Top Questions To Help Make Designs That Your Clients Will Love

Posted in • 1009 days ago • Written by • 15 Comments

Top Questions To Help Make Designs That Your Clients Will LoveWhen dealing with different types of clients you can in the worst case scenario sometimes end up with something that is “wrong”. As clients are very different you should make yourself a list of questions that you make sure to ask them, in order to get the best possible end result.

Here is a list of questions you should consider asking. You may have heard this described by some as a design brief, while others set it up slightly differently. Call it what you want, but it can be a very important part of your project and the end results. As long as you find your own way of getting the information you need and don’t forget any vital points, you’re more likely to succeed.
Now let’s have a look!

What is the clients description of the project?
Top Questions To Help Make Designs That Your Clients Will Love
Picture by lustfish
This is really important. Clients can have different perceptions of what should be included in a web design, a logo and so on. To make sure that you include everything in the offer and know how much time to spend with each project you need to get a mutual understanding of what should be included. This point is absolutely crucial!

Do you have all the client info you need?

Make sure that you have everything right, – from the spelling of the name and address to any other information that will be used at some point during the process. If there’s anything missing, the quicker you get it the better.

Do you need any files from the client?

If you’re making anything that includes pictures, logos or other files you may wanna make sure that you have everything at an early stage. Have the client list everything they want to be included and double-check that you have it.


What is the clients target market/demographic?
Picture by Peter Suneson

No matter what kind of job you’re doing, the target market is very important to keep in mind. This will be determining some of the choices you make during your project. The client will most likely be able to tell you what you need to know on this.

How does the client want to be perceived?

When you’re choosing a look for the design you’re creating you always want it to stand out as good quality work. Still it’s important to follow the clients vision and make their brand stronger and clearer when possible. This means that you need the client to tell you how they want the market to see them. Once they mention specific words that are important (quality, service, prices, luxury, availability, stylish and so on) you can take these words and make a design that outline them.

Company info and history

Picture by Sanja Gjenero

You can pick up a lot of valuable information from getting some more company info besides the product and service descriptions. Try to get some more basic information. A tip would be to read up on the available information that is already out there on their website if they have one, then use that information to come up with a few more questions to get a complete profile from your contact.

Are there any flagships? – introduction of services/products

Many business have one key service or product that is the bestseller or the core of their business. If you don’t have a lot of knowledge about this from before it can be really nice to get a proper presentation of the what your client has to offer. This will help you identify better with them and increase the chance of a succesful design.

Who are the competitors?
Picture by Monika Henkel

Find out who are their biggest competitors and have a look at them as well. This can be used to make a design that stands out in very streamlined niches and to make sure not to come up with anything too close to what already is out there from a design point of view.

Design-specific wishes

To not start off with the wrong type of designs, you should ask if the client has any preferences. Maybe they hate yellow, love blue or absolutely want a specific font or graphic element included in what you’re designing. If you forget this point you could work a lot on designs that will be turned down due to color schemes and so on.

Client turnaround time
Picture by Ivan Prole

Make sure that you have a mutual agreement on how fast you can expect feedback during the project and how soon you can expect to get different elements that you will be in need of along the way. If you have a client that is away for the last week before a project is due, you have to plan this accordingly and make sure you have what you need before they leave – or get another person to contact.

Deadlines

A deadline sounds like a simple thing to agree upon but you really have to make sure that it can’t be misunderstood by either of you. I always give the clients on bigger projects an expected plan for the progress to help them understand the process better and to make sure we’re on the same page.

Conclusion

It’s never as easy as getting a task to do and do it. There are many factors involved in order to get a good end results and happy returning clients. To get the best possible start you should have a checklist to go through (like this one) and you will see that a lot of your time can be spent more effectively. Depending on what your business is you may want to alter some of this list, add some and remove some elements if they’re not relevant to you. The clients will immediately see you as a serious design provider and feel more comfortable, and you will have a more healthy work environment and feel more in charge.
Picture by arte_ram
As always, we would love to hear your feedback and your own tips in the comments.
Good luck!

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36 Written Articles • Website

A girl with passion for design, photography, business planning, freelancing, inspirational art and Photoshop/Illustrator. She runs the website Designer77 and you can follow her on twitter here: @Hildy77

15 Comments Best Comments First
  • Priscila

    Thursday, August 19th, 2010 18:47

    1

    I always do this, but most of my customers don’t wanna answer the brief I send to them. They say have no time to do this… This is sad, but is true!

    0
    • Hilde Torbjornsen

      Wednesday, August 25th, 2010 00:09

      8

      Hi!
      Yeah I know about that “problem”. Not all clients have the time or interest to answer a brief they get sent over. My solution to this (which works in 95%) of the cases is to implement these questions into a conversation. I’ve rarely had anyone object to this. I just explain that to do the best possible job , I need to get some info. I usually do this part in person (if possible) or by phone. That way I can also ask extra questions if there’s anything that feels a bit hard to understand etc. Hope that tip helps! :)

      0
  • madhu

    Monday, August 23rd, 2010 21:23

    6

    I usually try to convince and impress the clients by offering nice features and services but many deny to pay the same for the services they get, and i go to do for less…. but I will follow these rules also and hope to get the same quoted price….thanks for the nice info

    0
    • Hilde Torbjornsen

      Wednesday, August 25th, 2010 00:13

      12

      I really hope this can be of help to you :)
      Good luck!

      0
  • Rufino

    Friday, August 20th, 2010 23:06

    5

    In making graphic design, its really hard to think of a design that would satisfy clients. So, sharing this questions is really a great help. Thanks.

    0
    • Hilde Torbjornsen

      Wednesday, August 25th, 2010 00:12

      11

      Hi there :)
      Im very happy to hear that you find this useful.
      Thanks for leaving your comment! :)

      0
  • Jarkko Sibenberg

    Friday, August 20th, 2010 10:27

    4

    Having the contact person suddenly on holiday when you need answers from them can be a blow to the project especially if it’s your only one at the time. So it’s always good to ask about dates and whether there will be times when they won’t be available.

    Other thing you may want to do before the final deadline, is to ask the client to take a good look at the project and list all the changes they still want for the design/web site. Inform them that after completing the final changes any further changes may require an additional fee. That way you won’t get stuck in projects with indecisive clients.

    0
    • Hilde Torbjornsen

      Wednesday, August 25th, 2010 00:11

      10

      Hi Jarkko!
      Great points that you mention.
      Thank you :)

      0
  • Jack

    Thursday, August 19th, 2010 17:29

    2

    Hi Hilde!
    It’s a great article, thanks for sharing :) .
    We’re waiting for your newest.

    0
    • Hilde Torbjornsen

      Wednesday, August 25th, 2010 00:06

      7

      Thanks a lot for your positive feedback Jack :)
      Appreciated!

      0
  • Laura

    Friday, August 20th, 2010 08:39

    3

    I have 2 design questionnaires… logo and web design… very basic and straight forward. Ask pretty much the same questions you mentioned above… target market, company info, what ‘feelings/emotions’ do you want to create, what fonts/colors do you like, what font/colors do you ‘not’ like, competitors, and also examples of either logos they like or websites they like.

    Some clients prefer to talk over the phone the first meeting. Either way I always send them the questionnaire. I never remember our phone conversations and its a easy way to have everything on file, that way there are no misunderstandings.

    0
    • Hilde Torbjornsen

      Wednesday, August 25th, 2010 00:10

      9

      Hi Laura! and thanks for your feedback :)
      I agree with you. One should probably make a set of different briefs/question sets for the different types of design (logo, web and so on).
      It’s such great help!

      0
  • Paul

    Monday, September 6th, 2010 06:00

    14

    Great article. It is so important to be on the same page as your clients. Always make sure to nail down as many details as possible about a project before starting a design.

    0
  • Marcus Green

    Thursday, September 22nd, 2011 15:17

    15

    Great list, one thing I would add is asking the client what they want the website to achieve for them- this really focuses them on the end product and gets them excited!

    0
  • Irina

    Wednesday, August 25th, 2010 10:52

    13

    A really useful list! Thank you!

    0
  • Marcus Green

    Thursday, September 22nd, 2011 15:17

    15

    Great list, one thing I would add is asking the client what they want the website to achieve for them- this really focuses them on the end product and gets them excited!

    0
  • Paul

    Monday, September 6th, 2010 06:00

    14

    Great article. It is so important to be on the same page as your clients. Always make sure to nail down as many details as possible about a project before starting a design.

    0
  • Irina

    Wednesday, August 25th, 2010 10:52

    13

    A really useful list! Thank you!

    0
  • madhu

    Monday, August 23rd, 2010 21:23

    6

    I usually try to convince and impress the clients by offering nice features and services but many deny to pay the same for the services they get, and i go to do for less…. but I will follow these rules also and hope to get the same quoted price….thanks for the nice info

    0
    • Hilde Torbjornsen

      Wednesday, August 25th, 2010 00:13

      12

      I really hope this can be of help to you :)
      Good luck!

      0
  • Rufino

    Friday, August 20th, 2010 23:06

    5

    In making graphic design, its really hard to think of a design that would satisfy clients. So, sharing this questions is really a great help. Thanks.

    0
    • Hilde Torbjornsen

      Wednesday, August 25th, 2010 00:12

      11

      Hi there :)
      Im very happy to hear that you find this useful.
      Thanks for leaving your comment! :)

      0
  • Jarkko Sibenberg

    Friday, August 20th, 2010 10:27

    4

    Having the contact person suddenly on holiday when you need answers from them can be a blow to the project especially if it’s your only one at the time. So it’s always good to ask about dates and whether there will be times when they won’t be available.

    Other thing you may want to do before the final deadline, is to ask the client to take a good look at the project and list all the changes they still want for the design/web site. Inform them that after completing the final changes any further changes may require an additional fee. That way you won’t get stuck in projects with indecisive clients.

    0
    • Hilde Torbjornsen

      Wednesday, August 25th, 2010 00:11

      10

      Hi Jarkko!
      Great points that you mention.
      Thank you :)

      0
  • Laura

    Friday, August 20th, 2010 08:39

    3

    I have 2 design questionnaires… logo and web design… very basic and straight forward. Ask pretty much the same questions you mentioned above… target market, company info, what ‘feelings/emotions’ do you want to create, what fonts/colors do you like, what font/colors do you ‘not’ like, competitors, and also examples of either logos they like or websites they like.

    Some clients prefer to talk over the phone the first meeting. Either way I always send them the questionnaire. I never remember our phone conversations and its a easy way to have everything on file, that way there are no misunderstandings.

    0
    • Hilde Torbjornsen

      Wednesday, August 25th, 2010 00:10

      9

      Hi Laura! and thanks for your feedback :)
      I agree with you. One should probably make a set of different briefs/question sets for the different types of design (logo, web and so on).
      It’s such great help!

      0
  • Jack

    Thursday, August 19th, 2010 17:29

    2

    Hi Hilde!
    It’s a great article, thanks for sharing :) .
    We’re waiting for your newest.

    0
    • Hilde Torbjornsen

      Wednesday, August 25th, 2010 00:06

      7

      Thanks a lot for your positive feedback Jack :)
      Appreciated!

      0
  • Priscila

    Thursday, August 19th, 2010 18:47

    1

    I always do this, but most of my customers don’t wanna answer the brief I send to them. They say have no time to do this… This is sad, but is true!

    0
    • Hilde Torbjornsen

      Wednesday, August 25th, 2010 00:09

      8

      Hi!
      Yeah I know about that “problem”. Not all clients have the time or interest to answer a brief they get sent over. My solution to this (which works in 95%) of the cases is to implement these questions into a conversation. I’ve rarely had anyone object to this. I just explain that to do the best possible job , I need to get some info. I usually do this part in person (if possible) or by phone. That way I can also ask extra questions if there’s anything that feels a bit hard to understand etc. Hope that tip helps! :)

      0

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