Over the years I’ve learned that design is rarely, if ever, done solo.
At Blue Flavor we believe in building strong relationships with the people we work with and while at times it can be trying, the best work is done when everyone involved is engaged, constantly communicating and working as a team.
We try to work with our clients. We want to form partnerships. I believe that (among a few other things) a great partnership is built on three core ideals: trust, compromise and responsibility. Those three things are essential to setting up a design partnership for success and, in turn, getting to the best possible design.
Trust
It all starts with trust.
Any great design partnership needs to be built on a foundation of trust and respect. The same could be said for just about anything where you’ve got to work with others. It’s absolutely essential. In fact, I’d suggest avoiding working with anyone you don’t trust or anyone who doesn’t trust you.
It’s true that trust must be built and it’s much more tricky than I could explain with a few words here. There is a certain amount of risk involved with any new partnership and everyone involved should be aware of that risk and strive to built that trust as quickly as possible.
I think the most important way to build that trust is by communicating clearly, honestly and frequently.
Compromise
I always start my projects by defining the problems and setting out goals. I try to group these goals into three groups: technical, user and business. “The Golden Triangle” as I like to call it. The best designs are the ones where you’re able to find that sweet spot where these goals all come together with the least amount of compromise.
But there is more to it than just balancing goals. When working with engaged and passionate people, there can be differing opinions on what those goals are, what should be given importance and how they can be solved. Everyone involved needs to be able to compromise in some way.
The best designs are not achieved by building consensus, I’m a firm believer of that, and the buck needs to stop somewhere. However, a project can run off the rails really quickly if important stakeholders (including the designer) are unwilling to compromise.
I’m pretty fond of saying that there is no such thing as a perfect design. I think when it comes to interaction and web design this goes double. Or triple. Design is about solving problems and communication. With most (all?) problems there are more than one solution. To do that you’ll need compromise. Count on it.
Responsibility
As a professional part of my job is education. People pay me to help them solve problems and share my expertise. There are times when that means I need to push back and explain why something one of my clients wants to do isn’t in line with the best possible solution. I’ve got to be “the bad guy”.
There are times, in any project, when goals conflict and solutions have to be negotiated. My job is to advocate for those not in the room. The people who use a web site, for example. As well, I’ve got to keep the technical goals in mind. If a client wants to do something that is a technical challenge, for example, it’s my responsibility to call that out and question it.
The same goes for my clients. It’s the clients responsibility to in turn make sure that I’m educated about their business goals, etc. I need to trust that they know what’s best for their business.
Designing a partnership
Much like the work that we do a partnership needs to be planned out—designed—much like you would a web site. You’ve got to set expectations, define roles and goals and make sure that the partnership is set up for success. Then the work starts. You’ve got to keep in constant communication and both sides need to be clear and open as they can at all times to gain and maintain that trust. It’s a lot of work, true, but it will help ensure the final product is the best it can be.
<blockquote>My job is to advocate for those not in the room. The people who use a Web site, for example.</blockquote>
This is totally true, but also a potential point of confusion. It is quite common for a website owner or other stakeholder to advocate their own preferences in the guise of ‘the user would not like that’.
As designers we need to a) Actually try to get some understanding of the real users and b) convince our clients that they are no representative of those real users.
Otherwise it ends up in a death match of personal preferences.
Good article. I think need ask client to read this too. So they be on the same way.