Creative Question: Project Manager vs Designer
The author of the text is shantall (I publish at her request, since Shantall does not have enough karma to publish yet)
Organizing a productive and well-established cooperation between a project manager and a designer is not an easy task. Here you can encounter problems such as the timing that the PM puts on and which the designer violates, different visions of the graphic solution, and simply personal characteristics of each. But, the main problem we faced was neither deadlines nor characters, nor even a sense of beauty, but a creative component of this process. Namely - which of the two should deal with it. I will make a reservation right away, we are a small studio - our workflow is based on the fact that initially we come up with an idea for the site - a graphic and software solution that we implement in the form of sketches, on the basis of which we present the idea of ​​the site to the customer. By itself, the idea of ​​organizing work was not bad, the studio really liked it, but it was she who became the stumbling block in the initial stages of work. The designer drew beautifully, came up with good ideas, PM drew well (but on paper) and imagined himself a creative. This is how two opinions collided, both were stubborn and did not want to give in to the other. The studio claimed beautiful and creative designs. There was a lot of work, designer's talent, even more than enough, creative work for both of them over the edge - which led to heated debate - each defended his idea. In such disputes, a third idea was born, even better, but this had a detrimental effect on the work process and work environment. Both understood that the problem must be solved.
Solution 1.
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The first to make concessions went to PM and gave the designer the right to create creative ideas alone. PM was looking for clients, doing paperwork, compiling project documentation and managing the process. For customers, there was no difference - the designs turned out to be beautiful-creative, the relationship between the designer and PM is wonderful. And everything would be fine if no “but” - time. The designer did everything well - and creative, and painted, but for a very long time. Contracts with clients allowed to keep within the protracted terms, but here the studio's efficiency was greatly reduced. Both have recognized this output to be ineffective and suboptimal.
Solution 2.
The next designer gave up and gave PM creative freedom. PM was delighted and with zeal set to work. It went faster - PM invented, drew sketches by hand, showed them to customers - they claimed - the designer drew. Everyone is happy and satisfied, including customers. As a result, there was a certain, tangible gain in time, but even then a new problem arose. PM thought out well, but his solutions were not always optimal from the point of view of graphics, moreover, without any typesetting skills, PM had to discuss ideas with a programmer, sometimes consult with a designer — which greatly influenced the workflow of PM — he began to take overtime, work at home. And, in the end, gave up himself. The option was also non-optimal.
Solution 3.
Based on the mistakes of previous experimental experiments, both began to think and analyze the situation together. And they came to the conclusion about teamwork, and not even together, but attracting a programmer and a SEO tool here. The result was a good team work on the project. PM found a client, worked on the conclusion of contracts, made a brief with the customer - after that sent out all participants to the brief, they got acquainted with the scope of the customer, the wishes - and began to think about ideas. Then they offered their thoughts on this issue, PM talked with the designer about the creative, the programmer about the software implementation, various js-effects and the “revitalization” of the design, SEOs about the points taken into account in the further promotion of the site. And, most importantly, everyone began to think not only about the creativity and beauty of the site, but also about usability, the usability of their product.
The problem “who still comes up with the idea of ​​the site” was solved in such a process very easily - any team member can come up with the idea. Everyone before the discussion has time to think about the idea, and then express it. Basically, the creative is still the PM and the designer, both collectively discuss their ideas and decide in a team which of them is better. Often, with such teamwork, the chosen idea is overgrown with a mass of interesting chips and solutions, and is sometimes modified into a more elegant one.
Thus, we have been working on such a scheme for about 2 months, there were no failures, there were also no deadlines, the relations in the team are wonderful, the customer is almost always satisfied with the site, and most importantly, everyone does his own business.
Organizing a productive and well-established cooperation between a project manager and a designer is not an easy task. Here you can encounter problems such as the timing that the PM puts on and which the designer violates, different visions of the graphic solution, and simply personal characteristics of each. But, the main problem we faced was neither deadlines nor characters, nor even a sense of beauty, but a creative component of this process. Namely - which of the two should deal with it. I will make a reservation right away, we are a small studio - our workflow is based on the fact that initially we come up with an idea for the site - a graphic and software solution that we implement in the form of sketches, on the basis of which we present the idea of ​​the site to the customer. By itself, the idea of ​​organizing work was not bad, the studio really liked it, but it was she who became the stumbling block in the initial stages of work. The designer drew beautifully, came up with good ideas, PM drew well (but on paper) and imagined himself a creative. This is how two opinions collided, both were stubborn and did not want to give in to the other. The studio claimed beautiful and creative designs. There was a lot of work, designer's talent, even more than enough, creative work for both of them over the edge - which led to heated debate - each defended his idea. In such disputes, a third idea was born, even better, but this had a detrimental effect on the work process and work environment. Both understood that the problem must be solved.
Solution 1.
')
The first to make concessions went to PM and gave the designer the right to create creative ideas alone. PM was looking for clients, doing paperwork, compiling project documentation and managing the process. For customers, there was no difference - the designs turned out to be beautiful-creative, the relationship between the designer and PM is wonderful. And everything would be fine if no “but” - time. The designer did everything well - and creative, and painted, but for a very long time. Contracts with clients allowed to keep within the protracted terms, but here the studio's efficiency was greatly reduced. Both have recognized this output to be ineffective and suboptimal.
Solution 2.
The next designer gave up and gave PM creative freedom. PM was delighted and with zeal set to work. It went faster - PM invented, drew sketches by hand, showed them to customers - they claimed - the designer drew. Everyone is happy and satisfied, including customers. As a result, there was a certain, tangible gain in time, but even then a new problem arose. PM thought out well, but his solutions were not always optimal from the point of view of graphics, moreover, without any typesetting skills, PM had to discuss ideas with a programmer, sometimes consult with a designer — which greatly influenced the workflow of PM — he began to take overtime, work at home. And, in the end, gave up himself. The option was also non-optimal.
Solution 3.
Based on the mistakes of previous experimental experiments, both began to think and analyze the situation together. And they came to the conclusion about teamwork, and not even together, but attracting a programmer and a SEO tool here. The result was a good team work on the project. PM found a client, worked on the conclusion of contracts, made a brief with the customer - after that sent out all participants to the brief, they got acquainted with the scope of the customer, the wishes - and began to think about ideas. Then they offered their thoughts on this issue, PM talked with the designer about the creative, the programmer about the software implementation, various js-effects and the “revitalization” of the design, SEOs about the points taken into account in the further promotion of the site. And, most importantly, everyone began to think not only about the creativity and beauty of the site, but also about usability, the usability of their product.
The problem “who still comes up with the idea of ​​the site” was solved in such a process very easily - any team member can come up with the idea. Everyone before the discussion has time to think about the idea, and then express it. Basically, the creative is still the PM and the designer, both collectively discuss their ideas and decide in a team which of them is better. Often, with such teamwork, the chosen idea is overgrown with a mass of interesting chips and solutions, and is sometimes modified into a more elegant one.
Thus, we have been working on such a scheme for about 2 months, there were no failures, there were also no deadlines, the relations in the team are wonderful, the customer is almost always satisfied with the site, and most importantly, everyone does his own business.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/63120/
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