What a great thing to consider when doing anything related to design or development. How would you describe your project if it were a person? What are its characteristics? Its personality? Its likes? Its dislikes? I think if you frame a personality to whatever you are working on it really makes the many decisions that you need to make over a course of a project a lot easier. “Well, what images would ‘Betty’ like here?” This idea I’m sure is an old one for copywriters as they deal with writing in certain tones. But for me, a designer, it was kind of an “AHA” moment as I was eating my pita and hummus last Tuesday listening to Todd speak.

So the next time you tackle a project maybe name him (or her!). Draw a picture of him. Write a little blurb about who he is and hang it up at your desk to reference. I’m going to try it out and see how effective it is as I work through my next project. Plus it will be fun to doodle a little imaginary friend to hang out with me at my desk. Am I going crazy? Maybe.

Below are the rest of my notes from the talk if you are interested. Again, it was a really great one!

Secret Life of Usability
AIGA Lunch & Learn Series – May 7, 2012
Presenter: Todd Moy

• Overview
• Usability calls us to create an emotional connection with the user
• Emotion and Reason support each other
• Usability is perception influenced by emotion
• Need to consider what emotional state people are at when they come to the application/product/site
• Three places to consider usability within an application/product/site
• Onboarding
• Messaging
• Feedback
• Onboarding
• a person’s first experience of the product – RIGHT at the beginning
• Usability steps in between the certain knowledge a user has coming into it and the knowledge they need to have to use the product
• Describing: Using bitesized info (tooltips, overlays) to help orient
• Instructing: Using a “wizard” interface to take a user step by step through something
• Sandboxing: Giving a bucket of free content (ex. a general interior content page on a website)
• Introducing: Making connections within a community (ex. here are all your facebook friends that are currently using this XYZ product, connect with them here)
• Messaging
• Elements: Content, Design, Tone
• Describe an experience using structure, timing and tone
• Create moments where people don’t wonder what there next steps are
• Think about using playful/not rigid copy to conjure emotion
• Feedback
• Affording: giving room to elements so people can interact easily with them
• Showing Change: give people a cue that something is changing behind the scenes
• Directing them to certain areas where they need to interact somehow
• Rewarding
• Q&A tidbits
• Support your main/straightforward way of navigating with more of a serindipidous means (ex. etsy has a straightforward search area but you can also find products through sorting by style, color, editors choice)
• Think of an interface as a person. Use human characteristics
• Skeuomorphic design: Emulating real things through design (ex. legal pad, pages in a book, bookshelf) If done incorrectly this can cause a user to get frustrated, if done perfectly it can be a tool to make the user feel comfortable with something they are familiar with

I think designers can help with this problem. We can help by decluttering the landscape; making things easy to understand. With every project that we are involved in, no matter how big or how small, we need to distill it down to its core. Down to its big idea. I don’t think this distillation comes by falsely thinking we are experts on the topics and industries we are working within (of course there are exceptions). Most likely, we have not been in engrained in these industries for years to fully understand them. We are not experts. I think being able to distill down to the big idea comes from what we have in our clients. Use them. They are the experts. The ones that have been in the industry for years. The ones that know all the little details. We have them as a resource and we need to use them. We also have our toolbox. As designers, we have the tools to foster engagement, to communicate, to delight, to create beauty, to spark imagination. We have the skills to find patterns, discover systems and highlight the right things to help the public understand. With the resource of our clients and our tools as a designer we have the power to declutter.

If we can tap into that power what we can do is endless. I realize how idealistic and grandiose this whole post is but I really feel if designers have empathy when working with their clients and execute ideas with intention and thoughtfulness they can help people understand complex ideas which in turn will help them make informed decisions. I feel if we can help people make informed decisions we can ease their mind. We can help.

Last week I started a two part series about the designer/client relationship and up today is part two. If you are interested, read about setting expectations and keeping your clients in the loop in Part One.

With this series I hope to pull an Inception on my fellow designers and plant a little nugget in the back of our minds. Then maybe the next time we start a project we’ll stop and try some of these techniques when forming relationships with our clients. That way over our microbrews at happy hour we can stop talking about how dumb our clients are and start talking about the actual awesome work we have been creating.

Be Patient & Educate:

“I have just three things to teach: simplicity, patience, compassion. These three are your greatest treasures.” – Lao Tzu Simplicity and compassion need their own blog posts but I’ll talk about patience here and how Lau Tzu was right, it is a treasure. It can be extremely difficult to have patience. Think of the last time a client upset you. What if in that moment you stepped back and had patience with them. Would the outcome of that conflict been different?

We have to remember that we push pixels all day, everyday. We talk with each other in design jargon and read blogs written in design jargon. Then we go and use that design jargon in a presentation and expect our clients to understand what we are talking about. And when they don’t understand we get frustrated. Well ya’ll, they don’t do what we do everyday. If they did, they wouldn’t have hired us. They are in healthcare, or are lawyers or work with kids. They don’t know what kerning is and they don’t really care. So be patient with them. Help them. They don’t know any better. If they can’t figure out how to download the PDF you sent them, take some time to help them. When you present a proof to them, talk in normal English. If a client can’t understand what you’re talking about they will shut down and try to push their ideas on you or get overwhelmed and reject what you are presenting. Try and help them understand why you made the decisions you did. Have a conversation with them about your goals for the design and how you got to where you ended up. If you stop, breath and try and help them you will end up with a more open discussion about your work. And then when they still try and push their ideas on you maybe then you can explain to them why drop shadows wouldn’t work well on every icon, photo and headline instead of getting frustrated with their request and just doing it to get them out of your hair. And guys, I think we all agree working a little harder to have patience and educating our clients for a world with less drop shadows is well worth it.

Listen:

The power of being present and listening is a great one. When you are talking with your client give them your full attention. A lot of time we think we know what they are saying and start design comps in our sketchbook before they have even finished a thought. So we really just heard them talk but did not listen to what they were saying. If we really listen then we start asking the right questions. With those deeper questions we can find answers to solutions that the clients maybe did not even realize they needed. This produces more thoughtful and intentional design. Try the next time you are talking to a client to close your email, minimize your twitter feed and listen to what they are saying. Don’t just hear them talk.

To make a living as a designer there is one thing you HAVE to have: Someone that will give you money in exchange for your work. Unfortunately, I haven’t found a way to win the lottery or grow money and hey, a girl’s gotta eat! All designers have their client horror stories and love to compare their stories over drinks at happy hour but I think there is a sad epidemic in our industry. We thrive off of those stories and love to talk about how our client sent us a powerpoint with an embedded jpeg when you ask for a copy of their logo. Really?! How dumb can clients be!

Fellow designers, where is the compassion? Where is the patience? I know I don’t want my mechanic making fun of me as I drive off because I asked a ‘dumb’ question about my car. I don’t know any better and I would hope they would help me and be patient with me. So I’m asking designers to take a deep breath and keep in mind some of the items I’m writing about the next time your client sends you a logo via powerpoint. I really believe with a little work you can make your client relationship much more enjoyable and end up with better end product.

This is Part One of a two part series about items to consider as you are working with your clients.

Set Expectations:

One of the most important things you can do as a designer is respect your client and expect the same from them. This all begins at the very beginning of a project. Once the project is in motion it is very hard to reel in an out-of-control client. My sister is one of the best teachers I know. She starts each year off with her students telling them the rules of the classroom. The kids know exactly what is expected of them and what they should expect from my sister. They also know what will happen if they don’t follow those rules. The year goes a lot smoother because those expectations and parameters were set the very first day of school and a mutual respect was formed early.

This same technique should be used for your clients. At the beginning of a project let them know how the project will go. What they should expect from you as the project progresses and what you expect from them. You should work as a team with your client. Work with them not for them. Tell them about your studio’s policies on communication. Tell them how and when they will be expected to provide content or insight. Tell them the repercussions if something goes off course, whether it be an extra estimate for out-of-scope work or a termination of the project. Be specific and straight-forward so there is no gray area. In gray area there are questions and questioning harbors doubt. If a client doubts you as a trustworthy partner then the project is doomed from the beginning.

Keep Them in the Loop:
Set up an open line of communication between you and your client during the project. This will ease the client’s mind as to what you are doing with the money that they are paying you. Your clients are not designers (even though some of them may they think they are) that is why they hired you. If they could do it themselves, they would. But some clients can be skeptical of design because they do not understand it. So ease their mind. Periodically, let them know how the project is progressing. Share with them what you are working on. Do not work in a secret bubble and drop the curtain to reveal something completely new to them at the first round of proofs. If you have been in touch throughout the project and they know what is going on they will be less likely to totally dismiss an idea because at some level they were already expecting it. Having that level of knowledge of what you are presenting them will allow a deeper discussion to happen about the work you are presenting them. This ease of mind will make a happy client and in turn will make your job a lot easier.

Also, there are certain times where you should meet in person (or via skype/video chat); at the very beginning and at major ‘reveals’ throughout the project. This personal meeting where you can actually see each other again puts a client’s mind at ease. They can see that you are a real person and not some guy in his PJs who does his work in front of a TV. When they can put a face to your name they are more likely to trust you. Also, there is a lot to be said for being able to see the reactions of people as you talk to them. You are then able to react to those visual cues that are not there when you are communicating over an email or the phone. Face-to-face meetings may take more logistical work but the amount of time and stress it saves you when something was not communicated correctly is priceless. And again, you don’t need to meet with them every other day in person. Just at those major milestones where a little more discussion and explanation needs to happen.

Check back next week for Part Two of this client series. This will focus on being patient, educating and listening to your clients.