A guide to good practice in relationships with clients and production of designs.
"All successful design is created against a clearly defied message and a focused set of objectives"
The relationship between the graphic design company 'Nesnadny & Schwartz' and 'Progressive Corporation' is described by Mark Schwartz as "a model we try to emulate with our other clients". This is a relation ship he describes as "based on two things: a mutual trust of each others opinions, and risk"
The initial process:
a phone conversation to discuss the message and focus.
brainstorming ideas between the designers.
a presentation and discussion with the client of a "tight concept - tight in words, and not in layout. It's important for all of us to understand, verbally, what the message is and how it relates to the various players in the process."
It is important to be as close as possible to the main decision maker (within the body of people that makes up the client)
"The greater the distance from the decision maker you are - physically, emotionally or logistically - the more difficult your job will brand ultimately, the less creative the approved solution will be."
"Each individual who evaluates and judges design brings to the process his own prejudices, tastes and experiences. (Multiply the complexity of these tastes times the number of decision maker, and yo will discover why design judged by committee is so often passive and unimaginative.)"
If there are multiple decision makers involved in judging and approval of the work - make sure they voice their objectives and parameters in the beginning of the process, not half way through.
In creating a proposed plan for the development of a proposal:
spend time clarifying who will be involved in the project and the developmental process.
in the proposal "Explain each phase, such as concept phase, design application phase, production phase, print phase and so on." - keep descriptions minimal and clear. include justifications for each phase (why they are important for the client.
e.g. "During the information-gathering phase we gather all background and other relevant information that defines the problem and supports the need for a solution. This information includes internal communications, competitive information, market research, and interviews with marketing, sales and technical support staff. The background information is analysed and dissected to provide a concrete starting point for design concept."
include who will be involved in each phase, meetings that will take place and who you recommend be present.
finish with what to expect from the conclusion of each phase, a submission by the design firm.
for example (and an important one at that) for the conclusion of the first phase (concept / message / defining what is required / defining the clients wishes) "At the conclusion of this phase we will submit an outline of issues surrounding this project as well as a summary of communications objectives for approval. This list of objectives will serve as a guide against which we will evaluate all proposed solutions. It is imperative that ll persons with decision-making authority review the list of objectives and approve it prior to beginning the next phase."
also, try to stipulate that you keep the presentation materials after meetings so as to avoid discussion and development of ideas in your absence as this is detrimental to the design process.
Infor gathering > analyse > objective setting > define approach > brainstorm > evaluate > refine > approve > implement > result!
"The entire creative process is based on trust. Trust between writer, designer and client. It's like when your dad took you to the pool for the first time as a kid and he says jump, I'll catch you." - Todd Lief, writer
Tips in dealing with the client:
Often clients will themselves try to play the role of designer by directing the final visual outcome throughout the entire process. This is because it is more attractive and easier to understand than the abstract concepts and problems and / or they do not have an understanding of the development process. (amount other things)
acknowledge their input and agree to consider it when the time comes for those decisions.
if they are persistent - ask how their suggestion provides a solution for the current problem, there is a chance it could be good!
suggested questions for the first interview, the project initiation.
What are you trying to communicate and why?
Who needs this information and why?
What does the audience already know? What does it need to know?
What single, unique, focused message should the audience walk away with after reading or seeing this piece?
What have you done to communicate this information before?
How do you expect your audience to respond to this communication? How will you in turn respond to your audiences response?
Will the audience receive the same information in any other form or media from your organisation as part of a campaign? Or as part of another organisations communication?
Does the audience want this information? Do they not want it? Do they care?
Record the session (if they are alright with that)
Challenge the clients preconceptions, do not try to solve anything on the spot. only ask questions.
encourage all participants in the design process to be at the initial interview.
Even if the interview has been recorded - do a mind dump onto paper, often your mind will bring extra intuition and fresh analysis.
prepare the client for risk (still not entirely sure exactly what this means)
Involve the client in the development process, let them know your thoughts and problems.
"you must understand what role this piece of communication played in furthering the organisations greater goals and mission."
"Ideas and creativity come from what you know. A designers role is to be aware of everything. You can pull out of your head only what is in there." - Kris Clemons, Gerhardt & Clemons, Inc.
Once you have the information on paper after the initial discussion, you must find a way of funnelling it into your head.
Sort out the relevant from the irrelevant
organise it logically
restate it in different ways
check the objectives make sense (often things like the message being received by the target audience and the message being portrayed by the client will be at odds)
Reword the objectives to make design sense. (what implications do the corporate objectives have on the visual design, what kind of thing should be avoided be it A4 paper and big chunks of text or … )
"A single communication piece can't be all things to all people"
you should agree on simple, focused objectives with the client. the message should be able to be conveyed in one or two sentences. (quickly)
a single, clearly defined audience.
how the client will evaluate the work - not that she likes it but what criteria must it meet and how will its success be measured.
Must haves before proceeding: (must be able to fill in what these are)
The client
The audience
The message
The clients motivation
The audiences motivation
The competition
The environment
The audiences desired response
"Our objective as designers is to predict and to maximise the audiences desired response."
brainstorming - more is better
"Nothing is more dangerous than an idea when it is the only one you have" - Emile Chartier, philosopher
"The best way to get a good idea is to get a lot of ideas" - Linus Pauling, Nobel Prize winner
be involved in the development of the writing (if there is any) your skills will compliment the writers and vice versa. The knowledge gained from being a part of this process will also inform your creative decisions leading towards a symbiotic marriage between words and image.
Use word play in brainstorming ideas:
Think in opposites
Colour words, (green - envy, money, aliens)
Animate the inanimate (Walls have ears…)
Identify categories
Grow metaphors (each metaphor gives rise to a thousand new images and approaches)
"We are creatures who deal with metaphors. Be conscious of how things are like other things" - Todd Lief, writer
Double the meaning
Exaggerate, take things / concepts / ideas to their absolute limits. take them to not just one limit, but several.
brainstorm in a group (do not evaluate ideas in a big group, this is better done as a small group or an individual) - keep these things in mind:
everyone is equal (no one is tupid)
No ideas are bad
one person records on something visible (a wall / big whiteboard) - make sure to go through and describe ideas slow enough for that person to record them.
start the session with a description / development of the problem.
restate the problem
list word relevant to the problem
silence is bad, noise is good (ideas come in noise)
play fair, stay open, the quiet kids at the back are usually the most creative
assign a facilitator (not a leader) often the quiet ones again work best. they do not evaluate ideas
brainstorm early afternoon, around 3 :P
do not interrupt the session with anything
Keep a light and playful tone, (music in the background / slid show of random pics somewhere, stuff and comfort)
"Don't allow the tool to drive the design. Content must drive the design. Look to the content for the image, the message and the design."
"Designers deal with image on two levels:
1 Through pictures, in the form of illustration or photography
2 Through design elements such as typography, borders, grid and colour
"We create solutions in response to problems. The more specific the definition of the problem, the more directed the efforts at solving it. Constraints are not your enemy but your friend."
"We start with the readers reaction and work backwards" - John Coy, Coy Los Angeles
Three factors a design should illicit in a reader / viewer…
1 "enticing the readers with a great teaser"
"aha" initial response, if the reader is intrigued and wants to read more then you have achieved a 'high aha factor'. the quicker they say this, the better.
2 "drawing them in from an effortless skimming to careful examination"
"got it" the ability to skim and glean most important parts of the information
3 "creating an appropriate, pleasing implementation"
"more" self explanatory, if the reader is left wanting more. They read the piece in detail. "when the readers finish, they respond in the manner you choose."
"Quality gives experience. For through experience alone can quality come. All arts, big and small, are the elimination of wasted motion in favour of the concise declaration. the artist learns what to leave out." - Ray bradbury, author 'Zen in the art of Writing'
"The definition of a "good" designer is someone who knows what to keep and what to throw away. This applies to every aspect of a project - from input, ideas, and choice of media to what gets presented. - Rick Eiber, Rick Eiber Design
"Knowing that a client will instinctively pick the one option you do not strongly support should motivate you to present only those ideas you believe will work."
Present the ideas in rough form. Present one idea in a variety of styles (be it font, colours, pictures)
"I find that presenting ideas in rough form brings the client closer to the thought process behind the idea"
Some of the things a concept must achieve in order to stand out from the mass of communication in our media filled world
1 "Speak with a single, distinctive voice"
2 "Project a focused vision"
3 "Present a unique viewpoint"
form - function
you determine where on this scale the work will fall, you are responsible as to keeping its place on the scale appropriate.
too high on the stylistic end, the communication will tend to be:
"Trendy and short lived"
"High in visibility but short in predictable results and understanding"
"Appealing to a small, select audience"
too high on the functional end it will be perceived as:
"Straightforward and direct"
"Generic and static in approach"
"Predictable and therefore inherintly less interesting"
Either end can be good depending on what is required from your objective.
"Be what you is, not what you ain't. Cause if you ain't what you is, you is what you ain't." - Luther D Prince
"It's not enough to have an idea. A truly creative design is founded on excellent understanding of a problem, an ingenious approach to solving the problem, and an impeccable execution of the idea."
If a design concept is too different / risky for a client, ask them their reasoning. try and identify the crux of the problem in their understanding of your idea. take them through your own reasoning.
Need to research on basic design tools:
Grid, Type, Image, Colour,
Mark Oldach. 1995. Creativity for graphic designers. Ohio: North Light Books