Designing for the Client

In a post that I . . . well, posted earlier this month entitled “Graphic Design for Idiots” I gave advice to the client on design and designers. Now, I present you with this post. A reverse topic, if you will, about how to design for the client. Too often I hear designers complain about their clients knowing nothing of design, that what the client wants is wrong, ineffective, and an offense to the design gods. And, too often, that attitude will make for a poor experience for you as well as the client, and could even harm your reputation. I have given this area of the design process quite a bit of thought and have come up with some basic guidelines that I feel could help you, the designer, in your future projects.

Set up an initial meeting, prepare before said meeting.

Getting a client will involve initial communication before any designing occurs. This may come in the form of an email, phone call, tweet, or whatever. At that point, make clear that you would like to meet face to face with the client. Make sure to get information about your client’s web site address, competitors, competitors’ web addresses, etc. Before you meet with your client, review this material so that you are prepared before you walk in the door. It would benefit you even more to ask the client to gather any materials that they have from past ads, web sites, etc. Ask them to even get collateral that hasn’t worked. Many of my past clients were pleasantly surprised that I had taken the time to review their website and even their competitors.

If you have a better idea, then SELL IT!

Merely presenting the client with another option may not suffice. You must sell the idea. Have a reason for every shape, color, typeface, copy, and image in that comp. After all, we are supposed to be graphic communicators. There is no reason why we can’t be great verbal communicators, as well.

Check your arrogance at the door.

You know that you’re an accomplished designer, possibly even well-respected in the design community. However, letting that come across to your client as arrogance is a bad move. Arrogance implies that you are right and everyone else is wrong. What’s worse is that it shows an unwillingness to listen to your client and his/her needs. Again, if you believe that you have a better idea on what your client needs, then present it as an option to their original desire, not instead of it.

Give the client options.

Don’t just give them one choice and present it to them. Give them at least 3 choices. For print comps, give them a low, medium, and high print cost. For web/interactive, give them 3 color combos, 3 typefaces, etc. Give them choice and let them discuss with you what they like about each one and what they don’t like. This will help in developing a final comp.

In the end, it’s what the client wants that matters

Sometimes, your clients may want something that, to you, is wrong, ineffective, or ugly. If you feel strongly about it, create one comp for the client giving them what they asked for and another comp showing what you believe to be more effective to meet their goals. If the client is dead set on what they originally asked for, then go with that. As designers, we provide a service, which means we serve the client’s wishes in exchange for compensation. This brings me to my second point.

Contracts are necessary.

You must have a contract – this is to your benefit, as well as to the client’s benefit. Specify a set number of review cycles. This will keep the client on track and will keep your sanity. Include milestones if it’s a big project such as a web site design. I typically ask for 50% of the compensation up front for the project initiation and 50% once the client has the project in hand, or on the web. Do not design without a contractual agreement. If the client refuses to enter into a contract, then walk away politely.

For potential clients, offer free advice.

I have found that the more free advice that I give, the more projects come my way. This is because giving good, free advice shows that you have passion, expertise, and a willingness to help. People like passion, they’re attracted to it. Even if you don’t land a design job with a certain client, you have still put yourself in a great position to get a referral.

Finally, you will make mistakes.

Get over it, nobody’s perfect. You will make mistakes. However, mistakes are just as valuable as successes as they teach you what not to do. One of my first big design projects was a web site design…and I did it completely with Flash. Yeah, I know. But, I definitely learned a lot from that experience and many subsequent experiences. Don’t let mistakes destroy your ambition, keep at it and have fun!