Understanding how to work with web designers and developers will help you achieve great results fast, which is why we’ve put together the following tips to help you get fruitful working relationship with the designer you choose from the start.
Of course the first place to start is by preparing a comprehensive brief for your designer this should, at the very least, include the following sections. To make life easy we can supply you with a template which covers all of things which you should consider (contact us to request a design template):
- How many design concepts are needed
- Any specific logos, images, colours, fonts, etc that need to be used
- Aims/ reason of the project, i.e. promoting the company, a new product or creating a new image for a company
- Who the target audience is
Once you have agreed on a brief and budget for producing the finished design you have a solid base on which to build your client-designer relationship. The following tips should help you to continue to work well together until the project is complete.
- Have an initial meeting with your designer to arrange a design schedule, this should ensure you and the designer understand your responsibilities and set deadlines. In this day and age the meeting does not have to be face to face it could just as easily be held over the telephone, Skype, GoToMeeting or any other conferencing means.
- Depending on the size of the project arrange weekly or monthly review meetings and ensure that a proofs / initial designs are agreed before creating the final version of the developed website.
- Offer the designer some specific examples of the sort of thing you want to achieve, whether it’s a list of websites you like or logos you think work well. This will help the designer get a feel for the style you are looking for.
- Effective communication with the designer or design agency is key because the primary role in the design process for clients is to offer constructive feedback. The feedback you give should be specific so the designer knows exactly what you like and can tailor the design accordingly.
- Try to remain open minded at all times. If you have chosen your company well then the designer will know more about what works and what doesn’t work for your type of web project. However do ask questions and talk openly about any concerns you may have, and then listen carefully to the designer’s response and recommendations.