’)When making the transition from web designing for yourself to freelance web designing or designing for big companies, one of the things that you’ll find out sooner or later is how often clients will be dissatisfied with your initial design. If you’re hawking your services over the Internet, it’s an even bigger problem when you’re trying to agree on the one design with your clients. It can be much cause for frustration, impeding progress with other creative projects and even short-circuiting your creative ability at times. So why is it that we can’t just all get along?
In The Eye Of The Beholder
The biggest problem with trying to adhere to a client’s design requirements is seeing the design the way that they see it. If they’re able to provide a description or even a rough sketch of how they want their site to look, it helps a lot, but more often than not, all you’re given to work with is the theme of the site and what its intention is.
It’s an even bigger problem if the client is not willing to communicate with you on how they want their site to look. How to solve this? Ask yourself what you need to help you create your first design draft for them. Make it a checklist that they fill in and make it as short as possible to accommodate the lazier ones.
You can even flesh out this idea to help you get more clients if you predominantly sell your services online:
- Theme: What am I going to be designing about for you?
- Vibe: How do you want your website to feel like?
- Examples: Are there any sites which you want yours to look like?
Something as short and sweet as this leaves your digital doors wide open for potential clients to virtually browse around (pun unintended) and get a feel for how you go about your craft. Make sure that you have a way of getting back in contact with them.
Their Customer Is Right
You’ll find that a lot of people who are looking for web designers are doing so to branch out into the online world to increase revenue, ie. the main purpose of their web design is to increase conversions, be it visitors to sales, visitors to clicks, getting visitors contact info, etc. In this case, it’s neither you nor them that’s right, but their customer.
Although this involves a bit of marketing know-how, it’s crucial that they are able to explain to you what their ideal customer would be looking for most on their website. Then what you have to do is make it as easy as possible for their customer to get what they want on your client’s website, via your web design.
Even if the website is non-for-profit or information-based, it helps to run through the ideal customer’s online experience if they were to visit your client’s website.
Web Design is a Battle…
…and your brain is the battle field. The two sides are:
Following your client’s design criteria vs. maintaining your own creative energy
Ultimately, if your client is unhappy with your design, you aren’t going to get paid. Your client will only be happy with your design if it looks close to what they had in mind.
To get your design close to how they wanted it to look, you have to make sure that you don’t bring in your own opinions into how the design should look. However, if you’re too objective, your design will turn out plain. There is a high chance that your client will be unhappy with this plain design and you won’t get paid.
So what do you do? You have to play both fields, so to speak. Make sure that you are looking at the design from their perspective, but don’t let this hinder your ability to create something that is unique. Easier said than done, but that is the jist of it.
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Christian
April 20, 2010 at 11:22 am
I like that “Web Design is a Battle…”. This is true and one of the things I am worrying about as I’m unsure how to handle this situation once it happens (will be designing for the first time).
Is defending your design an option? and somehow educating them? If worst comes to worst….http://theoatmeal.com/comics/design_hell
Chris
April 20, 2010 at 4:50 pm
There is another option for webdesigners, though. At 2wtx.com, we work only with clients who are interested in letting us lead the way:
“We know what design tactics lead directly to higher sales and increased customer loyalty. Our clients are comfortable giving us their vision and letting us work on bringing it to life. They are happy to let us figure out the look-and-feel of their websites and help them produce compelling web content to help prospects make a purchasing decision.”
We NEVER ask for examples of websites the clients would like theirs to look like. We use our experience and constant research to create a winning design for them. Some designers will probably be very surprised, but this actually works very well (we don’t oversell and are very open about what we offer and don’t offer). Our projects run smoothly and never require more than a few small revisions, usually in content. Each client brings us 3-5 referrals, which tells us our process is working.
Our method of course won’t work for all clients, but it’s a big enough niche to keep us busy, so by choice we are successfully staying away from “webdesign as a battle” :-).
Julianne of New Zealand
April 20, 2010 at 11:27 pm
LOL, @Chris … and what happens when they come back 6 months later and say how come when they punch their keywords into google they don’t come up at number 1? Are you sure they’re not bagging you to other people behind your back? You may not be fully aware. All the best to you though.
Cook
April 21, 2010 at 12:16 pm
a very well written article……
Keith
April 21, 2010 at 4:05 pm
@Christian, I personally don’t think there’s anything wrong with defending your design, so long as you have the proper means to explain to the client as to why it’s the more effective solution (notice the use of the word “effective”, and not “better looking”). It’s still their decision to make, however.
I think #2, “Their Customer Is Right”, is (arguably, heh) the most unarguable point in the article; defining the business needs/goal is the only objective step in an otherwise subjective process. It’s also the first step in helping you discover the most optimal user experience with which to build a creative, unique design. So if you can effectively hit all points on how your concept will most effectively achieve business goals, then you’re one step closer to selling it. :P
WebCreationUK
May 4, 2010 at 7:26 am
Some clients do not like your design for a simple motif: they are clients from hell. Of course, not all of them, but I believe you know what I mean… :)
Reactix
May 7, 2010 at 12:43 pm
As a designer, I make it a point to make my clients understand that my design represents not only what looks good, but functions properly to relay the intended message.
When I seek investment help, I don’t let the firm recommend stock and then tell them no, I want this one. I take their recommendations because that is what they do, not what I do. Design and working with a client should be the same, unless of course that client is already knowledgeable about design, the web, etc.
Bill
May 24, 2010 at 10:03 am
Clients don’t like your designs because:
1. Your design is ugly
2. You didn’t respond to the requirements of the project
3. You didn’t research the requirements of the project
4. You didn’t clearly justify your designs
5. The client is indecisive (not your fault, bad client)
Charles
May 28, 2010 at 10:17 am
Agree with Bill/May 24. If you:
- are good at what you do
- focus client requirements clearly and get sign-off on that focus
- get to know the target audience intimately
- clearly express how and why your designs work
…then you’re likely justified in charging AAs! :-)
Charles
May 28, 2010 at 10:20 am
…oh, forgot to add as the #4 item:
- offer 3 initial design directions and get sign-off on one of them
kadıköy vaillant servisi
June 7, 2010 at 3:22 am
if you’re too objective, your design will turn out plain
Elizabeth K. Barone
July 27, 2010 at 3:29 pm
It goes even further than that. Sometimes, a client will want something that goes against good practice — no matter how many times you advise them against it. When it comes down to it, though, the old adage “the customer is always right” also applies to web design, so the best you can do is advise them and then back off if they still want to do it anyway.