@nickwichman
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Design for client, not yourself!
Designers: Please get over your own design ego. Ditch the paisley, clouds, lens-flares, and other crap that has nothing to do with the client’s industry.
I’ve noticed that a lot of designers that are working for a client decide to not only make the design ‘theirs,’ but also try to reflect their personal design style in the piece with no regard to the appropriateness to the client’s desires or industry. This problem can be overcome by following the following rules. (I know you can do it!)
1. Research the client!
There is no way you can clearly communicate what the client wants or what their company does without research. Ask them about their company, go online and read about the history of their company and what they do, or GO OUT to their actual store or workplace and see it in action. By investigating what they do and how they do it, you can better communicate who they are. Right?
2. Develop your plan.
After researching all about the client, focus on the design part of things. This is where designers get lost in a whimsical land of ridiculous design elements. If the client is a maker of chess boards, lets say…. why would you want to design their website with a grunge style? Please don’t, for everyone’s sake. Stay focused on the industry!
3. Deliver the goods!
If you’ve developed the logo/website/poster/brochure/whatever to the client’s personal industry and you are reflecting their style, then I think you’re ready. There is nothing quite like presenting a multiple phase design project to the client and having them say “you freakin’ did it!” So… mock it up, set it up, print it out, and deliver the goods to them.
NOW… I am NOT trying to say that designers should ditch their style and create ‘over-regurgitated’ designs. I encourage designers to invest your style and heart into every project. Just don’t get lost in the over-stylization of it.
You’ll do fine, my boy.
A good resource for great design is PatternTap: http://www.patterntap.com.
