document you prepare that describes the approach the video is going to take to address the topic, and outlines the material it’s going to cover.”

I replied that what he described was the project specifications.

More silence.  “Well, I’ve always called that the storyboard, and you haven’t written one yet.”

And for situations like that, we must always remember rule number 2:  The client is right, even when wrong.

(h/t:  Jonathan Torke)