Revenue Journal®

Every CEO and entrepreneur has a need for both graphic and website designers. Too bad there are so few good ones out there.

Sure, there are people who say they are designers. And they do, in fact, churn out work for clients. But I'd estimate that only one out of 200 actually know how to solve design problems, have truly satisfied clients, and consistently turn out good, solid work.

What's the problem? It goes back to something a CEO once said to me, about ten years ago. "No one is teaching kids how to think." He was right. Being a good designer means you follow a well-tested process. You gather all the input you need, you prioritize it and analyze it, and then you come up with solutions that meet the requirements.

There will be tradeoffs; the design process always involves a delicate balance between all of the various goals, resources, form, and function. But the best designers do a masterful job of meeting all the requirements while creating something pleasing and functional.

Instead of learning how to make these tradeoffs, young designers are taught to imitate established designers or to follow their own creative whim. It is easier to teach someone to imitate or to do whatever he/she wants than it is to actually teach the student to think - or be of service.

The result is always something inappropriate for the client. I can't tell you how many entrepreneurs and CEOs are frustrated with the designs that come back to them, after they think they've provided the information the designer needed.

The successful design method

Let's just look at what a successful designer does, step-by-step. We'll call the designer Alan, just to keep the language simple. The process consists of five stages: Input, Analysis, Solutions, Selection, Refinement.

This method applies to both graphic and website design. The difference, of course, is there is more interactivity involved in website design. But the method is the same.

1. Input. Alan asks questions. He listens carefully to the answers. He takes notes. Questions he asks include:
   
   
   
   • What are you trying to accomplish with this design?
     
     
   • Where will it appear? How big, what color(s)?
     
     
   • What must be included?
     
     
   • What limitations are there - things we can't include, things you've done before, things regarding size, color, pixels, resolution, etc.?
     
     
   • What have you done before? Can I see those examples? What did you think of them?
     
     
   • Why are you changing this now? What are you hoping to get from this new design that you aren't getting from the current design?
     
     
   • Who is going to be involved in the approval process? Can I talk with them as well? (The answer must be yes - anyone involved in the "landing" must also be involved in the "takeoff" to avoid mid-course corrections.)
     
     
   • How much time to you have? How much money is there for this project? How important is this project?
     
     
   • Are there any preferences we should be aware of? Things you want to incorporate? Colors that would work best? Style issues? (That's a big one.)
     
   
   
2. Analysis. Now Alan has all the data he needs. First he will focus on function, to make sure that the final design, no matter what "style" he chooses, will meet all the functional requirements. This is where he has to organize and prioritize the functional aspects of the design. This is, frankly, where the real creativity comes in: the successful combination and resolution of all of the requirements.

   What elements go where? How do they relate to each other? Which element will be the "dominant visual element"? What will balance that dominant visual element? What is the color palette? Is there an overriding requirement that must be factored into every aspect of the design? The answers to these questions will start putting "boundaries" around the design, which is as it should be. As Alan works with these elements, much of the function - and even the form - start to become obvious.

3. Solutions. Once the functional aspects have been worked out, it's time to settle on a style. Typefaces are always an issue, and Alan selects several fonts that would meet the basic requirements. He creates a mockup of the content, using different typefaces. He looks at them side by side. Using this method, the best font is pretty obvious. If he ends up with two or three approaches that work, he's ready to go back to the client.

4. Selection. Alan presents his mockups to the client. Using his input requirements, he explains his decision-making process as he presents his ideas. There may be certain things that need to be explained a little. ("This will be a lighter blue in the final; I couldn't render that properly in the mockup. You'll have to imagine it being a lighter shade of blue.") The client will have many questions, but will gravitate to one mockup. The client may also ask Alan to incorporate an element or two from the other mockups into the preferred mockup. Alan is smart, so he will remind the client that the substitution may or may not work. He will have to see how it looks in real life. It may be an unsatisfactory tradeoff.

5. Refinement. Alan is one of the good designers, so his mockups were very close to the final version. A few minor tweaks to the preferred mockup, and the client will end up with a functional, attractive design that will serve well for years.
   

In my experience, many designers today short-change every aspect of the correct design process. They don't get good input. They don't take the time to properly analyze, organize, and prioritize the input they get. They focus on form before function (which means that function always suffers). They come up with inappropriate and incomplete solutions.

The client looks at them and thinks, "Did this person even hear what I was saying?" Or, "Did this person actually do any thinking?" Clients are frustrated, because they don't want to select any of the designs that have been presented. They know, intuitively, that the presented designs are so far off, that no amount of "refining" will make them work. The designer either gets fired or the client settles.

The smaller clients settle, because they don't have the money or time to keep fussing. They pick one, and use it, but they're never really happy with it. They know it doesn't meet their needs, nor does it meet the needs of the target audience. This inappropriate design actually prevents them from being as successful as they should be.

Designers are inclined to want to play, at the client's expense - creating something punk for a non-punk client, for example, or using a typeface just because it's new and cool. Those who do this are not designers. They have left millions of dissatisfied clients in their wake, and given the design profession a black eye.

If you're one of the good designers that we've just described, I'd love to hear from you.