One Idea is Better than Three
Saturday April 16, 2005 / 40 CommentsThere is now a followup to this post. Make sure to check it out. More on the One Idea Approach
While some people don’t need to worry too much about clients, the rest of still make a living helping others make the right decisions with their web presence. Maybe I’m just young and early on in my consulting career, or maybe I am too accustomed to constantly trying to please everyone, but if there’s anything I’ve learned in the last year, it’s that consulting is about guiding not offering.
“Here’s 3 comps. Please choose one.”
If you present clients with multiple ideas and expect them to choose one, invariably, the end result is muted and diluted as the message of the different ideas gets blended together. This is what happens when you approach the situation with an offering.
Instead of spending time creating 3 differnt comps, ideas, or concepts, take aim at that one that’s great and make it amazing. Blow them out of the water. Leave them speachless. That’s guiding.
It’s really about taking them where you feel and know they need to go. You may be a little off course and that is to be expected. Believe it or not, your clients are looking to you for answers, and they want to help you find those answers. They are looking to you for guidance to the best solution.
Have confidence (and evidence).
Of course, this would never work if you just go to a meeting and say, “Here’s our idea. What do you think?” You have to go in believing that this idea is the one. If you can convince yourself, you can convince your client. Heck, you won’t even have to convince them, they will just see it.
How on Earth do you pull that off? Show them your process. Show them how you arrived at your idea. Show them some of your other ideas and brainstorming that helped your idea evolve. Be open and honest so they can see right through to your passion and thought process, and they will love you for it. More importantly, the communication will help them understand how you work and just how solid the foundation of your idea is.
Summary
Instead of offering up choices or asking open-ended questions, come up with ideas internally, then work those ideas until you can confidently choose one. Once that’s done, take that great idea and make it amazing. Show them what their site or application could be.
Now, all you have to do is stand back and let them drool. If they see your thought process and passion, they will not only appreciate your efforts, but they will be happier with the end product. Most importantly, you will be much happier with the work you’ve done.
Does it work?
The inspiration for this came from a recent series of meetings with one of our clients. The first two meetings were considerably painful as we presented several different options and opened it up for discussion. The meetings went in circles and the client stakeholders couldn’t decide on how to merge the different options and meet all of their business goals.
This was completely our fault, not their’s. We were presenting them with options. We were saying, “We don’t really know what we’re doing so we made some vague attempts and we want you to decide for us.” This isn’t guiding. This is offering, and it doesn’t work.
After the second meeting, we sat down and essentially threw away all of the previous concepts. We browsed around some other sites and thought about the conflicting goals and problems with the first concepts.
When we were done, we created one focused concept and made some very tough decisions that we assumed the client would never approve. When it was all said and done though, we believed in the new idea more than anything we had done yet.
The time came for the meeting, and we went through all of the previous problems and shortcomings, all the steps we took to find answers, and explained our decisions in detail.
After presenting the concept, every single stakeholder was in complete agreement. It was perfect. It was the shortest and smoothest meeting we’ve had yet, and it had the most productive results.
It works, and I’m never going back.
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wow man, you nailed it. I just ran into this issue. A client was getting frustrated with me because I was asking too many questions and providing too many options for things. They were legit questions, not something like what color do you want, but I learned I need to rely on instinct more and that its okay to assume.
“It’s really about taking them where you feel and know they need to go. You may be a little off course and that is to be expected.”
That line just sums it up! John
Superb idea! Douglas Bowman’s blogged about it at www.stopdesign.com as I’m sure you know. Ross Easton
Interesting your use of background highlighting to draw the reader to key points. A bit hard to see tho—I prefer good ol’ Edward-Tufte-style red text: http://jonaquino.blogspot.com/2005/04/using-colour-to-highlight-your-key.html
Oh and I love the large text on the buttons. Jonathan Aquino
Yeah Ive been doing this for a while now tho mainly because weve been doing some low cost websites which negates our usuall design barrage – I find that if you do a ubercool design and explain it to them they understand their role in the process better- i even designed a site for a nightclub which was only 300px wide explaining that “you dont want to have to spend lots of time writing copy, because with the reduced width even a paragraph will occupy a lot of space within the design” – it pushed their buttons and we won the job! mark rushworth
Garrett,
Love the new site … I really like the “bigness” of it! Very cool. And I love no traditional “nav bar” ... oh, ya – great post, too. chuck
This approach plays to the worst instincts of designers and agencies, the conceit that there is a one ideal solution to a problem. Real life is a little more messy.
In your example, I doubt you would have gotten to the point where you could present a single solution without having gone through the experience of presenting three. Where you went wrong was allowing the client to try to merge the three designs. Get their likes/dislikes, say “good day”, and come back with something better now that you’ve started having a conversation with the client rather than just serving up dishes like a short-order cook. Todd W.
Ola!
I remember about four weeks ago I had a discussion with a web designer friend of mine, and I told him what you just wrote. One idea and that’s it.
My thing is that, I work on my own, and I don’t have time to fully design more than one idea, so I work on an idea, make it rock solid and give to client. If client likes, its good, if client does not like, you then have a reference to one thing that explains what they want and don’t want, which essentially means, you either understood their requirements or you didn’t, at the end of it all, they will choose only one, so why not make one?
Anyway, it feels good to see that my alcoholic-mind was right and the idea is common.
Word. Lebogang Nkoane
Todd – I’m very glad you made that point. However, I obviously disagree. This idea is not rooted in conceit at all. I have never met a designer who presented 3 ideas because they seriously thought there were 3 options. They presented 1 idea that they believed in and 2 more ideas because they “had to”.
In the end there has to be one real world solution because that is the goal. To present divergent paths from the beginning only serves to blur the focus of the project. I’m not saying to create one comp and present it. I’m saying to create 3 internally, then choose the strongest, tweak it, invest time in it, then present that one.
With regards to your belief that we learned from the first two meetings and incorporated those changes, you couldn’t be more incorrect. We actually threw all of that out the window and started from scratch with no pre-conceived notions. We did several things that we truly felt were the right decision, but that the client had said they did not want to do.
We did not go to our client in arrogance saying, “We know best. Do this.” Instead it was, “We have thought long and hard, and we sincerely believe this idea encompasses all of your goals and clearly executes on them. We made the following tough decisions based on the following reasons. What do you think?” For the first time in the 3 months we have been working on this project, all 5 stakeholders agreed 100% and rallied around the new concept.
The idea really comes down to fully committing yourself to helping the client, and not just tossing a couple extra half-baked ideas into the hat to give the semblance of choice. If the client is involved through the whole process, they will not be shocked when they are presented with the final idea.
We have to believe in helping the client achieve their goals. By diluting that message and throwing in ideas that aren’t complete, or aren’t necessarily right, you are hurting, not helping. Garrett
This design looks like http://37signals.com/svn/ (a little bit too much). Except for the comment-post area which is really cool. NaB
This concept flies in the face of the process that is most commonly taught. In the past I have provided 3 design choices even though there was only 1 that I really liked. It seems that the only thing that the other 2 choices did was pull the direction of the design into an area that it didn’t need to go.
While I agree with Todd W.’s concerns, as long as you keep the client involved and provide solutions to his goals while keeping the user in mind I think the 1 design solution could be pulled off quite nicely.
I am going to try this on my next project. Thanks for the idea. Jeff Adams
Oh, yes, thank you! Another thing to add to this that will be useful and related-
don’t show your client the design you hate! If you do show more than one concept, for God’s sake, don’t show them the one you hate. I find so many designers complain that their client chose “the bad concept”—to avoid those, just don’t show the weak one! Only show your one strongest, or that and your runner-up choice-not any of your last-place finishes. Only show what you professionally believe are the strongest. LeaI’m not saying you incorporated ideas from the first meetings to make the last one, but I am saying that going through the experience of learning what the clients did/didn’t like or want or need influenced the ultimate solution. While it may have seemed contentious and counterproductive, throwing some mud on the wall and seeing what sticks is sometimes (oftentimes?) the only way to zero in on a great idea and ensure that you’ve really understood what the client needs.
Overall, I think my view and yours (and that of many commenters) comes from a difference in perspective based on our day-to-day experiences. I work in an agency that has multiple designers attacking a problem simultaneously, so when we whittle things down to 3-5 (or more) designs, they are all solid and viable. I can imagine if you’re an “army of one”, that sort of outcome is unlikely.
I also think the complexity of what the client is asking for probably impacts whether this “one design” approach would work. Highly complex requirements require multiple iterations on multiple mistakes. Which, I think, is what you’re getting at when you say to have “evidence”. Showing the process is absolutely critical, in any case. And, of course, it depends on the client. Some are, admittedly, obtuse and particularly design illiterate. Others have a great deal to add and should be brought into as much of the work process as is feasible. Todd W.
Todd – In the situation with an army of one, I agree, it’s difficult to come up with several viable options. That’s not the case with us as we always have at least 3 different designers each work on their interpretation. At the end of the day, the client will have to pick one, and we will invariably believe that one is the strongest candidate no matter how good the other ones are.
If that’s the case, it’s our job to present the best choice, not the best choice and some filler. If one comp is good for one reason, and another for a different reason, then take that and make the perfect comp. Otherwise, one of them is wrong. I hate to be binary, but no matter how many different people were involved, there will always be a best candidate, and there will always be the other candidates. I just feel it’s our duty to do that filtering for the client. Garrett
I hate to disagree, but I have to with the basic tenet.
Now this is based only on my own experience (close to 10 years of doing this, at least 40 major clients from Fortune 500, government and non-profit organizations), but coming in with one design just doesn’t work because you are not selling to other designers. You are selling to business people. And business people are entirely subjective – often, they do not understand color theory, the subtle nature of typography or other graphic design concepts. You can try to educate them, but the truth is that business people are as varied as you can find. You’ll find some that want to be educated, some that already think they are and still others who could care less.
And the truth is, you can sometimes completely blow a concept. You could be right, according to Edward Tufte. You could be right, according to Jakob Nielsen. But to an average business person, they may just hate your concept. Without anything else to rely upon, you could get caught dead in a design presentation.
It is our responsibility as consultants first to recommend, then to prove why our recommendation makes sense, and then to shut up and do it the way the client wants it done. Hopefully, the client agrees with our approach, but we aren’t going to fight them because our concept is “right”. It’s only right when the client says it is.
That’s just my opinion, of course. Brian
Brian – The whole concept depends heavily on close client involvement and understanding throughout the whole project. WIthout that, you’re right, it can’t work. Additionally, yes there are some clients that may just never understand or be willing to understand. Sometimes you may fall flat on your face, but if you’ve done your homework and kept the client involved with your process, you will meet with success more than failure.
Evidence also plays a big part. I assume that with major clients from the Fortune 500, user research would play a significant role in almost every project. That’s the perfect evidence with which to make informed decisions. Any executive or stakeholder who values his or her likes and dislikes over cold hard facts such as results from user interviews or testing, is going to be problematic regardless of the number of ideas you present. Their subjectivity will not increase or decrease relative to the number of options. Some people are just hard to please.
The ultimate goal is to help your client achieve their goals. I firmly believe that the best way to do that is by focusing in and delivering a knockout punch instead of a flurry of jabs. Yes. Even if that knockout punch misses occassionally. Some clients may disagree, and that is their perogative, but when it’s all said and done, I’m still trying my damndest to come up with the best solution possible for them. Garrett
Garrett –
I appreciate your viewpoint. Certainly, there are times when it is an acceptable solution to pack a powerful, single punch. And I think that over the past couple of years, there has been more willingness on executive’s parts to consider research – 7 years ago, there just wasn’t any quality research to back up concepts, but that has changed.
Where we agree completely though is the ultimate desire to deliver to our clients a powerful and compelling experience. On that, I think we can both agree.
I appreciate your thoughts and this blog. Brian
I work at a non-web design company where anything I create has to be approved by at least 3 people.
I find what tends to work best and has the highest chance of approval is to present them with one comp. It is much easier and quicker for my supervisors to critique and suggest changes while looking at one design, as opposed to 2 or 3. Jeff Adams
Garrett
As you said the ultimate goal is to help your client achieve their goals. Our job as designers is to come up with a solution that effectively addresses those goals within the limitations of the project. There probably is more than one solution to every project, but in the end, there can be only one.
OK, cheesy Highlander excerpts aside, fully understanding the wants, needs, and goals of the client is part of the discovery phase of any project. When you showed them the comps, unfortunately you were still in the discovery phase of understanding what it is they really wanted and needed. You essentially used the 3 comps to gather more information from the client that would have been easier through verbal or written communication without establishing any preconceived notions of the look and feel. The key concept is that the client got involved in the design process and the last version allowed them to see how you addressed the issues of the project, as well as their concerns.
I totally agree, get behind one design and commit to it. I think we like to show several versions, because it makes us feel more comfortable and validates our time and effort.
Take the time to establish a relationship with the client, ask several questions, get them involved in the idea process and the design tends to evolve out of several conversations that you may have. Do your homework first, and then design. Darren
Excellent, excellent post!
I just completed a new mock-up/layout for a client of ours and we presented only one design. We had multiple, but like you said, they were “muted and diluted”. I use to present multiple designs, until one client picked the “muted and diluted” design. Ever since then we focus on one design only that is totally in tune with our clients objectives.
Thanks for reinforcing this point. Michael Swartz
It’s impossible for me to accept any “one process” for client presentations because there is no “one client.” Some want options some want recommendations, some want to feel like they made the thing themself.
I’ve gone in to a client presentations with the intention of having them mix and match. And we took out scissors and tape and cut up the prints of the interface so I could illustrate my reccomendation while giving them the sense that they were “designing” and this highprofile mix of corporate execs turned into kids in a craft class. The result was great.
Another client wanted to spend two weeks tweaking the designs with daily meetings and hey, they kept paying and we kept tweaking. In that situation the result was better for the exercise. The client felt like they really owned the design and we were able to manage them down the right path along the way.
And we’ve done a one concept presentation before due to the clients financial constraints and there were no problems.
I agree an agency should get out of reaction mode and into recommend mode as quickly and as often as possible, but showing multiple designs serves many purposes depending on the client. It’s a relaxing and enjoyable exercise for a client to see all the possibilities for their brand. Sometimes it’s sitting back and hearing the client’s reaction to each that gives me the info I need to lock in on one. And I’d never go into a presentation without being prepared to recommend all directions shown.
For me personally I almost always do two designs and another designer will do a third. And in the last 2 years, the first concept I designe wins (untiil a month ago when the second one did win) And I have no idea what to make of that. Often times the second design is more informed and on target .
But I can’t imagine presenting three well thought out concepts putting me in a riskier position than putting all my bets on one. BLinder
Darren – In most situations you are probably right. However, in this situation, we threw out the results form the first two meetings and went with what we felt was the one correct solution. We ignored everything we “learned” from the first meetings and went a completely different direction.
BLinder – There is never any one definitive answer. Compromise is a must and some clients will demand multiple options. However, I won’t just accept it without trying to convince them otherwise. Also, it’s not a matter of risky or not. It’s all about focusing in and delivering one high quality fully-baked solution rather than 3 half-baked, or 1 fully-baked and 2 half-baked. If you present 3, it is impossible for them to all be equal in quality. Garrett
Sorry, man. I pull myself every time to give my best to every client, but this case I don’t agree with you.
I mean, It’s absolutely real that one deep worked idea it’s better than three, but over the years, I always claimed to my clients or whoever contracts me, to give me enough time to work on a strong idea instead of many quicks and weaks. And never worked.
From my P.O.V. There are many variables, beyond the simple fact of design, in the procces to sell design. One of them is show the client the idea of hard work, and even if you show the long process of a strong idea, two or three will always mean more, even if they are weak, are more in numbers always to the eye of the client ( Sounds pretty stupid, yeah, but it’s the sad true).
Besides that point, working with many ideas, there is too more chances to find out what the client wants, when the client doesn’t know for sure and the briefinfg its not complete (....near always :)
And in last place, but not less important, there is the chance for you or the agency who hires you, to charge more money on more drafts designs, what seems more possible than to charge the large evolution of the design of one piece.
Maybe sounds sad, and , I insist, I agree that it’s true, that
from the point of view of the designerits better work on one idea. But don’t forget that we offer a service, and a good service it’s sometimes when covers the clients claimings and expectations, beyond our good advice or our preferences.Greetings Cemece
great! a guest
I have worked as a Graphic Designer and Web Designer for the past 5 years after going through 7 years of College & University.
In the time of my professional career, I have NEVER divided my creative time into doing more than striving for that ‘one’ design that is the right one for the job. In all of my experience I find including the client during the process always gets them on-board with the idea, but I never ask them to make decisions that they are paying me to make, by asking them to choose between options.
If they have an issue with the process ‘the one’ is going, we address that during the process. Doing options just subtely implies that you cannot make the decision for yourself. Anthony
yes! yes! yes! validation. one is the way to go.
ps – i love these giant fonts. david
Cemece – Well said. In the end it is a service, and sometimes we have to accept that. I personally no longer believe that three is the magical number. Garrett
Agreed. And remember, you don’t have to charge less just because you only are presenting one idea.
Keep those other ideas in your back pocket for a future project. Scott Henderson
There is more than one way to solve this issue, and presenting only one idea to a client is not always the best way to work. While this is suitable for some situations, presenting one concept can completely leave the client out of the conversation, and send the designer back to the drawing board. The idea of showing multiple creative concepts is to not have every single detail figured out on the first presentation, and not to “leave the decision” up to the client, but having enough detail to involve the client in an intelligent conversation that leads to group discovery, yielding a better solution, and a solution that the client is vested in. The bigger issue for being successful with presentations, as Garret points out, is about homework, confidence, and communication. The designer needs to do the homework on the client and the project to have the confidence to solve the problem and communicate clearly. Stress
When I was a freelancer, I always approached site design as you suggest here: one design was what I presented to the client. Now, however, working in an agency brings with it competitive concerns that seem to preclude this approach.
Talking with the staff at work about this, the consensus is that clients will demand 2 (or more) comps. If we won’t give them more than one, they’ll go down the street where they will get 2 or more design comps. Furthermore, if we only offer one, they’ll want to pay less for the design portion of the project.
I know that this is an irrelevant and inane set of expectations that clients have (sometimes), but how does one communicate the value of the single design approach? How can that approach be balanced with the admittedly obtuse sense of “value” that cilents apply to getting 2 or more design comps? Easy for an individual, more difficult for an agency in competition with other agencies. Andy Rutledge
This is good idealistic stuff and I like it. I only hope that if you find problems with just presenting one direction to clients, then you will have the courage to come back and blog about why, and perhaps suggest a solution.
Don’t be loyal to an idea. Follow ideas only for as long as they continue to prove themselves to be right. Jonathan
Jonathan – Absolutely. I’m far from being inable to admit when I’m wrong. For the record though, I don’t think this will work everywhere. I do, however, think it should be the goal.
As for being idealistic. That’s what I’m all about, expect lots of it here. Garrett
I know where you’re coming from, but can’t buy the argument.
I don’t think there’s a single formula. Some clients work well with choice. Others love seeing the workings of the creative mind and the total problem-space that you’ve been exploring. Still others are terrified of choice, and want to be led. The skill of the presenter is to read each client correctly (a task complicated by the changeability of people, and by multiple client representatives) and to win the day.
Winning the day, IMHO, is what it’s all about. There’s a lot riding on the outcome, and the mission is: to walk away with an approval and a client you thinks you guys are just amazing. If you’re presenting good work, there’s no risk of the client signing off a crappy concept. If you’re presenting work that you know to be bad, well, you’re working for the wrong agency, or the wrong client.
You need to present good work confidently and show intelligent leadership. Sometimes, your favourite concept will win. Sometimes it won’t. The main thing is, the agency should win.
And finally, an interesting point is whether one should walk the client across the stepping-stones you followed to get to the creative destination you’re presenting, or just let the work speak for itself. If you like, the first approach is bottom-up, the second top-down. Both approaches have merit. The latter, you could argue, is more realistic. After all, you don’t get a chance to walk your target audience through the creative rationale: they see the work, they react to it. Period. If the work is being judged objectively, then the test should replicate the conditions of use, so to speak.
I suspect that once again, the rule must be to shape your presentation to the client.
As for idealism vs realism: Great concepts come from idealists. To get that great work published, you need realists. These are the two different but complementary hands that shape — and ship — great work. Bruce
This debate has been raging for years in the marketing communication business. The issue is not the number of ideas that you take in. The issue is understanding.
Understanding your client’s company culture. How they arrive at decisions – autocratic or committee.
Understanding the target audience almost better than they know themselves, or than they are willing to admit.
And finally, understanding the issue at hand and understanding the different ways to address and ultimately solve the issue.
I suggest that you not be so presumptuous and so prescriptive about the number of ideas to take in to a client. By demonstrating to your client that you understand them, their target and the issue at hand will go a long way in selling your ‘best’ idea regardless of the number of ideas you brought to the presentation. Andreas
i would agree that you should never present the client with three ‘final’ solutions but that has never been my approach to the three design paradigm.
to me the multiple concept presentation is about understanding a client’s goals and, equally as important, their limits. as such, none of the concepts should be designed or presented as a push to the final answer but, rather, each should be designed to promote a discussion about how to approach the resolution of the design problem.
the three concepts should be radically different. not one good idea and two watered down versions of the same idea.
good research is essential but it won’t lead you to one ‘perfect’ answer as research ultimately gets filtered through the eyes of the designer. it your job to see how your client filters the same information and one tool for this is the three concept formula.
another reason for presenting more than one idea is that even if the client says they love your ‘final answer’ at the design presentation, if the design goes live and gets a poor, or lukewarm, reaction (and lets face it, it happens) in their mind they will simply blame you and assume you don’t know what you are doing. if you have pushed them to help guide you they are more invested in the design process and will be more willing to see the failure as simply a part of a larger design process that they are engaging in with you.
you have started a very interesting conversation. thanks! greg
Well, I’m not sure I agree.
Offering different solutions will help yourself as well when you gather up with the client and discuss what to do next. More than once have I received great input from clients, and the creative process of being together with your client and discussing the different ideas is not to be underestimated. Gjermund
Excellent post.
I’ve found that over the years, I’ve moved more towards the one idea approach. At first I felt almost guilty when I presented only one idea to the client – even though I really, truly believed that it was the best possible solution for their needs – but then I realized that having one strong idea that I stood behind 100% always got a much better response from the client than when I presented three weaker possibilities. Rather than taking forever to come up with some hybrid from the multiple ideas, the clients seemed to be much more decisive and focussed when deciding which aspects they liked or didn’t like.
I can definitely see that the one idea approach might not be the answer for every client, but in most cases – and certainly in my experience – it’s often a better way to start off. Sara
this is some great stuff. reading all sides is very helpful but i must say that I am a bit concerned if I tackle the “one idea” approach. i worked in city agencies, currently work in a large college town agency, and hopefully by summers end will be on my own. within a short ten years of experience, ive seen many different methods of approach and operation. and maybe it is being young’n naive, but it seems like i always have a better way to go about business than the people i work for. i always know what the client should see when the creative directors play it safe in presentations. its very frustrating.
at my current gig, i don’t see how my superiors would ever consider a one idea approach. it is always about “variety”!! but whats so funny about that approach is they always want you to keep your hours down on the project. ok, so you want us to wow our current or prospective clients with a lot of ideas yet do everything half-assed to keep the design time at a minimum, right? my perfectionism and time consuming perfect photo searches have finally payed off but for a long time it was “mark, you need to design a little faster”. well, id rather stay till 7 or 8 at night to make everything right-on than be discouraged day in and day out trying to save the company money. anyway…
i always like two designs i come up with (the thirds always a throw away) but my eye, mind and heart always gravitate towards one. if we feel so passionate about one design, how do we put the “proper business model” behind us and convince clients on a new way of receiving our creative approaches. does it come down to a paragraph in our capabilities brochure or websites that enlightens future clients to a new, smarter way of doing business. can we sell the idea that “its whats right for you” without having to constantly reiterate and backup our thought process behind this kind of approach. has anyone gone from “heres three” to a “this is it” approach and received client feedback about the change in procedure?
i work in a mixed up market of high growth but lack of creative understanding when it comes to advertising/design and the way communications pieces can make or break you in the competition game. i guess its a more old school atmosphere. does anyone think that by establishing a “one choice” approach may actually create buzz and get the client/consumer market to think “wow, this is something new and i like it. lets go with these guys”??
future entrepreneur looking for guidance – MD Doc
Whatever be the style of work in the different design firms, Who is the designer?? The client or are we?
The client must understand you are the designer, and you are there to guide, to design and to develop.
We as designers must understand our work is use the creiteria to suggest ONE viable and reasonable solution.
After studying the client’s targets, desires or the clien’ts ideas and what’s their business, then why work 3 times? spending 3 times the precious time?? working in one idea reduces the time, costs, carry on with more bennefits.
With 3 ideas is: “3 different ways to resolve what the client needs.” Yes, it sound good, but remember one thing: the only difference between the 3 concepts presented is “THE COLOUR”.... or the layout. Nothing special. There’s no reason to offer to clients 3 colours! don’t we have criteria or college formation to understand what could be the better colour for the client??? where is our academic formation as designers? or where is our experience??
Check and see, 3 different purposes is only 3 different colours (yes, position of images, texts, sizes… ) and it really HELPS?? it really matters? when the central point is only one: cover the client’s objetive, help to the client’s business to have a Graphic Pressence full of Essence. what really works is present one solid and based work, take your 20 designers in your firm if you want, and present only one, ‘cause you are professional, you know what’s the best choice for the client, you know how design the best work to cover the client’s business targets, because you are the doctor and know how attack the design faults (if ther’es any). The cosultor or designer is the profesional with the knowledge, carreer and criteria, enough to develop one rich purpose focused in the client’s business safety, productivity or enterprise presence. Since a CD booklet to a website or business card. I think the client is asking you for one design, not 3. simply!!! iF he wants 6, then 6 we got to do ..
With only one idea is not say: “HERE is your work…” is only say (and remember it) “This is our PURPOSE”.
I wrote this as I would talk to my students .. I don’t pretehend to be rude .. no!! sorry iF but I couldn’t curve my enthusiasm … Best wishes.
I was amazed with the other comments, excellent blog. Jorge
...Discovered this site by chance this morning.
It’s 2.05 am and I’m nervous about approaching clients personally. As a freelance Illustrator, I’m always the 3rd party and don’t have to deal with clients and how they pay etc etc.
I know I’m as good if not better than alot of top designers around in Melbourne, I just don’t have the knowledge of how to approach them.
I have an excellent idea for one high profile client here and want to put a proposal to them. Also backing up with several concept drawings- but ALL dealing with the same concept proposal.
Reading this blog reinforces the fact that my primal thought of one STRONG approach is the correct thing to do after all.
Wish me luck.
Now, i just need to work out the pricing. Bill Wood
I think it’s great idea to work in such a way with clients. The best variant to earn money is to think up the great idea which you like firstly and persuade the client that it’s really good idea for him�.
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