As a designer there are a number of rituals/habits you pick up throughout your crazy journey. I always make a mental checklist of things I will need before I begin a project (brief, images, copy, links, references etc.) At certain times I sketch ideas out on a piece of paper if the project is more complex and in need of a good grid system. Then there’s the bad habits, like the 15 cups of tea I consume in a day and getting distracted by flying seagulls outside. However one thing I never fail to do is ask questions. As a business this is something our Happy team is primed to do. Sadly it is something some designers don’t do enough of.
Such lapses then lead to a lot of assumptions being made, and as the old saying goes…assumption makes an ass out of you and me (granted it’s a spelling saying but the principle remains sound). How about this example:
A designer receives a brief from a client. It’s one of those briefs that could go in many different creative directions and isn’t quite fixed on that one familiar route.
The client is up against it, no time for answers to questions, so the designer decides not to rock the boat and doesn’t ask the burning questions they want to, sticking to the tried and tested ones (eg.size, colour, media). From the designers point of view they don’t want to look like a pest, chirping away about things they will help clarify their thinking. So they plough on with a little knowledge of the client, a bit more of the brief and produce a solution. And just like that they face the risk of answering a brief that never existed in the first place.
There is an old Chinese proverb:
“He who asks a question is a fool for five minutes; he who does not ask a question remains a fool forever”
Here are 4 assumptions that designers can make about clients and how to avoid them:
1. THE PRICE IS RIGHT
“Price is what you pay, value is what you get” – Warren Buffet.
Whilst price is one of the deciding factors it isn’t the main one. Time can be spent on working and reworking a quote until you try to get to that magic number everyone will agree on. Rightly clients look for value in their investment. When it comes to wanting a well-designed project in record time the price will play a big part. Be honest about the work involved, the client is interested in your design skills and bringing that brief to life. Working in partnership with the client is a key stage in this. Instead of quoting low, break down the costs to the client and have them understand exactly where that extra cost is going.
2. A JACK OF ALL TRADES
“If somebody offers you an amazing opportunity but you are not sure you can do it, say yes – then learn how to do it later!” – Richard Branson
There may come a time where you are out of your depth. However as a creative you feel as though you must position yourself as the expert on all design related problems. Anything less will cause the trustworthy partnership to waiver ever so slightly. Again, honest communication about what can be achieved and realistic timescales can build you in the time you need to refresh yourself on some design aspects you may only have fleeting knowledge of. Most creatives usually find themselves in the position of learning a new application every few years. The majority of them are quick learners too so with some of the client’s trust and confidence in your ability to learn you can overcome the odds. Success comes from good habits, make research one of yours.
3. SURPRISE!
“A true leader always keeps an element of surprise up his sleeve, which others cannot grasp but which keeps his public excited and breathless.” – Charles de Gaulle
There are two kinds of surprises. The good kind (Surprise! We got the job!) and the bad (Surprise! They’ve changed their mind)
When it comes to clients you want to avoid the bad kind and hope that the work you present will fall into the former category. After weeks of working out the brand and the unique style that comes with it the last thing you want to do is throw a curveball into the mix and surprise them with something they haven’t asked for..or do you? Clients like being surprised. The reason they came to you is because they want something different. Not the same designs that they’ve seen for the past few years. Have you ever been in a situation where you do three safe versions of a logo and one “out there” option? You include it anyway and surprisingly the client picks the “out there” one. You may think you have worked out the kind of client you are working for but their choices can be just as unpredictable as your wild card fourth logo. So retain your element of surprise.
4. THE DOMINO EFFECT
“For the want of a nail the shoe was lost. For the want of a shoe the horse was lost. For the want of a horse the rider was lost. For the want of a rider the battle was lost. For the want of a battle the kingdom was lost. And all for the want of a nail.” – Benjamin Franklin
More often than not the client will ask for changes to a project. Sometimes this will be as little as removing a full stop from a bullet point, other times it will be a complete re-design. It is quite possible that these changes will come in at infrequent times as well which makes it difficult to keep track of all correspondence. What you mustn’t assume is that the client knows exactly the kind of impact this will have on the final outcome. Help them understand their decisions. Make sure you are clear about the affect this will have on pricing and the schedule you’ve set out for them. Doing this earlier will avoid any awkward situations later in the project.
Hakim Shujaee is a Creative Thinker and Designer at Happy Creative, a full service marketing and creative agency based in Blackpool, Lancashire. To learn more or contact us please go to www.happy-creative.co.uk
