“Heavenly delight”: is one person enough?
I want to offer a third point of view on the dialogue about incompetent customers and designers without quotes . In my opinion, the main problem, the root of evil, because of which there is a misunderstanding between customers and designers - the absence of an intermediate link in the form of a manager or designer (or his illiteracy). And this absence exists due to the very low threshold for entering the profession and the lack of responsibility for poor-quality work.
Speaking about the lack of responsibility, I am not talking about responsibility to the customer or higher forces, but about the absence of far-reaching and terrible consequences - unlike professions, for example, a doctor, an airplane pilot, or an architect. That is why the entrance to these professions is associated with a fundamental education, while web workers work “by eye” by trial and error. And almost everything. And one mistake is made by 100% of independent designers and young companies.
The mistake is that they start with a design. At best, from a technical assignment, which is also about design.
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When building a house or creating a car, first of all, think about the purpose of the product: there will be a garage with a storage room, a country house or a water tower; fast and maneuverable car or pickup with a huge trunk - depends on how the product will be used. Creating a website, we create a business tool that must achieve specific business goals of the customer. This is primarily the case, not the color of the body, the shape of the bumper or “functionality” (well, I need a car with four wheels, a steering wheel and an internal combustion engine). All product features are only a consequence of business goals. And finding out these goals from the customer (he often does not have precise formulations), their formalization and the transition from goals to work tasks and functional structure, and there is a design .
Design begins only at the next stage - and it should also correspond to business goals, as well as functional and informational structure. Thus, the designer is enclosed in a certain framework, which is not limited only to visual requirements.
One of the main meanings of “top down” design, from goals to functionality, is the simultaneous smooth, gradual decrease in the level of uncertainty of both the client and the contractor. The client, before ordering a site, already has a certain vision of this site in his head. And it can be as good (in terms of achieving business goals), and not so.
By asking the client a question, why does he need a website at all , we get the starting point of all actions, and at the same time the holy grail of argumentation. Not "this is bad, because I am a professional," but "this is bad, because you have no reason to." In fact, in a huge number of client's wishes there is a sound grain, you just need to see it.
Starting from the goals of creating a product, we turn to its environment (related sites, competitors) and the audience. The client receives a general vision of the environment in which his site will have to exist, with whom to compete and whom to attract. And the client is already at this level begins to realize that a beautiful tail (which he had previously imagined) would not need his brainchild, but strong fins and sharp teeth would be useful.
Only then, opening up the goals in the form of the site’s working tasks — how and with what means will we achieve the goals in this environment and among this audience — do we understand what the functionality will be, what information structure of the site as a whole and information structure of individual sections and pages what the message hierarchy will be on a separate page. The degree of uncertainty has decreased to a minimum, and at each step the client sees the rationale for the decision.
So, how to achieve the customer’s business goals is not decided at the design stage, but at the design stage.
It may seem that design work can be performed by a designer with certain skills and experience. However, experience shows that a good designer and a good designer are different people in their personal qualities.
The designer, starting work with the client, is the “midwife” of the process, it must be completely open, unbiased, correct and his main job is to ask the client the right questions and listen very carefully. Often the customer (since he does not have to be experienced in Internet design) only casually mentions facts or goals that can unfold a project 180 degrees. The designer must, until the last moment, be able to abandon the models and constructions that have been established in the head, if at some point they turn out to be unviable.
The designer, having received the input information, rather quickly begins to create in his head a vision for the future project, to move away from which it becomes as difficult for him as to justify why the product should look that way and not otherwise. This is an absolute norm for a creative person, and I would not call it a disadvantage, rather a feature.
In general, between the designer and the designer lies, if not the abyss, then at least the usual set of differences between "physicists" and "lyricists". No one is better, they are just different.
Once again, the low threshold for entering a profession, which is possible without a specialized education, is to blame. Well, the youth of the industry as a whole.
The designer or “designer” from past topics has, in fact, two choices: to pump his own design and communication skills with the client, or delegate design and customer interaction. My deep conviction is that the growth of professionalism and overall quality of work is possible rather in the second version.
When delegating design, the designer receives a lot of bonuses:
Therefore, I want to finish the article with several appeals:
Speaking about the lack of responsibility, I am not talking about responsibility to the customer or higher forces, but about the absence of far-reaching and terrible consequences - unlike professions, for example, a doctor, an airplane pilot, or an architect. That is why the entrance to these professions is associated with a fundamental education, while web workers work “by eye” by trial and error. And almost everything. And one mistake is made by 100% of independent designers and young companies.
Design as a necessity
The mistake is that they start with a design. At best, from a technical assignment, which is also about design.
')
When building a house or creating a car, first of all, think about the purpose of the product: there will be a garage with a storage room, a country house or a water tower; fast and maneuverable car or pickup with a huge trunk - depends on how the product will be used. Creating a website, we create a business tool that must achieve specific business goals of the customer. This is primarily the case, not the color of the body, the shape of the bumper or “functionality” (well, I need a car with four wheels, a steering wheel and an internal combustion engine). All product features are only a consequence of business goals. And finding out these goals from the customer (he often does not have precise formulations), their formalization and the transition from goals to work tasks and functional structure, and there is a design .
Design begins only at the next stage - and it should also correspond to business goals, as well as functional and informational structure. Thus, the designer is enclosed in a certain framework, which is not limited only to visual requirements.
Gradual decrease in uncertainty
One of the main meanings of “top down” design, from goals to functionality, is the simultaneous smooth, gradual decrease in the level of uncertainty of both the client and the contractor. The client, before ordering a site, already has a certain vision of this site in his head. And it can be as good (in terms of achieving business goals), and not so.
By asking the client a question, why does he need a website at all , we get the starting point of all actions, and at the same time the holy grail of argumentation. Not "this is bad, because I am a professional," but "this is bad, because you have no reason to." In fact, in a huge number of client's wishes there is a sound grain, you just need to see it.
Starting from the goals of creating a product, we turn to its environment (related sites, competitors) and the audience. The client receives a general vision of the environment in which his site will have to exist, with whom to compete and whom to attract. And the client is already at this level begins to realize that a beautiful tail (which he had previously imagined) would not need his brainchild, but strong fins and sharp teeth would be useful.
Only then, opening up the goals in the form of the site’s working tasks — how and with what means will we achieve the goals in this environment and among this audience — do we understand what the functionality will be, what information structure of the site as a whole and information structure of individual sections and pages what the message hierarchy will be on a separate page. The degree of uncertainty has decreased to a minimum, and at each step the client sees the rationale for the decision.
So, how to achieve the customer’s business goals is not decided at the design stage, but at the design stage.
Designer and designer - one or more?
It may seem that design work can be performed by a designer with certain skills and experience. However, experience shows that a good designer and a good designer are different people in their personal qualities.
The designer, starting work with the client, is the “midwife” of the process, it must be completely open, unbiased, correct and his main job is to ask the client the right questions and listen very carefully. Often the customer (since he does not have to be experienced in Internet design) only casually mentions facts or goals that can unfold a project 180 degrees. The designer must, until the last moment, be able to abandon the models and constructions that have been established in the head, if at some point they turn out to be unviable.
The designer, having received the input information, rather quickly begins to create in his head a vision for the future project, to move away from which it becomes as difficult for him as to justify why the product should look that way and not otherwise. This is an absolute norm for a creative person, and I would not call it a disadvantage, rather a feature.
In general, between the designer and the designer lies, if not the abyss, then at least the usual set of differences between "physicists" and "lyricists". No one is better, they are just different.
Who is to blame and what to do?
Once again, the low threshold for entering a profession, which is possible without a specialized education, is to blame. Well, the youth of the industry as a whole.
The designer or “designer” from past topics has, in fact, two choices: to pump his own design and communication skills with the client, or delegate design and customer interaction. My deep conviction is that the growth of professionalism and overall quality of work is possible rather in the second version.
When delegating design, the designer receives a lot of bonuses:
- lack of annoying communication with the client,
- eliminating 95% of "stupid" requirements from the client,
- availability of a competent and complete design development task,
- the opportunity to spend your time on development exclusively in the field of design.
Therefore, I want to finish the article with several appeals:
- Do not forget about the design and learn to design, if no one to delegate it!
- Delegate design to professionals - this will significantly expand your capabilities!
- And most importantly - get pleasure from work!
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/78871/
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