Defining Clients Needs is all about realizing the importance of doing the research. Here I’ve identified 3 reasons to do a thorough research on the market sector and the company that you’re designing for.
1. Do research to find out your client’s who, what and why.
The first thing you need to do when you’re starting on a new project with a new client is to find outwhat is it that they really want to accomplish and communicate. Hillman Curtis says the first thing he asks a new client is — “What’s the story?” — And there you have it… the company’s history, its points of pride, its shortcomings, and its core values”. Neumeier’s points out, that you need to “—demand unambiguous answers to three little questions: 1) Who are you? 2) What do you do? 3) Why does it matter?… Unless you have compelling answers to all three questions, meaning that customers find them irresistible, you haven’t got a brand…Together, these questions provide a litmus test for what makes you different, what gives your company its raison d’etre.” (Neumeier 2006.)
Having a good understanding of your client’s story, Their who, what and why enables you to boil it down to what is really important. Simplificationis key. Curtis says, “And just as the haiku’s beauty lies in its apparent simplicity, so, too, does a good design’s”. (Curtis 2011) Kit Hinrichs also had some good things to say about simplification. “The thing when we did muzak was this simplification from the whole name down to a single symbol. It wasn’t just a matter of how do we change their identity? How do we change the way we communicate about them? Simpler, stronger messages.” (Hinrichs 2013)
2. Use your research to show the client that you know what you’re doing.
Margo Chase pointed out that the designer has to explain the process before they can get to the creative and make something. Their clients really need to be able to understand why they were making the design recommendations that they were making. The more quantitative, repeatable and mathematical the process could be, more comfortable the clients were with it. “The idea of sort of the black art of creativity makes a lot of marketing people really uncomfortable. And so they like knowing that there is a process that makes sense that they can understand and repeat.” (Chase 2013)
In his book, The Designful Company, Marty Neumeier talks about how designers in the 20th century were considered “exotic menials” by the captains of industry. There was the “dominance of spreadsheet thinking” in business. “Somewhere in the middle of the last century, trained designers began touting various design processes as a way to change their status from “exotic menials” to “serious professionals.” A number of processes appeared, but mostly they were one-way flow charts that guided projects through a series of phases. When you stripped away the trademarked terms and customized embellishments, they came down to four basic phases: 1) discovery, 2) ideation, 3) refinement, and 4) production. This logical sequence gave comfort to business managers, since the designing could then be managed, tracked, compared, and measured like manufacturing.”
There is still a sort of communication gap between designers and business people. Designers need to really connect with their clients on a specific level to make them see that they understand the business problem, the marketing objectives, and all the things that their clients are dealing with.
3. Use research to support design choices and track progress.
Showing a client research that was done is a convincing way to support a design choice. Visocky says “Though the power of design may not always be easily measured, there are many steps that practitioners can undertake to ensure that they are making informed choices, rather than producing artifacts. Research findings can help the designer in a variety of ways. From supporting great concepts to measuring the effectiveness of finished products, a research-driven approach can help define the way problems are solved and illustrate the value of those solutions.”
References:
Chase, M. (Designer), & Lowery, C (Designer) (Sept. 4 2008) Margo Chase: Creative Inspiration. Lynda.com. Retrieved fromhttp://www.lynda.com/Design-Documentaries-tutorials/Style-guides/685/38839-4.html
Visocky O’Grady, J., and Visocky O’Grady, K. (2006). A Designer’s Research Manual, Gloucester, Massachusetts, Rockport Publishers, Inc.
Neumeier, Marty. Brand Gap, The: Revised Edition, 2013. 2/e Vitalsource eBook for Full Sail University. Pearson Learning Solutions. VitalBook file.
Curtis, Hillman. MTIV: Process, Inspiration and Practice for the New Media Designer, 1/e Vitalsource eBook for Full Sail University. Pearson Learning Solutions, 12/2011. VitalBook file.
Hinrichs, Kit. 2013. Retrieved from http://www.lynda.com/search?q=Kit+Hinrichs
Best, Kathryn. Design Management: Managing Design Strategy, Process and Implementation. AVA Publishing, 10/2006. VitalBook file.