The Official Walmedia Blog
Forever in search of the simplification of all aspects of overly complicated web design, usability, and online marketing.

Designer to Client: Please let me do my Job Chris Wallace

In the design world, every designer knows the absolute quickest way to completely ruin a great design. Receive feedback from your client. That’s it. Once a client begins tapping into their vast design expertise, everything the designer loved about a once-beautiful, well-thought-out design will quickly travel down the familiar path of “I don’t LOVE the color” or “just make the font bigger” or my personal favorite, “I would really like to have a picture of me, my son, and his prom date in the header.” Even after my numerous attempts to change my client’s mind, it ended up going into the design. Why? Because ultimately, the client has the final say.

Feedback like this can lead a design into the realm of awkward color schemes, improperly-sized or poor-quality images, incorrectly-sized logos, improperly placed navigation, not to mention many usability no-nos. While working as an e-commerce web designer for a shopping cart software provider, it was almost 90% guaranteed that the client would provide feedback that would completely change the feel of the design and in most cases, render it (what I call) “unportfolioable.” I know that’s not a word, but it should be.

How can a client sabotage a design project just by offering some “constructive” feedback? All the client wanted was the most “high-end design to attract the most high-end buyers.” At least, that’s what I heard quite regularly from my clients. So how can clients and designers work in harmony to achieve purposeful, consistent, and attractive design? I have compiled a few questions for clients hoping to avoid some of the design-direction pitfalls:

3 Things to ask your Designer during the Design Process

1. Would you put this in your personal portfolio?
   This question is typically answered after the first or second set of changes have been requested by a client. A designer typically can recall the exact point that a design moves from portfolio-worthy to “never tell anyone that you actually had a hand in this.” Don’t let your design be the latter.
   
2. Is there anything about this design that is screaming at you to be changed?
   As a designer, when I look at a website or logo, I typically can give you 5 things I would have done differently. When working with clients, sometimes a request is made to change something I may have spent two hours working on, such as a set of really cool icons or some wicked awesome background. That’s usually when the client requests a change and takes it a different direction.
3. What do the other designers in your office think about it?
   As designers, we love to vent to each other about frustrations with certain clients and 9 times out of 10, if you are driving your designer nuts with the types of changes you are requesting or the feedback you are providing, their co-workers have seen the design. It’s usually accompanied with the following email (or some variation):