How to Guide a Confused Client

Not every client will have a clear picture of what they want from the design and might appear confused. As a professional designer, you should not take advantage of such clients by giving them just any design simply because they are paying for it.

This goes against the ethics of design, and it is your responsibility to guide the confused design customer so that you let them understand what you intend to do and ensure that it is according to their expectations.

Presented here is a simple guide you can use to give effective guidance to a confused design client when they approach you for your services-:

What is the nature of their business?

No matter the kind of graphics design project you have in mind, your work will always be targeted towards a particular audience and this is determined by the nature of goods and services that the client is offering to their customers. The first process towards guiding a confused design client is to ask them about the nature of their business.

Explain to them that this will enable you understand the design approach to take so that you can give relevant designs suited for their kind of business. Besides, it is your duty to customize the design and come up with unique ideas that will let you set apart your confused design client’s business.

Who are the competitors?

However confused a design client might appear, they will always know who they are up against in their respective industry. While guiding them through the design process, ask them who their competitors are and if there are any particular designs the competitors have that they find intriguing.

This is so that as the designer, you will gain deeper insights into what the competitions is doing, learn the deficiencies present among the competitor so that you can exploit them to come up with superior designs that will elevate your client’s brand above the rest.

What is the preferred image of the business?

Certain confused design clients will have no idea whatsoever on the image they want for their business. Though it happens rarely, it is your obligation as the designer to help the client understand the image that their business is likely to project and advise them that you will be using the same image during the design.

You can begin by asking them what they want the customers to think about their business, the kinds of feelings they want evoked when the customers see the designs, the basis upon which they want to grow their brand, how they want the business to look like the future, etc. For such questions, the confused design client will have a mental picture of the kinds of designs that suits the business and you will also find it easy as a designer to bring out the image formed by the confused design client in the final designs.

Who are the customers?

The other important thing when guiding a confused design client is to help them paint a picture of their customers. They need to have a thorough understanding of the specific group of people they will be promoting the business to. Fundamental questions to help the confused design client in knowing their target customers include who the ideal customers are, where they are likely to be found, the demographics with regards to age likes, etc.

These questions will help the confused design client to get into the minds of their customers to know how they perceive the business. For you as a designer, such information will help you a lot when coming up with the right design that will be suitable the target audience of your confused client.

Where does the client intend to use the design?

It is also important to help the client understand the specific places where the design will be applied to. Perhaps the confused design client wants a design for various branding purposes or they want a logo for which will appear in their official communication channels and help in branding the business. You need to explain to the confused design client why this is necessary so that you both be on the same page on what particular design is required. Whether it is a brochure, a business magazine a logo, a letterhead or a poster, it should be clear to both of you.

Symbols and inspirations

Finally, most logos consist of symbols and the business name. When guiding a confused design client, you need to lead them to reveal for you the symbols that they feel are most associated with their kind of business. As a designer, you don’t want to be generic with the symbols since this is not the best way to be creative and provide a killer design for your confused design client. Discuss with them the importance of using various symbols in the design and the potential meanings that the symbols might have on the final graphics.

Use these top tips for dealing with difficult clients!