Designers Summary

It’s a wrap. The designers section of the Designers Working With Series that is. We’ve focused for three weeks on seven questions put to designers.

1. As a professional designer, what are the main points you want clients (potential and present) to know before contacting you about a project?
2. When working with clients, what do you see as the top problem areas?
3. How do you work?
4. How should a company or individual in your profession be chosen?
5. At what point should your profession be brought into a project?
6. How do you charge?
7. How can a designer improve their skills in your industry?

In the introduction, Josh Jeffryes brought up the point that building a successful business takes more that talent. It takes business savvy.

The first question was about what we want clients to know before contacting us. Adrian shared that he expects a client to be familiar enough with his work that they can trust him with their project. Andy looks for clients to have done some prep work about the project’s goals and budget. Anna finds it’s important to educate our clients about the value of design. Brian wrote that clients have expectations, but so do we. Chris looks for an understanding that design isn’t a commodity. Dan shared that design has value and that value is worth something. Daniel tells us he wants everybody to be happy, but especially the audience. Danita told us of the importance of branding and understanding some basic design terminology. Dawn believes in building partnerships. Metin expects clients to understand that he is an experienced professional. Neil wants clients to know that good design requires two things – time and money. Nigel wants clients to know their budget. Roger believes communication is key. Scott needs clients to tell him the problem. Stefan has the client’s best interest in mind, while Tamar has the target audience in mind. Finally, Von gets to the point that he’s not cheap or simply a hired pair of hands.

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.

Our next post was A Client’s Guide to Professional Conduct in the Design Industry. It centered around professional conduct, the Designer/Client relationship and the idea that a designer is a professional collaborator and not an employee, and brings a set of skills to the client that is geared towards expanding their business.

Building on the previous post about what designers expect of their clients, in the second question we addressed specific problem areas. Adrian suggests poor communication. Andy says it’s unrealistic or inflated expectations. Brian mentions proofing, unreasonable expectations and that clients don’t always understand the value we bring to the table. Chris chimes in with the same. Daniel feels clients are sometimes not clear about what they’re trying to accomplish. Danita sees a lack of understanding. Dan says he generally has better success with more experienced clients. Dawn is concerned with clients who don’t understand the importance of consistency and can’t make up their mind. Metin needs trust while Neil is another who wants clients to have a clear picture of what they’re trying to accomplish. Nigel thinks some clients don’t read proposal thoroughly. Roger wants clients to focus on marketing issues. Scott looks for clear communication and responsiveness. Stefan sees a need for education. Von sees a problem with communication and a reliance on tools rather then creativity.

Brian Sooy authored a post about client management. He tells of the importance of having clear policies and procedures and leading the client through the process. He writes that we must be proactive when it comes to client management by anticipating deadlines, respecting timelines and how having an awareness of your client’s needs will allow you to manage your time and lead your clients.

In question three we looked at how we work – our process. Andy’s into research, planning and relationship building. Anna seeks to insure needs are met. Brian runs a tight ship with no uncompensated thinking. Chris is more informal and flexible, yet professional. Dagmar works from a home office and also on-site. Daniel rarely meets face to face and taps into email and Skype for communications. Dan’s 4-D process is define, design, develop and deploy. Roger’s another one where distance isn’t an issue. Scott’s into research and Stefan works on building relationships.

Follow on the process path, Neil whipped up The Power of Process. In it he writes, “Without a workable process in place, one that’s sound and repeatable, things can erode into happenstance and you lose control. Not good.” He goes on to guide you through a three step process to keep your projects on task and on target.

Question four dealt with how to choose a designer. Andy suggests research and recommendations and Anna opts for portfolios and word of mouth. Brian agrees on word of mouth but also adds networking. Chris also believes in networking and word of mouth as do Dan and Daniel. Dagmar digs presentations and Leslie and Stefan say to search around where designers lurk. Metin’s on the side of portfolio as does Neil but also adds Google and portfolios. Roger prefers style and attitude over an impressive portfolio. Scott likes RFPs, references and successful projects.

Question five addressed when a designer should be brought in. Everyone is pretty much in agreement – bring in designers as soon as the scope of the project has been determined (if needed, sometime sooner).

In question six we tackled the big question – how to charge for our services. Andy charges based on time spent on the project balanced with fees data for previous gigs. Anna charges by the hour, while Brian goes for fee-based and hourly, depending on the type of project. Leslie, Chris and Dan suggests payments in 50/50 or thirds. Dagmar’s another who uses both hourly and by the project. Daniel also leans towards charging by the project. Like several others, Metin and Neil use both methods. Roger says to get some money upfront and arrange benchmark-based payments. Scott puts forward the interesting suggestion of allowing clients to buy blocks of time for projects – say 20 hours and they can do whatever they want with that time. Stefan goes for 50% upfront and the remainder upon completion.

The last question, seven, shared how a designer can improve their skills. Andy goes for new challenges. Anna’s about practice, practice, practice. Chris advises Self teaching, going to school and visit forums as part of a lifetime of learning. Dagmar buys into the three “R’s” – Reading, Research and Rendering. Daniel improves through reading, while Dan’s all for being a design investigator. Leslie believes in self-assignments, creative play, reading and exposing yourself to other creative media and products. Neil’s also a believer in books, but also workshops and resources like Lynda.com. Roger suggests that the big challenge is not “skills” as much as it is enthusiasm and inspiration.

As you’ve most likely noticed, quite a few designers took the time to contribute to the series. A special thanks goes out to …

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

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

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

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

Chris Tomlinson | Communication Designer | Printer
Gonink | Gonink blog

Dagmar Jeffrey | Principal Arche-tech
NO!SPEC Brainstorming Team Member | Arche-BLogGER

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

Danita Reynolds | Communication Designer
Creative Expertise | Creative Expertise blog

Dan Sturdivant | Communication Designer | Editor
TexasDesign.com

Dawn Burgess | Communication Designer
abdfla.com

Leslie Burns-Dell’Acqua | Creative/Marketing Consultant & Coach
Burns Auto Parts–Consultants | Burns Auto Parts blog | Podcast | Book

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

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

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

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

Scott Boms | Communication Designer
Wishingline DS

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

Tamar Wallace | Communication Designer
Tamar Graphics | Tamar Graphics blog

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

Coming next is the writers segment of the Designers Working With Series.

until the next
Designers WW,
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