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This presentation was otherwise known as “how fast can you type?”
was in advertising for 15 years before got into the web (musician, filmmaker, etc.) got into the web so he could work in his underwear got into it because no one really know how to do it first website he worked on, client didn't say "change this", client was just grateful could work from home, flexible hours, etc. "many years of unhealthy weirdness and great productivity" but a couple of years in, clients started to have lots of opinions David Segal, Creating Killer Websites first talked about graphic design popularized tables and layout but had little fetishes 1996 client: "shouldn't we start this site with an entrance tunnel?" before the Flash intro, there was the static HTML intro first site he worked on, Batman Forever, used Perl script to make bat grow by reloading so the clients came back Thomas Muller from Razorfish was in Miami showing film about new office in Helsinki news to him that could have multiple offices while doing web design still had to do client services, had to learn to communicate was about getting outside the cubicle most of us introverted, happy with Photoshop/text editor, nice monitor, no interruptions but have to learn to relate to people in order to get work done first day at ad agency in New York, had laid of 80% of staff was a guy Ed who was getting laid off and wasn't employable he'd been doing the kind of work one client loved for ten years, and it was terrible we're all passionate about best practices, and we have to be able to get that across not just for fulfillment now, but because ten years from now, you may need to get a job need portfolio that shows you know what you're doing if you're not the main person interfacing with the client or the boss, still need these skills it's the relationship, stupid. you already have relationships. "The only way to do great work is to have great clients." -Lou Dorfsman, creative dir, CBS "but yet there are no great clients... you have to make them" Dom Merino worked in ad agencies (Volkswagon gas pump to the head) in glory days of '70s he said he'd never had a great client. they'd kill great ads, no direction eventually they'd buy something endless scope is one way to do great work. eventually they buy something, if it's quality. but respect flows both ways - want to be able to work with the client sometimes person we talk to doesn't respect our work, so we don't respect them but being respectful can make the relationship become productive "The client is an idiot." wait a minute: "The client is *not* an idiot." may not be paying attention to you because they're great at their own thing so "Don't choose idiots for clients." he was a terrible employee (late, smoking, clueless), then changed, then was fired what's wrong? "I just don't believe it." couldn't get first impression out of her head. hopefully you have the luxury to pick your next employer or look at RFPs and pick clients so now methods and techniques Avoid bad clients. learn to smell trouble - bad assignments pack paperwork they obscure their address and phone number - not on the website instead have downloadable project planner if not willing to fill out planner, can't call and bother anyone not true for back-end developer - want what they want, what technology, all possible information but for designers, too much information is like a first date about all the tragedies of a life a literary magazine sent them an RFP - right up alley, could be pretentious and artsy and brag probably don't have money, could be an interesting job, all evens out, portfolio piece then sent 37-page RFP - looked like applying for government work 14 pages of wireframes existing site was one page with links to PDFs, ten years old, in 2006 if come and say "we have no money but we're prestigious. we don't know what we're doing." then maybe that's someone you can work with if they're coming to you and saying "can you help us"?" but bringing you committee-created wireframes, just don't do it Listen for bad date vibes. might be different for other people. they like having a good time while working. respond to people respectfully but also playfully. if respond poorly, can't work with them. "Your emergency is not my problem." every so often reads BusinessWeek or Forbes or something - on plane and forgot or finished book and iPod is dead, and they're not showing a movie - then reads Forbes had article saying if they're in a rush, you can get them to agree to anything like someone who just robbed a bank and I run a car lot when come to an outside vendor with a job that's an urgent rush, that means they can't decide means they needed in January, coming to you in August, with site needed in September if in rush, means all decisions will be made that way they'll agree, they'll sign the contract, but they won't live up to it Build trust. every time he says "if can't make work, change jobs", someone in the audience decides they should The non-webby client lack of web experience doesn't make them a dummy can help them get up to speed mosquito.happycog.com - anonymized organization in Chicago working with teenagers head of organization wasn't web-savvy and said so proposal was to move from static brochure site to community for teens and teachers immediate clients said that was fantastic, but needed to convince person at top of pyramid so they made a presentation about the web and how it works and the aspects they want to use first talk about who they are and what they've done talked about discussion sites and blogs - discussion as part of site (comments) or whole (/.) showed them the sites to explain "this is Metafilter, it's been around X years, X readers" needed to persuade would need someone to moderate forums showed example of bulletin board spam - wimonwillison.net Bulletin board spam this post about bulletin board spam got spammed. Bill Wyman, Rolling Stones, and Osama hasn't deleted, though comments are closed showed discussions for teens by teens - MuggleNet, Mogget's Old Kingdom, Youth Guardian Services perhaps there's no spam because when a community is vested in a site, they do their own policing same way people don't clean fast food restaurants but keep their own house clean took time to reassure client on various points so would allow them to do what they do How-to: have a process. be calm and methodical never know how will solve problem, but know what stages the solving process has tell that before engage and keep reminding what stage they're in "Some business people think some creative people are weird flakes." by having a process, like them, demonstrate you're fellow professionals How-to: before showing designs, build relationship. wireframes build relationships. ask "who are your users?" say "meet our IA." lots of time talking to them, even if their ideas are terrible, so they know they're heard translate into understanding of what their problems are then present next steps. "here are problems we've identified, and here's what we'd like to do." How-to: the Alzheimer's method his mom had Alzheimer's. would constantly, in gentle and calm way, remind of what was just said each time talk to client, say what last decided, what they asked to do, how has done it not top of mind for them, so need to remind. "We're in the wireframing process, and last time we decided to first only look at the homepage." there are really more phases, but no need to say "phase 3.2" How-to: as in any relationship, learn to translate wife says "that sweater's beautiful." two days later "it's cold in here." when surprise her, just showing that understand and listen valued in partner and by clients as well was showing some navigation, and client said "is there an ideal number of navigation items?" start to think about 7+-2 and sometimes it's 5 plus 3, and then realize that's not the issue instead asked, "is there something we're missing? is there something users couldn't find?" had one bad client, where returned own drawing after seeing three comps, with more tabs than items "Everybody understands design." - Hillman Curtis you don't have to explain design, because people react to it you don't have to tell people what they're looking at "when we did this one, we went with black and white, and in this one with color." Our job is to convey the meaning of design. question on planner is "What one problem are you trying to solve?" "What one action do you want to user to take?" always get three or four answers instead of one use design to show how would look with each of those objectives, to help choose who they are Sell ideas, not pixels. Amnesty International (slides show ideas, not finished) hadn't been able to articulate primary function of new design 1. Impact: pick two horrible, compelling stories that Amnesty is trying to change now shock out of complacency, make you uncomfortable, angry 2. News channel: if you're concerned about these issues, come learn what's going on in the news 3. Humanity: give the issues human faces faces, warmer color palette, eventually African rug pattern basically bought the third had discussion about three different emotional connections they could be making one way to avoid the ex-girlfriend's quilt color Kansas City Chiefs - competant website but not really designed what do they want to be? what problem should we be solving for them? so thought they're an unusual team - kind of socially conservative, respectful, not marketing only team he knows of where cheerleaders are treated as nice young women who'll go to college 1. Like no other - different from normal football sites 2. Heritage - took tour, saw cool stuff from '60s, nostalgic feel, color scheme and clunky arrow arrowhead watermark everywhere 3. Big boys - big NFL football team just like all the other big NFL football teams ended up with third sometimes "just like" would be a bad thing, but here wanted to be part of the group York Industries - Long Island manufacturer of high-tech stuff 80-year-old coming in every day, "people don't retire, they go out in a box" Polish immigrants who came not speaking English and were taught English and then promoted place had a family vibe Victor Lombardo was information architect 1. Personal touch - human, warm, we're an unusual place we make high-tech stuff, but we're more like a family business would go out of their way even if not their regular product - buy from competitors to send it to customers 2. Product focus - we're a hardware company, damn it so really started like ads, where one campaign is about how human and one how proficient and then split the difference. 3. Hybrid - "you can have your axle and your humanity too" AIGA - has some problems connecting with online community some people feel is great organization for some people but doesn't care about me 1. Consumer - you're perceived as a cold, elite organization, and maybe you want to change that maybe you want to reach out by feeling more consumer-y, lifestyle-y, Apple, Martha Stewart 2. Elite - no, "make a virtue of the fact that we're cold, elitist, heartless bastards" Swiss poster, modernist aesthetic, little color, very design-y 3. Inspirational - two narratives. normal AIGA website plus stuff at top from design archives with wild random colors, not who you think we are really inspire designer - bored, goes to site, gets great hit of color and ideas each design positioned as trying to solve a different problem all Jason Santa Maria combined designs 2 and 3 for final product Responding to criticism: That color is ugly. "Well, where did you go to art school?" never helps. might say "Well, what is it about it that makes you uncomfortable?" or "Well, yes, for people like you or me, but remember it's for 14-year-olds." pull out user research from beginning of project to demonstrate why the choice was made Responding to criticism: That button is too big again, research. big problem is people bail out of shopping cart. they don't know what button to push, so that's why we made it big. like Luke's talk about forms, user data like eye-tracking studies. Responding to criticism = translating. Dan Brown says when all else fails: 1. Push back. 2. Offer to look into it. 3. Shock them. Agree. "You're right, the logo does need to be bigger."
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