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    "title": "Tanya Sokolovskaya's blog: posts tagged Clients",
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            "name": "Tanya Sokolovskaya",
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            "id": "14",
            "url": "https:\/\/www.tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/all\/no-brif\/",
            "title": "What is a design brief and why is it unnecessary",
            "content_html": "<p>A design brief is a questionnaire designers ask their clients to fill in. It may consist of five questions, or it may consist of twenty-five. Typically, designers make templates for different types of tasks. For example, a brief for a logo, a brief for corporate identity, a brief for a website, and so on. The brief contains the questions that seem important to the designer for the task.<\/p>\n<p>When I started as a designer, I also made such templates but pretty quickly removed them and replaced them with human dialogue. Here’s why:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>One brief template for two different clients will not be equally effective. The questions posed psychologically frame the client as having to answer only a specific question. Doing so may solve the task for one client but not for another. For example, the client thinks he needs a website, but an interactive catalogue for mailing better solves the task. It is impossible to figure this out at the briefing level.<\/li>\n<li>By communicating directly and asking the same questions as in the brief, you can always add and ask the client for more detail. Depending on the task, I can ask 30–70 questions. No one will answer such a mass of questions in writing, but it is not felt in a dialogue. People like to talk about themselves and their businesses.<\/li>\n<li>It is usually easier to call than to fill in some form with questions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>I am an introvert. Every phone call is very stressful; I find it easier to communicate in writing. But I step out of my comfort zone to understand a new client and his task. Nevertheless, it is good for me because it is the only way I grow.<\/p>\n<p>Is it easier for you to communicate in person or writing? Have you ever filled out a design brief? ;-)<\/p>\n",
            "date_published": "2020-09-25T15:21:06+01:00",
            "date_modified": "2023-07-06T10:05:42+01:00",
            "tags": [
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            "id": "15",
            "url": "https:\/\/www.tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/all\/bad-designers\/",
            "title": "Why is it hard for clients too",
            "content_html": "<p>For as long as I have been in graphic design, I often see designers complaining about clients. Designers scream about how bad clients are — they prepare terrible terms of reference, ask for whiter white, or, oh, the horror, send a logo in a Word document.<\/p>\n<p>I’ve seen articles in which clients are assigned types. For example, a designer client, an aesthete, an invisible man, a friend or an enslaver... All these types are not described in the best way, and underneath the articles, understandable comments from designers. In my world, this attitude is unacceptable. I think those designers should change their approach to working with people or their work.<\/p>\n<p>There are two sides to the coin — it’s hard for clients too!<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The designer disappears. He works and works and suddenly stops responding to all contacts. Advance is paid, but work is not finished.<\/li>\n<li>The designer siphons off the budget. A project comes, the client gives out a list of wishes, and then the designer says: “There are only two changes. The rest are for an extra charge”. The client pays more or stays with the result, which does not suit him 100%.<\/li>\n<li>The designer drags deadlines. Project launch in a month. The designer seems to be working, but the deadline is approaching, and the end of the project is not visible. It happens if the designer has not calculated his efforts and properly allocated time. If interest in the project has faded, something does not work. The result is one — the deadline is broken, and the client loses.<\/li>\n<li>The designer does not solve the problem. There is a task, but the designer does something different because “he sees so”. The budget is spent, but the task is not solved.<\/li>\n<li>The designer pretends to be a professional. The client sees beautiful pictures in the portfolio and trusts the project with the designer but gets a low level of work.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>How do you not fall for such a designer? There is always a chance that something will go wrong. I recommend looking at the publicity of the designer and the processes of creating the work. I want to believe that there are more conscious designers. Well, clients can be different, and yes, they can ask for whiter white because it’s not about colour at all. Our task, as designers, is to understand our client and solve his problem.<\/p>\n",
            "date_published": "2020-09-06T21:41:00+01:00",
            "date_modified": "2023-07-06T11:54:17+01:00",
            "tags": [
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