Imaginary Landscape
RSS FeedPart of our website design process is the Design Survey. This short questionnaire is completed by the client and gives us a sense of their vision of a new site design. It is a great way to uncover and address strong feelings at the beginning and ensure we deliver to expectations.
One of the questions we ask (with phrasing happily borrowed from happycog.com) is:
Using adjectives and short phrases, describe the site’s desired look and feel. What immediate impression should your website convey? (“Easy to look at, edgy, classic, up-to-date, crisp, modern, traditional, understated,” etc.).
Most clients answer directly with the word or phrase that best distills their desire.
Then there are others.
We are working on a Creative Brief for a new client. Part of that process is a review of the Design Survey. The client decided to offer answers from four individuals. Here then are their answers to this question:
- Modern, streamlined, clear, professional, welcoming, artistic, vibrant, inclusive, smart, strong.
- Intuitive, professional, crisp, relevant.
- Up to date, easy to read, eye catching, not overbearing
- Easy to look at, edgy, classic, up-to-date, crisp, modern, traditional, understated.
(My favorite is #4, which is a word-for-word copy of the examples contained in the question.)
So, we now have a new rule at Imaginary. A client must answer design questions with one voice. They must come to consensus internally before providing information to us.
Even still, I may drop this question or ask it in another way. Notwithstanding #4’s sense of humor, perhaps the not-so-hidden message is that the answers are not flawed, but the question is.
That said, I can’t wait to turn the page and read the answer to, “list your primary audiences.” Perhaps it will follow other client answers which often take the form of:
- Real target
- Kinda target
- Wannabe target
- Members of the general public
- Biped life forms
- All single and multi-cell creatures in the universe
Updated 09/14/11 @ 04:57PM CDT by brian
Categories: Design
