Imagine walking into your favorite bakery. By the time you grope through the cloud of fragrant sweetness to reach the counter, you already know what you want to order:
YOU: I’d like some whole wheat flour, about a 1/2 cup of sugar, some non-hydrogenated oil, and a stick of margarine.
BAKER: Uhhh, okay. What’s this for?
YOU: Well, I’m headed to work. I’ve got this coffee and I need something yummy and easy to take with me to my morning meeting.
BAKER: How about one of these blueberry muffins? They’re fresh out of the oven.
YOU: Hmmm. I don’t know. Did you use 1/2 cup of sugar?
BAKER: Well, no. My recipe only calls for 1/4 cup and some agave. Do you have any allergies?
YOU: No, but I’ve always read you should use 1/2 cup of sugar. Isn’t that right? I’m so confused about all this.
BAKER: No worries. You want yummy? You like blueberries?
YOU: Yes!
BAKER: You want it easy to eat in a meeting?
YOU: Of course.
BAKER: Blueberry muffin. Here you go.
YOU: Wow. That’s exactly what I needed. How did you know?
Ordering design by ingredients
Often I work with very well-intentioned people who need some kind of illustration for their project, but they feel obligated to arrive at my proverbial doorstep with everything all figured out. They research fonts and PMS colors so they can show up with a list of ingredients. They want to look like they know what they’re doing.
What a lot of pressure that must be. And it’s so unnecessary.
I totally get this mindset. When something is wrong with my car, I want to figure it out first so I don’t look dumb when I take it to a mechanic. I don’t want to look another man in the eye and say, “It’s making this woop-woop-woop sound.” I want to show up looking like I know all about cars, so I say, “I’m pretty sure it needs a new timing belt. Volvos take the extra ribbed non-lubricated double-layered 217-L46.”
I can see it in the mechanic’s eyes. He’s thinking, Dude, just tell me what it’s doing and I’ll figure it out. Go get some free popcorn and have a seat. Watch some Jerry Springer and let me do my job.
When it turns out there was a piece of duct tape stuck to the front left tire, I get to look dumb anyway.
Aren’t you going to ask me what font I like?
When a client comes to me to get their ebook designed, I get really excited. I love to hear new ideas. I also love talking to the people who created them. It’s my form of entertainment (geek). Here are a few of the questions I ask to spur the discussion:
Who do you want to buy this ebook? Who’s your audience?
What’s the core message you want your readers to take with them?
Will they need to print it?
Some people are surprised when I don’t ask about stuff like what font they would like. Then, if I do ask about colors or styles, it’s to get an understanding of who they are, versus offering a catalog of choices. They wonder aloud, “Don’t you need to know this stuff before we start?”
Nope. In fact, I hope we don’t even cover it at all.
What I do hope is that a client shows up ready to talk about their product and their business. I want to hear where they shine. I want to understand why they’re an expert in their field and who benefits from their work. If they know a thing or two about color, that’s cool. Sure, I need dimensions. I need to know if it will be printed and how. But pre-selecting ingredients can actually muddy the creative process. What they end up hiring is a very expensive skilled laborer. They’ve invested large amounts of money to take on more work. Often, they’re disappointed with the results. Not to mention exhausted.
Do yourself a favor and let go
When you hire a designer for your next project, do yourself a huge favor. Don’t do the work for them. Show up with your project, know your audience, and be ready to talk about what you want to achieve. Leave the ingredients to the baker and relish that blueberry muffin.
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A while back I created a resource to help small business people work with any designer. It was a set of odd but relevant questions that actually helped bring amazing results when my clients used it. I took it off the shelf so I could expand it further and make it even more valuable. It’s called Before You Hire a Designer and I’m going to release it again this summer. You can read more about it here.
David,
Great post and a good analogy with the muffin thing. After asking those important questions, I like to have the client show me visuals that they respond to for whatever reason: color palette, theme, illustration style, font feel…it gives us a good starting point before I start concepts. But when they come with a bucket full of “ingredients”, that is usually when I realize they just want a laborer, as you said, and not a designer. Tough spot.
It's about making it easier for the client. Some people feel they have to be armed with lots of concepts, choices and design knowledge when they contact a designer. They should be allowed to relax and explain what their project is all about without worrying over choosing a color palette.
Rather than show visuals, I prefer to ask questions like, “Is your ebook Green Day or Amy Grant?” That's usually easier for most non-designer people to answer than “What fonts do you like?”
It also makes working together a helluva lot more fun.
Totally agree, David. I don't ask for them to provide fonts or other “designer” criteria, but I just like to get a sense of the “look” they connect with. I like how you pose your questions, though!
We get this a lot too. Extremely relevant and on point.
The best thing to do is probably what you mention. Outline exactly what information your looking for them to answer. I usually tell them that we'll note their choices, but we may or may not go in that direction because looking at solutions and not problems at the beginning limits what we are able to achieve for them and sticks us in a box.
Love the muffin comparison!!
Such valuable advice!!! From one designer to another, I couldn't have said it better.
My hairstylist and I have this fabulous relationship: she asks me if I want my hair long or short, and then she gives me a cut that suits my face and my lifestyle. I trust her to do what she does best. That's what I'd want in a designer, too. I'll give you some very broad wants/needs and then you go do what you do best. Win-win!