The Designer-Client Partnership: You Gave Me Homework!
Guest Post by Julie Young, Young Design
I have a client (a CEO) who once exclaimed, “You’re always giving me homework!” And it’s true. There’s not a design project in the world that doesn’t require extensive client input. Otherwise, it’s just a guessing game.
The Design Project Partnership
In any project, the designer and client are in a partnership. If the client is lucky, the designer cares as much as s/he does about the quality of the final product. The questions we ask usually open up topics the client has never thought about. They lead to more ideas, which in turn lead to more opportunities for the client to showcase their company accurately. Doing the homework really pays off.
Nailing down the specifics takes work and time. Here are just a few of the essential questions we ask, most of which can only be answered by the client.
- How will the product be distributed?
- Has the branding been done? If not, the product is temporary until branding is put into place.
- Who is the market?
- Who is the competition?
- Where does the product fit into the sales cycle?
- Is the content really ready to go? and if not, who is the best person in the company to be interviewed for content development?
Doing this work also allows clients to get comfortable with their company profile and their marketing expectations. A well-thought-out piece of collateral has a great chance of getting results. Do your homework!
About the Author
Julie Young is a print and web designer at Young Design. For over 20 years, she has been creating quality branding, websites, print collateral and email marketing to help companies communicate with their customers in order to raise profiles and profits.
