Look – and make sure people feel it.
A key aspect of getting the right design is getting the right look and feel. Good designers have a solid awareness of what’s going on in the world. We look at what’s there and ahead to what will be there when designing for our clients and their audience. It’s a kind of empathy flavoured with the creator’s trademark style.
Too often look and feel comes down to client subjectivity—rather than what what’s happening in their market. I’ve been in so many clients meetings where my choices are shot down because that gloriously appropriate blue reminds the client of a terrible kitchen where they once cooked some fish that made them feel sick. The blue is axed—along with it all the thinking, working and feeling that got it to that stage.
Of course, the client is entitled to their view. But the blue is not just one colour or one choice—it’s a series of informed empathic decision taken for you by your chosen professional. A great way to increase client confidence is through the use of user testing—not just showing a design to a few trusted friends, but varying designs with a collective user base to decide creative outcomes based upon verifiable feedback.
The client can not like it if they want but would they change it if their desired audience was found to love it?
We build user testing into almost all of our projects at NixonMcInnes. This valuable insight helps us shape the creative direction which makes its easier for us designing it. It’s one less thing for the client to worry about—our choice is backed up by a focus group of their audience.
User testing has just gone to another, more intuitive, level. We are working with pioneering agency mindtracker who are, for the first time, quantifying the emotional response of users. Using very simple technology they are capturing complex feelings and reactions as never before. That means we can deliver even more powerful designs. For you.
Joshua wrote this on 02.09.09 – 1 comment
It's filed in the NixonMcInnes box
On September 21st, 2009 at 3:29 pm, Matt Hill responded:
Here, here.
I just read an interesting article over at Grow Smart Business. The last point, #8, ties in with this post and it really is the most crucial. So many clients forget that what we build for them isn’t really for them at all, but for their users.
http://growsmartbusiness.com/2009/09/eight-things-to-have-figured-out-before-you-meet-your-designer/