Tagged

clients

11.05.2011

How I Work With a Client (Part 3)

This is the third part in a multi part series on working with clients.

Monday, I talked about writing creative briefs. Part of that process is being able to budget both time and money.

Budgeting Money

Between the two (time and money), this is the easy one. I look at the list of requirements that I’ve developed for the site and determine all the things that I’ll need.

Content Management System or a CMS

Depending on what the user is trying to accomplish, I’ll make a recommendation on a CMS. Historically, I’ve been a huge proponent of Expression Engine ($299.95), but just recently, have converted to WordPress (Free ninety-free).

Plug-Ins

If I need to extend the functionality of the CMS with plugins, then I’ll determine how much each plug-in costs. For Expression Engine, some of my favorites are:

Fortunately, if you’re building on WordPress, most of the plug-ins are free. I’ve only had to buy a few. Sometimes, depending on the client’s budget, I may modify an existing theme instead of starting from scratch. Those go into the budget too.

Stock Photography

If I know that I’ll need Stock Photography, I can try and figure out how many images I’ll need and guess how much it will cost. I buy most images from iStock. But, I’ve recently bought from PhotoCase as well.

Domain name Registration

If the client needs to register a domain, I’ll budget $11 for each domain.

Note: If you’re getting ready to buy a domain from GoDaddy, go to Retail Me Not. You can always find promo codes that will knock off a buck or two.

Hosting

If the client needs hosting, I’ll budget $5 a month. — I’ll either set them up with a GoDaddy account or host their site myself (on MediaTemple) for a comparable amount.

Social Media

If the user is looking to beef up their Twitter account, I may budget HootSuite ($5/mo for a pro account) or TweetBig ($17.95/mo). HootSuite allows multiple people to manage a given Twitter account. It also lets you manage several Twitter accounts at once. TweetBig has several different features for building a Twitter following.

Budgeting Time

This is always harder because every project is different. What may take 5 minutes with one client, could take 5 hours with the next!

My philosophy with budgeting time: I make an estimate based on how long I think the project will take me, but it’s a set project fee. I could charge strictly by the hour, but I don’t believe that’s fair to the client. That method rewards me for being slow. It should be the other way around. I’m being paid to be a professional and for a refined skill set. The better I am at my job, the more that’s worth to the client. Experience should be rewarded.

I write down all the tasks that I have to do for a project, then I determine how long I think each item will take:

  • Phone calls, meetings, emails
  • Project documentation
  • Designing a logo
  • Developing a moodboard
  • Initial designs
  • Design revisions
  • Designing interior pages
  • Revising interior pages
  • Slicing and dicing the site (turning the design into HTML and CSS)
  • Connecting the site to a CMS
  • Quality Assurance
  • Launching the site: domain name registration, setting up the server, and uploading files.

It’s a lot easier to estimate how long a project will you take when you break it down. Otherwise, you might as well be pulling a random number out of the air.

With every project, I keep a time sheet. This helps me make sure that my estimates are as accurate as possible. I use this to develop a formula. Everyone’s formula looks a little different.

For example, I know it will take me at least three hours to develop an initial comp, one hour for each round of revision, two hours to layout the code framework for a site, one hour to slice and dice each additional page afterward, and one hour to hook up each page to a CMS.

Then, once I’ve added up all my time, I give myself a 15% contingency allowance. This makes all the difference. There are some clients where we’ll fly through through the design, but the development will take longer, or vice versa. I don’t have the foresight to know ahead of time which area will be “problematic”, but the 15% contingency allowance provides flexibility.


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10.28.2011

Everything I Need to Know About Clients I Learned from the Boy Scouts (Part 1)

I am a second generation Eagle Scout, thanks to a father who dragged me kicking and screaming the whole way.  However, despite not being the picture perfect Boy Scout, I did learn a lot from them that applies to working with clients.

Be Prepared

There is a reason why a backpack can weigh a lot when you are camping.  It’s because you need to prepare for every scenario.  The same thing applies to when you are are presenting your creative work.  Prepare for as many scenarios in which your work might come under attack.  Show your work to someone you trust and let them see if they can find holes in what you’ve done. The more prepared you are to defend your work, the less likely you will have to go back and make revisions.

Do a Good Turn Daily

Try doing something for your client that goes above and beyond their expectations, maybe even something that is not really your speciality.  If you are willing to do something for the client every once that they were not expecting, then they could easily return the favor.

Leave the Campsite Better Than You Found It

Whenever we went camping, we always intentionally tried to leave the place in better shape than we found it.   Do the same thing with your work.  If you are given some code that looks like it was thrown together with duct tape, then clean it up.  If you found someone that loved drop shadows a too much, then get rid of them.  If you found someone using Comic Sans, well, then you can go cry (we totally understand).

A Scout is Thrifty

Thrifty sounds like an antiquated word, but it really does encapsulate what you need to do as a designer.  As much you love a check coming in the from the client, you need to find ways to save your client money.  If you can save them money and show them, you are more than just another cost out of their operating expenses, you become cost savings.  This will endear you to your clients in ways you can’t imagine.

A Scout is Loyal

The creative business has become cutthroat since smaller design shops are opening and overseas competition is ramping up.  The temptation is to cut your prices drastically or maybe even scoop a project from a former partner.  Sure there might be some monetary gain from these practices, but it is a short-term gain at the best.  The creative industry needs people who are loyal to their craft and their peers.  Can we have competition?  Yes, but not at the cost of loyalty to your trade.

 A Scout is Trustworthy

Can you keep a secret?  Good, because too many leaks occur from designers sharing work before it really is supposed to be live.  Sure it is tempting to post comps on Dribbble, but not until you get the clients permission.  Your clients need to see you as a trustworthy ally and not someone who could let the cat out of the bag early.


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10.26.2011

How I work with a client (Part 1)

A client comes to us. “We’d like a website and we want to work with you.”

“Great!”

“Now what?”

There are a lot of things that have to happen between that first conversation and the final product launch. Where do you begin? What does that process look like? Well, I’ll share mine.

This is the first part in a multi part series that explains my process — from idea making to hand off.

First things first, a disclaimer: All clients are different. Some clients will give me complete creative freedom. Others, need more hand holding. Both, are great clients. But, it’s all about determining what a client needs and wants up front to ensure that the whole process moves forward as smoothly as possible.

I’ve learned a that huge part of client work is being able to accurately manage their expectations. How?

Well, the first thing I do is determine exactly what their expectations are. I ask a series of questions. This list varies on how well I know the client, but generally, I try not to make any assumptions. (ANOTHER NOTE: A lot of the questions came from Weightshift.)

The Basics

  • Describe your company. Are you a nonprofit? academic? or a start up? How many employees do you have? How many years have you been in business? What is your mission statement, goals, manifesto?
  • Describe the concept, product, or service you are aiming to promote.
  • What type of project you are requesting? logo? letterhead? business card? website? application?
  • How many people will be in charge of the decision making? This is a big one. I’ve redesigned an entire site before, only to hear that the boss who didn’t want to be involved, is. Oh, and he changed his mind. He loves his old site.
  • Deadline?
  • What is your budget? I know. There’s a love/hate relationship with this question. Brian Hoff has a blog post about breaking the ice, being the first to ask what their budget is.
  • Is this project a refresh of something you already have? something new? an add-on?
  • What sparked the need for an update?

The Competition

  • What elements about your current logo / site works? What doesn’t work?
  • Who do you consider as your competition?
  • What are your competitors’ strengths and weaknesses?
  • Aside from direct competitors, what other companies have stellar creative that inspires you or you wish to emulate? This is another important question. With the client’s answer, I can quickly determine what their looking for stylistically. Clean? Grunge? Bold?
  • What makes your company stand apart from the competition?

Audience

  • Describe your primary audience. (age, occupation, income, location, size of audience, etc.) — This is actually one of the most important questions that I ask….and the answer 6-60 is not an appropriate answer. By trying to make your product / service / site appealing to everyone, you’ll make it appealing to no one.
  • Why do you think your audience chooses you over your competitors?
  • What should be the goal or actions of your audience? (i.e. Signing up for a new service, purchasing a product, simply entertained, educated)

Overall Look and Feel

  • How is your company currently perceived?
  • Do you have a visual identity in place that meets your needs? If so, please provide your logo, color scheme, etc. If not, is this something we could help you with?
  • If you had to describe your company in one-word adjectives, what would they be?
  • What should they be?
  • Are there any colors, graphical treatments, typography that you wish to use?
  • Do you have copy or overall content created?
  • What part of our work appeals to you?

Social Media

  • Social media: What do you like? Dislike? Want? Not want? This includes everything from forums, comment sections, RSS feed, user generated content, sharing, Twitter and Facebook integration.
  • Will your website require media components like video, audio, podcasts, or photo galleries?
  • How many pages will the site consist of?
  • Do you have wireframes, a sitemap, or outline for the site?
  • Do you currently have a content management system or publishing platform in place?
  • If not, what is your experience level with CMSs?
  • Will you require other programming needs? (e-commerce, social media integration, web applications, mobile friendly, etc)
  • Do you have specifications on non compliant older browsers?

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10.25.2011

Explaining Art and Design to Your Clients

Art and Design.  Clients often confuse the two.  It’s not their fault, they are often seen as they same thing.  However, as a designer you need to able to articulate the two in laymen’s terms. By doing so you can save you and your clients a lot of headaches.  Here is what I tell clients.

Roughly put Art is what goes on the fridge, it’s subjective, and it often doesn’t have an end goal.  Art is done for Art’s sake.  Every kid at some point thinks they are an artist, hence the reason for the cluttered up fridge.  You and your client can argue all day long about Art, but when both sides are rooted in subjectivity, no one wins.  A lot of designers try to pass Art off as good design, however when they are pushed, their arguments begin to fall apart.  Delivering Art will give you a reputation as someone who does not listen to the needs of their clients.

Design on the otherhand has a distinct purpose.  To solve a problem.  Great design provides visual solutions to problems.  Sometimes they are problems that the end user doesn’t even know existed.  Design can be justified, argued and objectively critiqued.

Your job is to provide Design for your clients:  Design that is well thought out and solution oriented.  With Design, you can show your thought process, your journey as you arrived at the solution (think of it like your math teacher telling you to show your work).   When clients can see this behind the scenes process their trust level with you inevitably will go up.

Don’t get me wrong, Art can inspire and inform Design.  Apple is a prime example of that, they show that when Art is looked through the lens of Design it is extremely effective.  Just don’t try to pass Art off as Design.


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10.07.2011

Five Rules When Contracting Work

There are times when working with a client that you need to call in the cavalry.  When you know what you want to do, but not sure exactly how to make it happen, because it is outside your expertise.  Hopefully you built into your client proposal some money to bring in outside help to make sure that you deliver what you promised.  If so, here are some rules that I abide by when hiring help for a project.

1. Friends are friends, professionals are professionals.  If you are fortunate enough to have good friends that you can subcontract to, that is awesome.  However, if you decided to include your friends on a project, get everything in writing between the both of you.  By everything, I mean everything.   This includes schedules, forms of payment, final format of deliverables, how you will communicate between one another and most importantly how you will resolve a dispute.  Realize you are not hiring a friend, you are hiring a professional to help with the project.  Treat your friend like a professional and you both win.

2. Beware of hiring solely based on a portfolio.   If you are hiring someone who has the unique ability to code and design, you need to make sure that you don’t get lured in based on eye candy alone.  Think of it like buying a car.  Sure the car may look nice, but have you checked out the engine, the brakes and the tires?  Ask to see the backend of the design to see how it was coded.  Does the designer follow standards?  Does he or she supply ample documentation?  Is the code the designer’s or is the code pieced together using snippets from someone else?

3.  Ask around.  There are a lot designers out there who can create some gorgeous work.  However, getting to that point with them can be tedious and even exhausting.  You could be dealing with personality issues, tardiness of deliverables or even a blatant disregard for the clients ideas.  You don’t have to suffer through this if you just simply asked to contact previous clients who have worked the designer before.  Ask questions about professionalism, communication skills or even the ability to deliver what was promised.  A few emails and phone call, and you can avoid hiring a problem.

4.  Hobbyiests are hobbyiests for a reason.  There are times when you might want to give someone his or her first shot of working on a project.  That’s fine.  Everyone has to start somewhere.  However, you need to make sure that he or she really takes the work seriously.  This isn’t your hobby, it’s your livelihood.   Would you want a someone who treats medicine like hobby to be your doctor?  No!  Then, why hire someone who is going to contribute to your work, who really isn’t an expert?

5.  Make sure you tools match.  This may seem petty some people, but it’s huge pet peeve of mine.   Ss work with other professionals, you need to make sure that they are using the same tools that are same version of yours.    That may seem small to some, but do you really want to have to go back and find your copy of Quark because you hired someone who doesn’t own InDesign?  Take second and list out the software (along with the version) that will be used between you and the contractor and put it in the contract.  You’ll be glad you did.

What are your rules for hiring out professionals to help you with your creative endeavors?  Do you have horror stories to share?  If so feel free to write them in the comments section.


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