BoDo exists to help out those new to the business of design, so when I put this series together, I thought back to questions I had as a new business start-up.

It wasn’t just my client (singular) I was unsure of. I didn’t know how to work with writers, printers (and their in-house pre press staff), illustrators, or the in-house marketing staff of my client. Then when web came into the picture, I had to turn my hand with programmers (I’ve found gifts of chocolate help pave the way).

The questions for this part of the series went out to designers with varied backgrounds and experience levels. Each have tackled similar issues, coming up with workable solutions.

To summarize: I asked designers what they wanted clients to understand about their business, the problems they’ve run into when working with clients, how they (as designers) work, how they feel a designer should be chosen, when a designer needs to be brought into a project, how they charge, and any tips they’d like to share on improving skills.

I started out with client issues because that’s where it started with me. When clients first arrive on the scene, the true reality of running a business begins. Snafus happen, lessons are learned, and eventually, experience wins the day.

Getting new clients into the design process can be time consuming. The newer the client is to working with designers, the more educating the designer needs to do before the main chunk of the work begins. An ideal would be a prepared client, so I asked designers, “As a professional designer, what are the main points you want clients (potential and present) to know before contacting you about a project?”

Adrian has reasonable expectations

I expect a client to be familiar enough with my work that they can trust me with their project. The best clients that I have worked with are the ones who trust me enough to let me do my job. If I could tell a prospective client one thing, it would be that I expect to be leading the design of the project. There will be time for you to give input and feedback, but ultimately you will have to trust in my ability to give you what you need. There is a huge temptation for a client to backseat drive, and that rarely results in great design.

Adrian E. Hanft | Art Director | Photographer
Be A Design Group | Found Photography | Adrian3

Andy has a practical ideal

Ideally the client will have done some preparatory work and have a rough idea of the project goals, budget and the type of design services they are looking for. However as a professional consultancy, it is our job to guide clients through the process no matter how prepared or experienced they are.

Andy Budd | Managing Director | Web Designer | Author
Andy Budd::Blogography | CSS Mastery

Anna finds the need to educate

We find we often have to educate our clients on the value of design. In the projects that we have ended up taking on, we’ve been lucky to work with great clients who really value design and are looking for something that will enhance their brand or their product. On the flip side, we have been approached by many potential clients looking for design for free (or almost free). This is always a frustrating point, and more often than not, we end up not taking on those jobs, because why work with someone who doesn’t value what you do? The other thing I like clients to do before beginning a job is have their content ready. It’s really hard to push a design forward without having all (or at least most) of the content in place.

Anna Corpron & Sean Auyeung | Interdisciplinary Design Practice
Sub-Studio | sub-studio design blog

Brian understands expectations

You have expectations, so do we:

• That you will respond to us in a timely manner
• That you will proof your copy
• That you will make us aware of budget and time constraints
• That you understand that changes to the scope of the project will result in additional fees

Brian Sooy | Design Consultant
Brian Sooy & Co | Altered Ego Fonts

Chris asks for understanding

Understand that designing is not a commodity based business. I can’t put a website on the shelf for $399 or place a yellow smiley sticker on it and call it a “sale”.

Ease of use does not equate to ease of design. Because the Internet is quite simple to use, I think people have a misconception that it’s just as easy to develop. And yet, you could ask them to build a car from scratch and they’d be clueless. Well, it’s pretty darn easy to drive a car also now isn’t it?

Your monitor is not a piece of paper. I think the majority of Joe Public believes that just because they can right/command click an icon on their screen and print it off on their desktop printer and it looks pretty “good”, that we (printers) can/will do the same thing. Sure, it can be done, but the loss of quality is tremendous and we can’t correct it before printing.

Chris Tomlinson | Communication Designer | Printer
Gonink | Gonink blog

Dan has two things

Two things. First, that design creates value for our clients- this value traditionally extends well beyond the cost of the project. Secondly, that our time is worth something.

Dan Sturdivant | Communication Designer | Editor
TexasDesign.com

Daniel’s stimulating

1. I want everyone to be happy with the results–most especially the target audience.
2. I’m fun to work with and make the process stimulating, interesting and energetic.
3. Expect the unexpected. I find that the best results are sometimes the most surprising ones–to me as well as to others involved. That these creative solutions come about as a result of many questions and answers and if you’re open minded and let one idea spark another, in the end you’ve created something with energy and life.

You can read a popular piece I wrote called How to (and not to) work with a designer.

Daniel Will-Harris | Communication Designer
Will-Harris House | Schmoozeletter

Danita has suggestions

• The extreme importance of Branding.
• Basic Design Terminology. Because they can then better communicate their needs.
• Having a good defined idea of what they need and don’t need. Being vague about content is detrimental.
• Having an open mind about creative solutions.

Danita Reynolds | Communication Designer
Creative Expertise | Creative Expertise blog

Dawn believes in partnership

Time is money. I sell my time as well as my ideas. I need time for research, time for creativity, time for production, time for implementing and management of projects, etc.. And yes, it’s all billable.

I operate a business, and my business is for profit. Please don’t ask me to work for free or reduced rates. I will, however, work within your budget, or present other ideas to maximize your budget. Oh, and PLEASE just give me at least some idea of a budget. If you need help putting one together, I’ll do that, but you have to give me a ballpark—you know you have one. Then I’ll let you know what we can and can’t do…

I want each project to be successful. My intent is not to waste your money on unnecessary items or services. The success of your projects directly reflects on my expertise and ability. If you’re not seeing results, making money, getting new customers, etc., then I’m not doing my job. I want you to be wildly successful.

I cannot do my job to the best of my abilities without complete cooperation and feedback from my clients. This is a partnership, and to be successful the lines of communication need to be left wide open. If you don’t like something I’ve done, tell me. You will not hurt my feelings. If we can’t be honest with each other, communicate, try new things, exchange ideas, then the partnership is doomed from the beginning—and there’s a good chance the project might also fail to deliver the desired results.

Dawn Burgess | Communication Designer
abdfla.com

Metin has expectations

First of all I expect clients to have checked out my website and have a good impression of what I do and especially what I don’t do, so I don’t have to disappoint them. Furthermore, I expect clients to understand that I am an experienced professional with a price tag that matches the skill level I’ve built up through the years.

Metin Seven | Communication Designer
Seven’s Heaven - design and illustration

Neil sets out requirements

First and foremost, good design requires two things – time and money. It takes time to learn about a client’s business, their competitive environment and their audience. It also takes time to explore possible solutions and distilling them down to the most appropriate for the client’s specific situation. Without the time investment, and the money to pay for it, a project can quickly erode to decoration and not strategic graphic design that solves a given communication problem.

It’s important to take personal preferences out of the design equation. Just because a client (or worse, their spouse) thinks PMS 185 is the bee’s knees, it may not be the best choice to hit a chord with the audience. Everything within a design should be there for a reason. The designer should be able to communicate, and defend why this or that is included. The client, who’s the one paying for our expertise, should listen.

For smaller and independent design practices, cash flow is often king. Clients should respect that and pay invoices in a timely manner.

Neil (nt) Tortorella | Marketing Manager
Tortorella Design | The Marketing Mind | Creative Latitude | BoDo Team | Marketing Minute

Nigel gives a few pointers

The main thing clients need to know is what their budget is. If they’re serious about their organisation or business, then they must have some idea of how much money they have in the pot. How do you run a company and not know your own finances? Of course, many people refuse to pass on this information because they fear that the designer is going to bill to the penny exactly what they say they can afford, so it’s up to me to explain and convince them that if they can only afford a smaller budget, then they may have to reduce their expectations of what their site will be able to do.

Additional points:

• Clients should realise that I am a professional designer, which means that my time has a financial value attached.
• There is no such thing as a “five minute job”.
• I won’t supply designs with my written proposal, even if the other pitch candidates are (I tend to win the pitches anyway).
• I trained for several years before I became a professional designer and I currently have over 18 years’ experience. I know what I’m doing.
• Just because the client wants a simple-looking Web site does not mean it is a simple process to achieve it.

Nigel Gordijk | Web Designer | Consultant
Common Sense Design | Common Sense Small Business Toolkit

Roger believes communication is key

Clients should be able to concisely communicate their design needs in terms of marketing goals. After a few minutes conversation, designers should be able to create–on the basis of the client’s answers, a Creative Brief answering the following questions:

• Who the market is they’re trying to reach? Are their prospects young, old, rich, poor, blue collar, professional, etc. Are they accustomed to reading? What is their market’s likely attitude to the client’s message?
• What is the action they want prospects to take? Buy something, visit a website, download a report, attend an event, relocate, etc.
• What obstacles stand in the way of attaining their goals? What keeps their prospects from taking the desired action? Lack of money, lack of information, bad credit, etc.
• What is the primary message they want to communicate? What is the single, main, idea that prospects should take away from the project?
• Who are their competition? What are their competition’s URLs, what do their marketing materials look like, what are the competition’s primary messages?
• Where will the project appear? If it’s an advertisement, will it appear in an upscale magazine or a local daily newspaper?
• Are their any restrictions or limitations? Has a budget for the project been approved? Does the client have an idea of what the project should cost? What is the project’s deadline?
• Who’s in charge? Where does final responsibility rest? Is there a single individual in charge, or will the designer be reporting to a committee? Who has to sign-off on the project, and how reachable are they?

Roger C Parker | Designer | Writer | Marketing Consultant
Design To Sell Online | Roger C. Parker Design to Sell Blog | Design to Sell

Scott needs clients to tell him the problem

I’m contacted on a regular basis by clients or potential clients regarding upcoming projects for which they need design and/or html/css work. Often there’s limited information on which to produce an accurate estimate or with which to gauge the amount of time that might be required to complete the project. Couple this with evasiveness to provide even a rough budget on occasion and you have a recipe for trouble.

I find it’s a general problem with the industry and people requiring design services. It’s a difficult concept to grasp for the people outside the industry because what we do can seem like black magic. People understand the output, but have trouble grasping the process and therefore tend to undervalue the work required to get to the end product.

Ideally I’d like clients to be able to concisely tell me the problem they need to solve or some background on their situation so I can determine the actual problem. Clients will say “I need a website”. My response would be “why”?

I’d love to be able to spend more time educating clients, particularly on the web because there’s so few that really “get it”. A lot of people’s experiences with the web are really bad, they only know really badly designed websites or say “make it look like Apple”. Clients focus too much on the pure visual experience and not as much on usability, accessibility and other less glamorous things but which are equally if not more important.

I’d like clients to know a bit about me, my company, the work I’ve done in the past, the types of clients I’ve worked with. Clients need to be able to sell a project to me, not just expect that they can call and I’ll jump all over their project. It doesn’t happen. I won’t say never, but 9 times out of 10, I’m too busy to take on new work unless it’s really interesting and they can prove to me that they’ll be good to work with.

Scott Boms | Communication Designer
Wishingline DS

Stefan has the client’s best interest in mind

Well, we aren’t cheap. Good design shouldn’t be, in fact if it is, I would be a little concerned about where it’s coming from. But because we don’t pretend to be cheap, we are able to offer a service that in my mind is the best possible design available, and that is what we strive for on every project. We believe great design is essential to running a successful business. Design builds experiences, perceptions and loyalty before the consumer ever uses your product/service, so if your presentation is not the best possible, it will ultimately make choosing a much more sharp competitor that much easier. Not only that but great design gives credibility to a brand. A business that takes care to manage their brand image from the beginning is probably more likely to pay that kind of attention to their clients needs. We certainly believe that about our own brand and it is proving to be a successful philosophy.

Secondly, we are the designers. Yes, we want your input, in fact we cherish it, but if the client comes in expecting us to be production artists, then they probably aren’t the right client for us. Ultimately we want to work with every client like we are in partnership. The client came to us for design because that is not their specialty, so let us do the design work you hired us for. Because they have hired professionals, that will give them the opportunity to do what they do best, manage their company. We have every clients best interest in mind and wouldn’t let any work walk our our door that we didn’t feel would bring our client success.

Have a budget in mind. It’s always good to know what you have to work with on a project so you know if you have to be really creative in order to give them an excellent piece, or if you can splurge on some more expensive processes or materials. Ultimately we want every piece to look like a fortune was spent on it, but sometimes you don’t have a fortune to spend.

Finally, we want to be able to build a relationship with every client that walks through our doors. Loyalty is far less expensive than skipping around having to explain your story time and time again. That’s why we can offer most every need your business might have so we can fill your needs as they come up. And, it also gives us the opportunity to let you know when it might be a good time to try something new that could give your firm a leg up on your competition. That’s why being in a partnership is so beneficial. It lets us know you’ll be coming back and you know we have your best interest in mind every time.

Stefan Bean | President/Creative Director
Pulse Creative Partners, Inc. | BoDo Author | Bean’s Biz

Tamar has the target audience in mind

While we are designers, and for the most part, good at what we do, we are not magicians. We can not turn a 100 pixel x 100 pixel 72 dpi image into a 300 dpi 4″x 5″ print-ready image without MAJOR loss of quality.

Truth be told, the final design really isn’t about what the designer, or even the client likes - to be effective, it NEEDS to be about what will attract the target audience.

You get what you pay for. Sure, there are less expensive online companies clients can go to, but they will not get the research, experience and expertise that they would get when working with a designer.

Tamar Wallace | Communication Designer
Tamar Graphics | Tamar Graphics blog

Von gets to the point

Small business owners: If they want cheap they shouldn’t call me. I mean that both monetary wise and conceptual wise. I am not an extension of their arm. If allowed to do my job unfettered, I am a serious professional who can equip their business to succeed.

Larger Agencies/Firms: I can be your hired creative gun. Allow me to expand your firms creative spectrum and offer your clients more without increasing your overhead.

Von R. Glitschka | Illustrator
Glitschka Studios | IllustrationClass.com | Art Backwash | Three Thumbs Up Award

Summary

The answers have been written with the client in mind, but a clear message comes through for the designer - designers need to communicate how they work, and this includes their expectations of the client / designer relationship.

Several years back a number of us put together a Clients Code of Conduct. If you can hang on about fifteen minutes, it’s on the way. It was an interesting exercise, and one I feel should be batted around more, so please feel free to leave a comment as I’d love to get your views. Along these same lines is another project you may want to look into, Chuck Green’s Design Constitution.

Certain client issues are delicate because they tend to bring up past or future sins. To get around the possibility of driving away a potential client with too much truth too soon, some designers prepare a brief how we work page on a website, a small brochure for that first or second meeting, or a pdf they can email or have clients download from their site. The downside of doing it that way is you might end up fielding window shoppers. By laying it all out (partial payment up front, kill fees, late charges, etc.), you have a better chance of weeding out the less serious clients.

If you don’t have this information easily available (and why not?) then a perfect opportunity to explain in detail (or even again) is the project proposal. Describe your process and procedures in black and white, then go over the items to field questions either in person, Skype, IM, phone or email.

If you are unsure how to put together a proposal, talented Web designer Nigel Gordijk tells all in fabulous detail in his e-book Learn how to write better, more professional Web design project proposals. For those who prefer a slim skim or want to keep their overheads down, Nigel also has a short Creative Latitude article, How to write a winning proposal.

Next week we’ll get back to the discussion of process. Before we do, up next is our Clients Code of Conduct. And for a bit of client levity, Tom, the host of Dire Straits is joining in on the client discussion with Clients, the Crisis.

until the next
Designers WW,
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