Jessica Frampton
Associate Designer

“Okay, you two…I want you both to shake hands and play nice from now on. Next time you can’t get along, you’re headed straight to the principal’s office.”

Wouldn’t it be great if adult life sounded like this, to have a reasonable, unbiased individual keep us in line whenever we started kicking dirt in each other’s faces? Well, I am going to attempt to be that voice and bridge the gap in the designer-client relationship. The epic struggle between creative process and business savvy. When you find yourself on either side of the divide, here are some tips that can help both parties meet in the middle.

Learn to Speak Each Other’s Language
They say that the best time to learn new a new language is as a child. To that, I say…Who cares when the time is best? Don’t ever stop learning. True, I may not be completely fluent in the language as my business counterpart, but you should always know enough to be able to eat (and find a bathroom). If a prospective client were to meet with me and throw out terms such as ROI, CTA, or B2B – I would have an understanding of what he or she was saying, regardless of it being outside my direct job scope. I have made an effort to learn the way clients communicate, mostly because I’ve yet to meet a client who wants to dumb down just for me – and why should they have to? However, I’ve noticed that I tend to get stopped in my tracks when I do the same, so I revert to language that isn’t too difficult to digest. My advice when embarking on a new web design project: know enough to be able to effectively communicate the information on both sides to make the project a success. Clients, take a look at my ABCs of FTPs article and impress all of your friends with your wealth of knowledge at cocktail parties.

Share the Wheel
One of the hallmarks of growing up is learning to share. It’s a trait that seems to become less important as we age, but is all the more paramount when dealing with two very different personalities. It’s up to both parties to be willing to allow each other to present their ideas and solutions to the ultimate benefit of the project. There is a reason you need each other throughout the duration of the project, and there should be no power struggles. Depending on where you are along the road of project completion, the driver of the project will eventually have to shift in order to be sure each aspect of the site – creatively and functionally – has been considered.

Do Your Homework
Before you meet to discuss a creative project, designers should learn the strategy, mission, and competitors of the client. It is impossible for the designer to be successful in achieving the needs of a client’s new site without a solid understanding of what may be lacking from their current approach. The client’s homework should include having an idea of what they’re looking for visually in the form of site examples or their brand collateral. The worst is when a client comes into the game without a clear idea of what they are looking for or the personality of their brand that can be relayed to the project team. This is imperative to reach a common kick-off point in the design process.

Appreciate Each Other’s Talents
Not everyone can draw. Not everyone knows how to make those magical equations that complete themselves in an Excel spreadsheet. Similar to speaking each other’s language, knowing the strengths of each individual on your project team will promote a more tactical and detail-oriented strategy when developing the site. When each person is held accountable for their particular brand of expertise and how it relates to the final site, there is an element of pride and showmanship involved that encourages the best results. Just as we trust those on the business side to provide the information and functionality necessary for their users, creatives should be trusted to deliver an impactful design without requiring consistent direction from the client.

If You Don’t Have Anything Nice to Say…
Imagine what it’s like to be a designer and have your day’s work constantly criticized and picked apart – usually by an audience who has no idea of the amount of work that has gone into it. Us designers are used to this and know the job requires thick skin and a jacket made from the body of a grizzly bear. Keep in mind, as a client, a creative work is not simply about pleasing your eye, but the eyes of your many customers as well. Take that into consideration and spend the time to inquire with your designer why they handled certain elements the way they did. Most of the time (surprise, surprise!), they will actually have a logical reason that makes loads of sense and not just because it looks cool. Creative is subjective, true. But design is actually defined as a plan. Think of how many things you like that others disagree with. Working on a design is not a competition to get the creative to appeal to you, the client. It’s an assignment – for both sides – to determine what is the best visual language to communicate to the majority of your customer base. If, when reviewing a design, the creative isn’t working for you, don’t simply say, “I don’t like it” – provide solutions to your designer (if you’ve done your homework) and come to a collective solution together.

Become BFFs Foreverz
At ZOG Digital, we work hard to make our clients happy. After all, we wrote this article to prove how important a positive designer-client relationship is to our mutual success, right? So, inquire today and let’s become BFFs working on your website together!