{"id":218,"date":"2010-04-16T15:02:21","date_gmt":"2010-04-16T15:02:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jonesmediaanddesign.net\/blog\/?p=218"},"modified":"2012-03-08T23:08:20","modified_gmt":"2012-03-08T23:08:20","slug":"how-to-and-not-to-work-with-a-designer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jonesmediaanddesign.net\/blog\/2010\/04\/how-to-and-not-to-work-with-a-designer\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Work with a Designer"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.jonesmediaanddesign.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/04\/Capture.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-219\" title=\"Why'd you do that??\" src=\"http:\/\/www.jonesmediaanddesign.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/04\/Capture.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"168\" height=\"125\" \/><\/a><span style=\"font-family: Georgia,Times New Roman,Times,Serif,serif;\">Imagine that you\u2019re Christopher Columbus. You arrive in the New World and are so disappointed there are none of the oriental silks and spices you came looking for that you turn around and go home, missing all the wonders of the New World.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Georgia,Times New Roman,Times,Serif,serif;\">That\u2019s what happens when you have preconceived notions about design. You can end up with something that\u2019s better, but NOT see or appreciate it because you\u2019re only focusing on the fact that it\u2019s not what had in mind.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Georgia,Times New Roman,Times,Serif,serif;\">Remember <em>you<\/em> are a vital part of the design process. If you aren\u2019t a good client, then you can\u2019t expect good results.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Georgia,Times New Roman,Times,Serif,serif;\">Preconceived notions are just one of the mistakes people make when they work with a designer. A good designer\u2019s work will make something:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: Georgia,Times New Roman,Times,Serif,serif;\">Work better<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: Georgia,Times New Roman,Times,Serif,serif;\">Sell better<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: Georgia,Times New Roman,Times,Serif,serif;\">Shed new light on old subjects<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: Georgia,Times New Roman,Times,Serif,serif;\">Look better<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Georgia,Times New Roman,Times,Serif,serif;\">The trouble is, a lot of people hire designers because they want their site to \u201clook good.\u201d But that\u2019s just scratching the surface of what a designer can and should do. So they don\u2019t know what\u2019s possible, so they don\u2019t get the most bang for their buck.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Georgia,Times New Roman,Times,Serif,serif;\">Just as writers are not just people who can type, designers are not just people who can use graphics programs. Good Design is more than skin deep.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Georgia,Times New Roman,Times,Serif,serif;\"><strong><em>Design is communication. <\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Georgia,Times New Roman,Times,Serif,serif;\"><em>The way to inspire a designer <\/em>is to give them the message and feeling you want to convey, and the freedom to convey it in a fresh, new way. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Georgia,Times New Roman,Times,Serif,serif;\">So how do you work with a designer to get their best work? Here are some suggestions:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Sans-serif,sans-serif;\"><strong>1.) Choose your designer carefully<\/strong><\/span><span style=\"font-family: Georgia,Times New Roman,Times,Serif,serif;\">. <\/span><span style=\"font-family: Georgia,Times New Roman,Times,Serif,serif;\">Look at their previous work. The best designers don\u2019t have a \u201csignature look.\u201d Their sites look as different as their clients do. Awards don\u2019t necessarily mean the design worked for the client. If you\u2019re not sure about a design, go to sites they designed and ask their clients.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Sans-serif,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-family: Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Sans-serif,sans-serif;\"><strong>2.) Leave your preconceived notions at the door.<\/strong><span style=\"font-family: Georgia,Times New Roman,Times,Serif,serif;\"><strong> <\/strong>Don\u2019t<\/span> ask for a site like someone else\u2019s but in a different color. Be open to new, unexpected ideas. Don\u2019t be afraid of something different. Let new ideas sink in<strong>.<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Sans-serif,sans-serif;\"><strong>3.) Tell your designer what you want to say<\/strong><\/span><span style=\"font-family: Georgia,Times New Roman,Times,Serif,serif;\">rather than how you want it to look. Don\u2019t ask for a color, shape, or style&#8211;ask for meaning or emotion.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Sans-serif,sans-serif;\"><strong>4.) Be clear about specific features you need.<\/strong><\/span><span style=\"font-family: Georgia,Times New Roman,Times,Serif,serif;\">You want your designer to create a design specific to your needs. If you try to add features as you go along, the design won\u2019t fit as well.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Sans-serif,sans-serif;\"><strong>5.) Do your research and be specific about your needs.<\/strong><\/span><span style=\"font-family: Georgia,Times New Roman,Times,Serif,serif;\"> \u201cI need to sell meeting planners on the idea of hiring me to plan entertainment for their events.\u201d That\u2019s clear and specific about both the product and the audience. The more detailed and specific you are at the start, the better the designer can tailor the site to your needs. If you add requirements later on, the designer will probably just have to shoe-horn them in, which won\u2019t give you the best results.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Sans-serif,sans-serif;\"><strong>6.) Make sure your message and content are clear.<\/strong><\/span><span style=\"font-family: Georgia,Times New Roman,Times,Serif,serif;\"> The more of your content you have complete, the better the designer can build your site around it. A good designer may make suggestions to refine your content to get your message across faster or more clearly, but the more content you have complete, the more the designer will have to work with.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Sans-serif,sans-serif;\"><strong>7.) Design for your customer<\/strong><\/span><span style=\"font-family: Georgia,Times New Roman,Times,Serif,serif;\">, <\/span><span style=\"font-family: Georgia,Times New Roman,Times,Serif,serif;\">not yourself, your friends or your colleagues. Be specific so your designer knows who your customers are and what <em>they<\/em> want. It\u2019s more important that <em>they<\/em> like your site than that you like it. Always remember, \u201cWhat\u2019s in it for <em>them<\/em>.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p>If the design pleases your customers, they\u2019ll please you. If you insist on a design that only pleases you, then your customers may not be inspired to buy your product or service and in the end you will lose.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Sans-serif,sans-serif;\"><strong>8.) Have good reasons for your preferences.<\/strong><\/span><span style=\"font-family: Georgia,Times New Roman,Times,Serif,serif;\"> You can show the designer sites that appeal to you, but dig deeper and figure out <em>why <\/em>they speak to you. Think in terms of <em>feelings<\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Design makes you <em>feel,<\/em> so tell your designer <em>how <\/em>it makes you feel. Instead of saying, \u201cI like yellow,\u201d get to the root of it and say \u201cI want a site that feels warm,\u201d or \u201cI want something upbeat and friendly.\u201d Focusing on your logical or emotional impressions give the designer more to work with. Why? Because your customers may not \u201clike\u201d the same things you do, but a good designer can convey the impression you want them to have.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Sans-serif,sans-serif;\"><strong>9.) Don\u2019t design by committee<\/strong><\/span><span style=\"font-family: Georgia,Times New Roman,Times,Serif,serif;\">. <\/span><span style=\"font-family: Georgia,Times New Roman,Times,Serif,serif;\">No good design was ever created by a consensus. The more people who have a voice in the process, the more watered down the results will be. Your friends and coworkers will often give you conflicting advice and people often have ulterior motives when they give you comments (they may be jealous or threatened if you get something that\u2019s too good, or they may just be ignorant). You can show it to a few trusted people and get their comments, but there can only be <em>one person making decisions. <\/em>Don\u2019t be wishy washy and try to change direction late in the process.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Sans-serif,sans-serif;\"><strong>10.) Don\u2019t tell your designer how to design<\/strong><\/span><span style=\"font-family: Georgia,Times New Roman,Times,Serif,serif;\">. <\/span><span style=\"font-family: Georgia,Times New Roman,Times,Serif,serif;\">That\u2019s not your area of expertise. Give a designer your requirements and preferences, but also the freedom to create something that answers them as effectively as possible. If you micromanage a designer, they won\u2019t be motivated to do anything but cash your check.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Sans-serif,sans-serif;\"><strong>11.) You can\u2019t please all the people all the time.<\/strong><\/span><span style=\"font-family: Georgia,Times New Roman,Times,Serif,serif;\"> Bill Cosby said \u201cThe only sure way to failure is to try to please everybody.\u201d If everyone thinks your site is \u201cOK\u201d then it\u2019s probably too dull to get much of a reaction from anyone. If you design a site with NO personality no one will hate it. Or love it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Sans-serif,sans-serif;\"><strong>12.) Trust your designer<\/strong><\/span><span style=\"font-family: Georgia,Times New Roman,Times,Serif,serif;\">(you are paying for their expertise). <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Georgia,Times New Roman,Times,Serif,serif;\">Then when they start to show you \u201ccomps\u201d (design versions), give them <em>specific <\/em>comments. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Georgia,Times New Roman,Times,Serif,serif;\">Don\u2019t just say, \u201cI don\u2019t like brown.\u201d That says nothing of real value. If you say \u201cI\u2019m concerned that the color looks sickly and we need something that conveys growth,\u201d then you are giving the designer <em>useful<\/em> information, because you\u2019re talking about <em>content<\/em> rather than telling them how to design.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Georgia,Times New Roman,Times,Serif,serif;\">Your designer should know more than you do about design and its implications, both emotional and cultural. So if you ask for a color and the designer <em>explains<\/em> why it isn\u2019t a good idea, believe them. Don\u2019t ask for a color, shape, or style&#8211;ask for meaning or emotion.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Georgia,Times New Roman,Times,Serif,serif;\">Yes, designers can make mistakes and take wrong directions. And yes, you need to give them direction. But you must tell them what you need, not how to achieve that goal.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Georgia,Times New Roman,Times,Serif,serif;\"><em>The reason that so many great discoveries have been accidents is because when you set out with a destination in mind then end up someplace else you feel you\u2019ve missed the mark and gotten lost.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Georgia,Times New Roman,Times,Serif,serif;\"><em>The reality is different\u2014you may have ended up someplace different\u2014but better. Yet if you\u2019re only viewing things in terms of \u201cthis is where I wanted to go and I\u2019m not there,\u201d you will be disappointed, even with something better.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Georgia,Times New Roman,Times,Serif,serif;\">So when working with a designer you need to step back and ask yourself if you\u2019re just being Columbus, missing the wonders of the new world.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Imagine that you\u2019re Christopher Columbus. You arrive in the New World and are so disappointed there are none of the oriental silks and spices you came looking for that you turn around and go home, missing all the wonders of the New World. That\u2019s what happens when you have preconceived notions about design. You can [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,13,14],"tags":[83,40,135,6,4,27,17,78,80,19,7,33,5,133,24,82,134,41,79,16,18,38,39,32,81],"class_list":["post-218","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-church","category-life","category-media","tag-angry","tag-branding","tag-church","tag-columbus","tag-d85jones","tag-david-jones","tag-design","tag-designer","tag-disrespect","tag-graphic-design","tag-indiana","tag-jones","tag-jones-media-and-design","tag-life","tag-love","tag-mad","tag-media","tag-print-design","tag-respect","tag-strong-tower-ministries","tag-web","tag-website","tag-website-design","tag-work","tag-yell"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jonesmediaanddesign.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/218","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jonesmediaanddesign.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jonesmediaanddesign.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jonesmediaanddesign.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jonesmediaanddesign.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=218"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/www.jonesmediaanddesign.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/218\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":582,"href":"https:\/\/www.jonesmediaanddesign.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/218\/revisions\/582"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jonesmediaanddesign.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=218"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jonesmediaanddesign.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=218"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jonesmediaanddesign.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=218"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}