bridging the design gap

We all know one of the most challenging and sometimes frustrating aspects of graphic design is bridging the gap between client and designer.  So what’s the trick?

As graphic designers, we tend to feel like our clients have come to us for our visual expertise, our design prowess, our cunning eye – okay,  I’m going a little overboard, huh.  Anyways, we tend to think the client sought us out to lend a creatives perspective on a concept they’ve envisioned initially through remarkable inner dialogue, then ultimately to you.  They come to us for a creative touch, a new perspective and often out of their own frustrations after trying it themselves. Yes, we can get a little wrapped up in the details and reasons why they come to us, but ultimately there is a common goal.

Other designers have asked me how I deal with bridging the gap between my concept and the client’s in order to compromise enough to render a final proof that both they and I can be proud of.  Well, I hate to break it to you but there’s no right answer.  Each is situationally specific and unique.  Some clients may be very specific and forth-coming in their intentions of what a design should resemble.  Others will let go of the reigns and free  you to gallop off into creative pastures, waiting for the noble steed (yeah, sorry – a Shrek reference) to come galloping back with the prize.  In some cases, the clients ideas may be tough to swallow – in others they could be terrific concepts.

The difference is how we as designers learn to listen.  Conceptually, your logo design might be edgier, more creative, a tad more astute (… in your eyes), but that’s the point at which we tend to loose sight of who we’re designer for.

Step back, take a deep breath, and listen to what it is about their edits or redirects that makes them feel like their suggestions will take the design in the direction they feel best describes themselves or their business. It’s critical to remind ourselves as designers that different personalities will want to reflect themselves in different ways – whether in a personal design or business brand.

Many of us have a very specific design aesthetic – our own perspective or creative personality, and it is usually very evident when looking through your portfolio and comparing with others.  This is how we define ourselves in the creative crowd out there.  Harness this, embrace it – but don’t loose sight of who is ultimately paying us to solve their creative puzzles.

Identify that personality, then implement your perspective.  After-all, your angle on design is most likely the reason they hired you in the first place.  But know when to pull in the reigns when the client feels it may be going in your direction and not theirs. If you do this successfully, thenultimately both you and the client will win.

Steve Muth
SCM Designs