- Persuasion is 90% of the job in graphic design.
This isn't about forcing a client
to let you have your own way.
It's about guiding someone to realize
that your solution is the right one.
Designers live in a world of possibilities and creativity.
Most of our clients rely on facts and figures
to make decisions.
They work with solid, analytical, proven facts.
Two plus two will always equal four.
So we need to take our creative process,
that can be non-linear, change course often,
the focus on emotional responses,
and our seemingly subjective decision-making
and create a logical presentation in the client's language.
Trying to force a chief financial officer
to speak designerese is a fruitless task.
First, the presentation needs to be put into a format
that can be projected, displayed on monitor, or printed.
I use a landscape tabloid-sized document
and create the file in InDesign.
This is similar to a screen proportion
and is inexpensive to print.
You can also add information on the master page
with a project date and your name.
The presentation may be viewed
after you have left the building.
Someone with little knowledge of the project
may look at it and have questions.
Design the presentation with this in mind.
Make it understandable to a child.
Restate the assignment
I find it useful to provide a question
someone may be asking and then answer it.
List your research questions who, how, and what
on the individual pages.
Keep the pages as simple and clear as possible.
If you put all the questions on one page,
the viewer can be confused.
Now, answer the questions the same way, on individual pages.
Give the viewer time to let the information sink in.
Keep the answers as simple as possible.
You can present the backup information of research
and interviews at the end of the document.
Add the mission statements and list of five
to eight words to describe the values.
Before this point, you should have finalized these
with the CEO, your contact,
and anyone else who had decision-making power.
If answers are complicated,
it's a good idea to use diagrams.
Everyone is visual.
Even mathematicians live in a world of television,
movies, and advertising.
It may be clearer to show the audience in a visual
rather than a paragraph.
Incorporate other visuals to clarify your findings.
Don't list the competition, use their logos.
Show all the current visual material
you've collected on one page.
This is a good way to see the breadth of the work at once,
something clients rarely do.
Regardless of how organized a client may seem,
typically, the materials won't feel like a common
and consistent family.
It's the result of multiple people
having access to the materials over a long time
and no strong brand guidance.
That's not apparent until a client sees it as a whole.
Remember, someone in the room
or who might see the document later
probably had a hand in some of the existing materials.
It's a good idea to not say, "Ooh boy, wow."
Find a positive attribute, such as, "I can see
that the color palette was used consistently."
And finally, add a call to action.
Tell the client what should happen.
The next step is to take this information
and proceed to the design studies.
And remember to end with a page that says thank you.