Every client out there is different – and that, in part, is what makes the design industry so exciting. You are always faced with new challenges and projects that will continuously expand your skill set and help you in achieving a greater understanding of the industry itself. Experience is key. When getting involved in a new project, it’s important that you understand your client and how to effectively help them with their product or service. Unarguably the most important step in designing/developing a new website is getting to know your client. In addition, the audience in which they plan to cater to is crucial. So how do we effectively get to know our clients? It’s easy with the proper design brief and questionnaire.
A design questionnaire/brief is a way to fully articulate the foundation of a client’s business and his or her goals. It helps to flesh out the target audience, how to cater to them, and how to properly display the right information. In essence it really becomes the controlling document of the entire project from start to finish. Without this step, you’re essentially driving blind and the expectations of the client will not be identified correctly. This can easily lead to endless revisions and unhappy clients.
The first step in creating an effective brief is to develop a foundation and basic structure. Try and think of some really broad questions that will help sculpt an overall direction for the project and help you understand the client’s business and goals. Here are a few examples…
- Please provide some background information about your business, product or service.
- Who is included in your target audience? Please provide as much detail as possible (age range, gender, occupations, etc.)
- What business problem are you trying to solve with this website?
After you’ve developed a basic structure, it’s best to move on to some more targeted questions that are specific to each client. It’s a good idea to do some preliminary research before your first meeting to help you ask more specific questions. This will show your client that you are truly informed and uniquely interested in their business. The most important thing to remember here is that you must ask very open ended questions that are also accurately targeted at the same time. Get your client engaged with the questions and really get them to open up about their business. However, try not to get too specific. Asking your client what types of colors or graphic style they would like is unnecessary – that’s your job! Don’t forget that you are the professional in your industry just as your client is in his or hers. So what type of specific questions should be asked? Well, that totally depends on the client. Think about what users would be most interested in and how they would find them, use them and interact with them. This will create a very slick flow from design brief to actual design and will really go a long way in creating something that’s effective for your clients.
Going hand-in-hand with this article, “Norex’s Creative Process” written by Chris Lowe, is an informative look into our company process from start to finish. It provides excellent insight into what to do after your brief is complete.
