Hey Homies. I wrote this a while ago and I’m trying to sound smart, something I don’t really do anymore, so bear with the different voice. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Also, the answer is not to threaten them with degustation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
A designer who\u2019s been around the block a few times knows that working without design constraints is a recipe for disaster. Projects creep beyond scope as revisions pile up, clients and designers misread each other\u2019s intentions. Projects starts to feel like wading through a swamp. You put on a cheery face, but it\u2019s not that great.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Likewise, a business person who has asked a designer to \u201cmake a website,\u201d trusting that the designer will know what to do, has experienced the same let down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Because of this trust, most briefs are heavy on objectives but light on limitations. Paradoxically, this creative freedom is paralysing<\/em> rather than freeing<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Having infinite choice costs time because you waste time doing the wrong things, or \u2018seeing what sticks.\u2019 Three iterations aren\u2019t that many if the first one is based on a guess, and the rest just reactions to the client\u2019s reactions to that guess. Fifty iterations probably wouldn\u2019t really do it in that case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A good designer will spend time creating the necessary constraints. But the chances are they haven\u2019t budgeted for this. The market for deliverables simply doesn\u2019t allow it. So the constraints will be fairly random.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But if those limitations can come from an actual strategy, the return is manifold. It just needs to be accounted for<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is not a slight on designers who are charging fairly for what they assume the work will be. Their only mistake is that assumption: that they will be given enough limitation to work within.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Likewise, the client is assuming the designer will be able to construct those limitations out of the limited information provided and their own research, and that thee designer\u2019s research is built into their quote. Both are usually wrong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ideally, they\u2019d also prepare for the worst, and itemise and charge for whatever process they need to work out the business-driven creative constrains. So if someone\u2019s trying to charge for a little strategy before making a logo, or even a website, my advice to a business would be \u201cgo with it.\u201d In our experience is isn\u2019t just worth the little extra, it\u2019s transformative and the value of the end product is disproportionally larger than the investment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You might be wondering why a client shouldn\u2019t just hand over internal strategy findings to their designer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In-house strategy may be a good start, but there are a few important reasons for an organisation to have third-party help with strategy. It\u2019s advisable for businesses to find designers who know to ask their own<\/em> questions, and to do the strategy as a part of planning for the new project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When I say the designer should help create the brief, I guess I\u2019m talking about a new breed of business-strategist designers. The designer should know how to devise the limitations needed and which are also the most relevant to the business goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The good news is that design education is headed in this direction, but it\u2019s still hard to find. We know many such designers and would be happy to put you in touch with one from your area, just ask.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Good strategy means change, and change is hard for even just one person. For people who work together and need to maintain relationships despite all the crazy going on around them, it\u2019s much harder still.<\/p>\n\n\n\nStrategy-based constraints<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Designers should help create the brief with their client, and charge for it.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Find strategic designers who can help write the brief.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n