Design Process Part 1 | Communicating with your client and ensuring a quality design process

Design Process: Part 1

On 10.11.09, In Designing, by Peter Simcoe

The first of three articles looking at the some of the designer’s roles in a project and examining designerly thought process through the use of a short interaction design exercise using the O2 Joggler.

Perfect Solutions Every Time

Firstly, it is worth pointing out that, unlike a mathematical problem, the design problem is one that cannot necessarily be resolved to perfection but must be resolved perfectly for the circumstances under which it exists. As I often mention to my clients, if you throw enough money at a solution – you can have any solution you like. The designer’s challenge is to fulfill the needs and desires of the client within parameters that will range from budget to client needs / desires to media type.

CONCLUSION: Achieve design perfection within the set parameters of budget, client needs / desires and the location or media involved.

Ensuring Client Satisfaction

In addition to a quality piece of design work, a client must be completely satisfied with the job and feel that the financial sacrifice they have made has been rewarded with a product, advert, website or DVD that will work for them as a company, educational establishment, photographer or restaurant to further their cause or increase income.

There are several ways to do this but the one that works for me the most is to clearly analyse the design process with the client prior to the job commencing. From the point at which a fee is being negotiated to the conclusion of a project, the process should be explained at appropriate points to a client in easy-to-understand bite sizes. At what point should this discussion take place? The most common guides to this discussion are the points at which a piece of design work will be assessed by the client – the test phases if you like. The emphasis is upon the designer to advise the client as to when a discussion will be necessary and so as not to annoy or take up too much time – anticpating the required information and evaluation periods is paramount.

CONCLUSION: Assist the client in understanding your thought processes from the point of initial contact and at the various agreed evaluation periods throughout the project. Create a plan of action that will let the client know how much time you will need from him or her – this also helps you to know how isolated you will be in the project.

Design Brief

In my experience a design brief can arrive in the in-tray or inbox in a variety of formats:

1. The client contacts the designer by telephone for a brief discussion. During this conversation the client is looking for signs that the designer will respond intelligently to a given brief and so the designer must be prepared to react quickly and appropriately to statements made by the client whilst making notes regarding the requirements. These notes form the basis of the brief.

2. A client or client representative requests a meeting and gives a little information about what the project may be. This can be more vague than the telephone conversation as there is little or no time for questions – the designer must respond to questions at a meeting.

3. A client sends a brief out to tender. This means the designer has the opportunity to outline how they would approach the project and some initial designs may be required here. This leads onto the subject of speculative working which will be covered in another article, another time – in the meantime, check out these two links related to spec. design:

Why Speculative Design is Wrong
What is Speculative Design Work? – the video is worth listening to after the first 30 seconds

CONCLUSION: Experience and knowledge can prepare you for any design situation and so make the most of any information you are given to prepare intelligent questions and suggestions to clarify the brief – the designer should lead the client through the process carefully and considerately.

Types of Brief

The most common types of design brief are OPEN and CLOSED. An open brief is where the designer is allowed to experiment and develop a solution to a design problem with no initial guidance on what the end solution might be. A closed brief is where the solution is given [eg a device that performs task x and fits into box y] but is unclear how the design will look.

There are often grey areas in these design briefs – a typical example being that a designer has freedom to design a solution but must follow the corporate colours or must use a logo or identifying mark on the product, website or advert.

A designer should use his or her experience to make suggestions as to the benefits of changing the design brief where appropriate. This may result in the reduction of financial expenditure [for example, where a designer sees that part of the brief may require more creative freedom to allow other parts of the brief to flow and conclude more effectively]. If a client is completely opposed to making changes to the brief then the designer must carefully consider how the process will work within these constraints and take appropriate action.

CONCLUSION: A brief can be open or closed but this is often not as clear cut as it seems. An ideal client is someone who trusts the designer to suggest flexibility in the negotiation period to ensure the best possible design is produced. If there is no flexibility and the job looks dubious then it may be necessary to reject the job for the benefit of both designer and client.