A great article here on improving our process and generating better designs. I really dig the example questions and will be using them in the next kickoff. Additionally, a lot of times our OPDMs miss the mark completely on what a strat doc should accomplish; I think this sums it up nicely.
Friday, August 1, 2008
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3 Comments:
One of the nice things about questions like these is that it puts the client in the right position in relation to the design process. By having clients answer these questions they can have their feedback set a course for the designer without getting involved directly in the actual design. A lot of times we don't quiz the clients enough and as a result, they make the determination that their input is a matter of design choices rather than setting an overall direction for the designer. Good article.
With the several questions suggested in this article, we'll be able to keep the strat doc short and to the point.
"Now I avoid saying 'how the website should look' because a lot of people who are not trained have passionate opinions on that question and it is not always linked to communication."...
Sometimes, I find myself flipping thru countless pages of other sites where the clients would be explaining their likes and dislikes trying to hint 'how the website should look'. Instead, give us the links and let us decide.
Anyways, thanks for the article. Looking forward to the further evolving strat doc.
Gene,
That's a good point about looking through other sites. I know sometimes the client wants to express an opinion on design or maybe some sort of hierarchy or layout and the best way for them to do so is by looking through other sites. Maybe some of that is necessary but I think at times, too much of it drives them in a direction that may not be beneficial. What another site does or does not do may not even be beneficial to that site. Why do many people assume the other site "has it right?" At any rate there is no guarantee that an answer or an approach on one site translates to another. If a designer could know what they want their site to accomplish, how they present their message to their audience, and the makeup of that audience, they'd get on a better path toward a successful design. IMHO
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