Subjectivity in Design

Sorry dvduval, this stinks...

FWIW, I always ask them for examples of what they like AND what they don't like and why...

Even if outside their industry (i.e., a medical place points to a cat grooming site for something they like/don't like)... helps narrow it down very quickly (usually!)

Yes, and I am actually in agreement with both of you. I commonly tell people to show me a site they love and we will make a design that is "inspired" by it.

I think the aesthetics within design can be subjective, but good design basics is difficult to argue with....

Yup. People have asked me for samples in the past too. I then ask them what they are looking for exactly. Because what if I don't even have samples in their niche? Then it will become completely irrelevant!


And if I don't have samples in that niche, I will tell them that I don't then, and will look for samples at at least can relate. No point trying to send something or show something that will have nothing to do with what they actually want, because they are really asking to see if you can do what they want in the first place.

I have an online portfolio ... don't use it anymore, but have it from when I was doing a lot of Corporate Identity and brochures ... print work. That way, customers could view my whole body of work. If they hated everything, time for them to move on, but normally they would be impressed with the quantity and quality of work.

100 people = 100 opinions - so it all boils down to what the specific person likes (if) and then we can talk business. I rather have one customer a day that is excellent to work with than have 50 of them who are pain in the butt

A customers (whether that's a marketing manger, sole trader, friend or whatever) is alway's going to have some idea in their head no matter how vague about what they want the site to look like, achieve etc.. it's your job to pin that down as much as you can first by asking the right questions.

Then once you've got a reasonable picture of what they are after you can then suggest improvements and even suggest a complete alternative, you just have to sell the idea and why it's going to be better for them.

Then you start work, always do some flat visuals in photoshop first to get the page layouts approved, things can and do change around at this stage so if you've already started building you're potentially wasting your time, wait till they sign off all typical page styles first. then agree on the functionality, discuss any potential further developments that might be needed 6 months, 12 months down the line - always better to have a good picture of any developments as it may change the way you put things together and save work down the line.

This is loosely the flow I follow anyway, this is perhaps more related to web design in general rather than typical IM blogs and pitch sites, although not always, it just depends how much work is going into it, it's just obviously more involved than swopping themes in wordpress.

...then, once you get something that looks good, they try to ruin it with all of their "improvements"!



I mean, aren't they hiring us BECAUSE we have an artistic eye? Know what's aesthetically pleasing? And, for gosh sakes, know that a flashing rainbow gradient with a mirror image drop shadow may not be the best look for a lawyer's website?

LOL

It doesn't make me mad, but it does make me wonder.

~M~

Here is a day in the life of a designer... if you're a designer and you've not felt like this at times, you're not human

How a Web Design Goes Straight to Hell - The Oatmeal

This story remind me of one client I had offline. Everything was going well until her boyfriend designer didn't show up. When it was finished even the Toast website is awesome compared to the end result of the "Pilates website" x.x

I named that project "Death 2 design"

@Karl - that site is awesome. And so true what they are saying.

I also enjoyed the "how to know if your cat is plotting to kill you" comic!

~james Dyson