S
Sean Lee-Amies
Guest
Over the past few years a lot of people have come to DF to seek advice on how to improve a logo or branding project that they are currently working on. I have tried to help on every occasion that I was aware of, but the same issues kept arising and it's something I'd like to go into a bit more detail about today...
Most of the problems I've read about were to do with not being able to produce something that makes people say "Wow!" or to get their client to choose something they like; often a client will asking for a seemingly endless number of revisions and even then, they don't seem to be in love with the the end result.
The first thing I do when someone is asking for help is ask what steps they have taken to understand the client and their business. Some times people have asked a few questions, but failed to receive sufficient information from their client. Some times they don't ask any questions and some times they have a load of meetings but focus on the wrong things.
Do you remember creating your own brand? It probably took you an excessively long amount of time, compared to most other branding projects - because it was something that you cared about a great deal and wanted to get right. Could you imagine giving that project to a complete stranger and them expecting them to be able to give you something that really highlights your core values, expresses your specific style and ultimately be something that you're going to absolutely love? Would this be possible without them actually sitting down with you, getting to really know you, your beliefs and goals, design preferences and all about your business? No, and so it should be the same for your clients projects.
The first thing I do is sit down with my client(s), face to face, and I get to know them. What are they like as human beings, (this is also a good opportunity to discover if there are any future opportunities such as outsourcing agreements, partnership opportunities etc) and what makes them tick? This is best done in an informal environment, but it does depend on the type of project and type of client. I always try to make friends with my clients, so the less formal the better.
My next goal is to find out why they're passionate about their business and what they want to achieve with it. Having already done as much homework on their business at this point helps because you can talk about specific events that have come up in their history, or lack of - you get more valuable insights into their thought processes and they realise you care about their project, win win.
My next step is to take them through my brand discovery process which involves summarising all of their requirements and finding professional examples of similar brands. Once I've compiled a nice list of examples (minimum 3 - depends on the budget) I will have another meeting with the client and we will analyse as much of the work as possible in order to understand their views on design. What fonts do they like, what colours appeal to them and their brand etc. This is also a very good opportunity, for web projects, to show them features they might want to use on their own site, or specific layouts. The goal here is to find out why they make these decisions, so that you can produce something that they will love the first time around, and not have to spend weeks going over painful revisions.
Once you've got that knowledge, it suddenly becomes a lot easier to produce a stunning piece of work that not only you will love, but the client will love it too - and they will love you for giving them something they didn't know they loved! Think of the referral opportunities.
So that's my process, what about everyone else? How do you make your clients love your work? We've got plenty of established professionals and newbies looking to break into the world of design, so it's a great opportunity for everyone to learn or discuss!
Most of the problems I've read about were to do with not being able to produce something that makes people say "Wow!" or to get their client to choose something they like; often a client will asking for a seemingly endless number of revisions and even then, they don't seem to be in love with the the end result.
The first thing I do when someone is asking for help is ask what steps they have taken to understand the client and their business. Some times people have asked a few questions, but failed to receive sufficient information from their client. Some times they don't ask any questions and some times they have a load of meetings but focus on the wrong things.
Do you remember creating your own brand? It probably took you an excessively long amount of time, compared to most other branding projects - because it was something that you cared about a great deal and wanted to get right. Could you imagine giving that project to a complete stranger and them expecting them to be able to give you something that really highlights your core values, expresses your specific style and ultimately be something that you're going to absolutely love? Would this be possible without them actually sitting down with you, getting to really know you, your beliefs and goals, design preferences and all about your business? No, and so it should be the same for your clients projects.
The first thing I do is sit down with my client(s), face to face, and I get to know them. What are they like as human beings, (this is also a good opportunity to discover if there are any future opportunities such as outsourcing agreements, partnership opportunities etc) and what makes them tick? This is best done in an informal environment, but it does depend on the type of project and type of client. I always try to make friends with my clients, so the less formal the better.
My next goal is to find out why they're passionate about their business and what they want to achieve with it. Having already done as much homework on their business at this point helps because you can talk about specific events that have come up in their history, or lack of - you get more valuable insights into their thought processes and they realise you care about their project, win win.
My next step is to take them through my brand discovery process which involves summarising all of their requirements and finding professional examples of similar brands. Once I've compiled a nice list of examples (minimum 3 - depends on the budget) I will have another meeting with the client and we will analyse as much of the work as possible in order to understand their views on design. What fonts do they like, what colours appeal to them and their brand etc. This is also a very good opportunity, for web projects, to show them features they might want to use on their own site, or specific layouts. The goal here is to find out why they make these decisions, so that you can produce something that they will love the first time around, and not have to spend weeks going over painful revisions.
Once you've got that knowledge, it suddenly becomes a lot easier to produce a stunning piece of work that not only you will love, but the client will love it too - and they will love you for giving them something they didn't know they loved! Think of the referral opportunities.
So that's my process, what about everyone else? How do you make your clients love your work? We've got plenty of established professionals and newbies looking to break into the world of design, so it's a great opportunity for everyone to learn or discuss!