Dealing with clients: Facilitating proactive feedback

Working with clients is a necessary part of the production process and at times it can also be the most frustrating. We’ve all encountered customers who are vague, indecisive, or don’t listen, making the customer service part of the design process a challenge.

Many factors can contribute to poor results, but soliciting and being receptive to feedback is one way to minimize issues. The following are some strategies to help navigate the minefield that is design critique and build more effective and meaningful relationships between you and your client.

Educate

We all have horror stories about clients making truly ridiculous or confusing requests, much of which stems from customers not knowing the geek-speak of the industry or not understanding how to provide meaningful feedback.

So, use your project to educate them on both relevant terminology and in how to give precise, actionable feedback that will actually improve the design. As the designer, you’re trusted for your expertise, and so exercise patience and listen to their suggestions by being honest, respectful, and demonstrating etiquette.

Design brief and continuous review

Nothing is more discouraging than completing a project, only to have to change everything afterwards. Creating a clear design brief with the client, where you outline the key details about the project is essential.

By establishing the purpose of the project, you ensure the design you deliver will solve the problem or meet the goal and you will not overpromise or under-deliver because of lack of project agreement. Also, the design brief will justify the choices made vis-á-vis the criteria laid out as priorities.

Furthermore, asking for critiques at milestones throughout the project helps build a good rapport with the customer and solidifies a variety of details in the early stages. Set times for regular feedback so you can review ideas and get approval. Having good communication keeps your clients in the loop and helps build trust and respect.

Don’t take it personally

Whatever the audience’s reaction, it is important to be open to their feedback. Part of this is not taking opinions personally; do not get defensive. Stay open-minded to ideas before you refuse suggestions. Instead of reacting negatively remember these are improvements that will help you achieve the best result.

Even the best designers benefit from critical design feedback to help them get out of their heads, or past their biases. Whether on a large team of designers, or the sole consultant on a client project, this process is a collaboration toward arriving at the optimal design.

Listen and ask questions

Listening is imperative. Always actively listen to comments to understand what the client is saying. But don’t forget to ask questions. Every time a client asks you to change something on a design, be polite and curious, and ask ‘why’ before committing to changes.

You can use your questions to get actionable feedback that goes beyond “I like it” or “I don’t like it.” Their responses may provide you with the real reason why the design doesn’t impress the client, why you may be receiving conflicting explanations, or why they think changes are necessary.

Here are a few sample questions to get you started:

• What is memorable about the design?

• At what point did you get “bored” or feel uninterested?

• What features are missing that are absolutely necessary?

• What is unclear or confusing?

• What problem do you think this design solves?

Furthermore, asking questions can help you segue into the justifications for why your option works. It is not about attacking the critique; instead, reframe the explanation of why (and how) that solution, in particular, was conceived.

Limited options

A good strategy to use when getting feedback from clients is offering them limited choices. Have you heard of the term choice overload? It is a negative psychological, emotional, and behavioural response that comes from having too many options to choose from.

If you’re given only a few options you’ll be more capable of deciding which one is best. Use this strategy with your clients by having them choose from a few possibilities; then ask them the reasoning behind their choices to help you gain additional insight.

Wrap up

In reality, creativity is about collaboration – a mesh of art and function to achieve a specific purpose or goal, and feedback is one step in the process to help us achieve the ideal design. While everyone is anxious and intimidated when facing feedback, it is an imperative step in improving your design and keeping clients happy.

Author

Olivia Parker, B.Tech, MPC completed her Masters of Professional Communication in 2014 to complement her Bachelor of Technology (2013) from Graphic Communications Management at Ryerson. She presently is the Innovation & Support Specialist at Taylor Printing Group Inc. in Fredericton.

This article was originally printed in the July / August 2020 issue of GRAPHIC ARTS MAGAZINE www.graphicartsmag.com