Design Discussion Principles – How to get your client to love your design

Vocabulary

challenging - сложный, трудный

to experience frustration – испытывать чувство неудовлетворённости

to deconstruct - вскрывать противоречия

excuse – повод, предлог; оправдание

to get across – чётко излагать

grid - решётка; сетка; система

to hone one`s skills – оттачивать мастерство

clueless - необразованный; несведущий

confused – поставленный в тупик; смущённый

to take over - поглощать

to turn around – изменять, исправлять

call to action – рекламный лозунг(слоган, девиз)

consistent - единообразный по стилю; согласующийся

to acknowledge – подтверждать

defender – сторонник, борец

insider – инсайдер (лицо, в силу служебного положения располагающее конфиденциальной информацией о делах фирмы ); хорошо осведомлены человек

opinionated – догматичный; самоуверенный; упрямый

fine – тонкий

to be at stake – быть поставленным на карту

to sail through - справляться успешно с чем-либо

to implement - осуществлять; реализовывать; выполнять

loose cannon(Am. sl) – пустозвон

to defeat - одержать победу над кем-либо

to prove oneself – показать, проявить себя

bold - смелый

I’m going to share with you a few of my principles to get clients to approve a design. As many designers know, discussing design with clients can be one of the most challenging aspects of a client relationship. Every designer has experienced the frustration of watching helplessly as their design is deconstructed. This can and should be avoided. Let me tell you how.

The following principles are not meant to manipulate or to serve as an excuse for bad designers to trick their clients. I assume you are a good designer who does good work but may have difficulty getting your points across.

What design is (to your client)

You already know about typography, proportions, color theory, grid systems, design styles, and the other myriad elements of design. And no doubt you have no difficulty discussing design with other designers.

But when it comes to discussing design with clients, none of those elements really matter. For a creative mind, this can be hard to accept. After all, you’ve spent years honing your skills to become the best you can be. It’s true though. Your clients don’t care.

Clients are not designers. So, discussing for a example the use of the golden proportions in your grid will leave them as clueless and confused.

But, you might ask, if we do not discuss the fundamental elements of design, how can we discuss design at all?

I’m glad you asked. That is what the following principles are all about.

Design Discussion Principle #1 “Always sell.”

The difference between a good designer and an excellent designer is not how good their design is but how well they sell it. Too many designers make the mistake of presenting  rather than selling. The difference is huge. When you present the design, you  assume your audience understands design in the same way as you do. When you sell the design, conversely, you create a story around the design, which is far more effective.

Design Discussion Principle #2 “Qualify all design decisions rationally.”

You will never be a great designer without artistic talent. But when discussing design with a client you don’t want the artist in you to take over the discussion.

Instead of saying “I just think white space is better for the overall look and feel”. Turn it around and say “I used white space to make the call to actions stand out more”.

You haven’t changed a pixel but you have qualified your design decision in a way that the client can understand.

Design Discussion Principle #3 “You + me = we”

We is the Trojan horse of getting the client to listen to you. We is inclusive. We brings both parts into the discussion with equal stakes. By saying “Wouldn’t we run into the problem of X by doing Y” instead of using you, you have shown you are not just an external vendor but a team member.

Design Discussion Principle #4 “All design decisions have consequences”

If you have gotten into a disagreement about the color of a button, instead of saying “Blue buttons better support the image style than green buttons”. Make it clear to them that there are consequences to their preference of green.

You can say something like “If we use green it will make the page more fresh. But if we use blue it will be more consistent with the other pages”

Acknowledge that their choice has a positive consequence to the design but that it was purely aesthetic, whereas my preference for blue took the best interest of their brand into consideration. You have suddenly made them the defender of taste and you the defender of business. If they still want green they have also accepted aesthetic arguments which you can then use to your advantage later.

Design Discussion Principle #5

“Know the client and you know the real project”

You should know what type of client you are dealing with as this will inform you about how to sell your design to them.

There are four types of problematic clients:

1. The politician The politician is someone working in a large organization. He is normally not concerned with making the right decisions but rather with making as few as possible.He will judge everything you show him on whether it’s good for his career.

The best way to sell your design to this type of client is to show how other companies successfully did what you have done.

2. The insider The insider is someone who used to work in an agency and know how things work. They will normally be very opinionated and know what they want from you. Though they might be able to discuss the finer details of design they probably won’t. Their reputation is at stake. They will rather make a bad business decisions than make a bad looking design decision.

The best way to deal with the insider is to let them shine in front of their colleagues. Do everything you can to keep them feel like they are still part of the agency industry and you will sail right through with your design.

3. The car dealer They normally have horrible aesthetic sense and care nothing about good design. What they care about is selling. What makes them particularly difficult to work with is their preference for “cool stuff” they just saw and want you to implement into the design. They are loose cannons making all sorts of crazy suggestions that they think will increase their sales.

To defeat the car dealer you must become one.

4. The entrepreneur The entrepreneur is either the founder of a company or someone in a large organization eager to prove themselves. Treat this client with utmost care. Not because they are difficult to work with but because they have so much at stake. To them this project is the most important thing in the world and they expect you to feel the same. They are ready to accept mistakes and to make bold decisions. What they won’t accept is the lack of passion or progress.

Show how your design underlines every strategic and tactical point they believe in. Show how it will make them as successful as they themselves believe they will be.

Once you have identified who you are dealing with, you will know how to structure your story and how to discuss your design. Ask them questions that will illuminate their personality and I assure you the rewards will be plentiful.

In conclusion

You will need your artistic abilities and creative mind to make great design for your clients, but always be ready to explain why you made certain design decisions. “It just looks better” isn’t an argument and never has been not even in design circles.

Happy selling.