- One of the most valuable lessons
I learned at the Harvard Business School
was that our clients, typically on the business side,
don't speak designer.
And conversely, we don't speak business.
All the meetings that seem to go well,
but then turn negative,
made sense when I realized that I was saying one thing
and the client heard another.
It was if she were talking to me
in Italian and I responded in French.
Every industry has its own terminology and language.
This goes beyond simple technical terms.
It's about priorities.
Now, many designers are great at business
and many clients have a fantastic eye for good design,
but on the whole, as designers
we prize a smart concept and beautiful execution.
We love seeing something incredible and new.
When we look at a logo,
we see the letterforms, shape, and color.
Most clients are focused on increased revenue,
better audience perception,
and the bottom line of production.
A corporation will change the identity for business,
not aesthetic reasons.
It is rumored that Walmart spent one billion dollars
on the redesign and implementation of their new logo.
When a company changes its logo,
every item from a package, truck, sign, and uniform
is replaced with a new identity.
Nobody will spend large amounts of money on the redesign
because they thought the old logo was ugly.
They do this because they see the need for a new system
due to competition.
A company will determine that the return
on the investment would outweigh the costs.
When a client says that the new design is important,
he or she sees that from the financial perspective.
When a designer says the same thing,
he or she often is talking about the form and concept.
Our job is to understand what the client's priorities are
and address those.
When I talk about a solution,
I explain issues in terms of audience perception,
brand recognition, or more efficient production techniques.
These are not catch words.
They address the issues that clients value.
I try to not discuss design with a client
unless he or she asks.
One client in my entire career
asked me about the typeface
and she was an architect.
I relate each aspect of the project
to the intended business goal.
How does the typeface communicate the message?
Does the color have meaning to the intended audience?
Is the content of the imagery relevant to the product?
Every element I discuss relates to the business.
And I use the terminology
of the client's industry to explain them.
In all honesty, every design decision
is not based on rational business reasons.
There is always a part that is intuitive
and comes from the creative side.
I have a friend who tells his clients
that he can explain 90% rationally,
but the other 10% is creativity.
The goal is to clarify communication
and understand what the client needs.
The outcome will be a solution
the client can understand
that reinforces the business goals
and are not arbitrary.