Best way to present a plan to a designer?

NeptunesMoon

Hi,
I'd like some of your opinions on the best way a client could present a plan of what they want (including page layout, features, basically exactly the way they want the site to look page for page) to a designer. I am looking to get a site designed and have my own idea of how I'd like it to look, it would also save a lot of time in the design process. I am thinking of doing the backbone of the page (the way the navigation menu etc will look etc) and then just printing off loads of copies and writing in what I want and what links to what page etc in pencil/pen and I will then be able to present this to the designer I choose. Other ideas include drawing the plan out on an A2 page with the index page in the centre and each sub page surrounding it and they will each have their own section on the page for their sub pages.

Do designers like the idea of being presented with such a plan, if so, are the above methods the prefered way or are there better methods?

Ta!

nogihno

Hi,

As a designer myself, the more information you can provide, the better. Too often in this game, the client expects to give a few photos and voila, a sharp snappy website appears. The designer will (well should) welcome your thoughts as it actually cuts down on the amount of work and thought to be done if the client has a clear picture of the deliverable.

Basically, just give the designer as much information as you can, fear not, and be sure that the site designed is what you want and to your satifaction! I wish you all the best.

Regards,
nogihno

kstanl

It sounds to me like you're trying to design the site yourself. Why bother employing the services of a designer if you can do it all yourself? And, no offence, but if you're trying to develop a business critical Web presence then I suggest you leave the designing to the designer! The best approach you can take is to come up with as much content as you can. Devise a site map based on the content that you want on the site. Pick out a few site designs that you like on the web; perhaps of similar company sites. Then give all this information to the designer along with your branding and style guidelines and let them work their creative magic.

kjt

I disagree with kstanl.
I've done a good few websites in the past and have had totally opposite types of clients.
I've had people saying they want a website for this and with x y+z in it>>Off ya go. I sold a website this month to a really nice chap who knew what he wanted. He designed the page (VERY BASIC) where-abouts he wanted the links. A box in the top right where he wanted a picture of x and then the name of the other 5/6pages. I showed him a few of the webpages I'd previously done and he really liked one. I took that into consideration and set off 2 create his website. I got it bang on first time.

He had given the brief layout of what he wanted and I implemented the nicer design and he was very pleased. He got everything he wanted and more.

I believe the more you give to the designer, the more they can help you and your website. It makes sense tbh, give more-get more!

Good luck and I hope you get the website you want.

NeptunesMoon

Thanks for the replies.

Kstanl, the main obstacle in my way of doing that is that I'm not a web designer. I have no knowledge of how to use design programs etc. Think of it as if you were to design a house, you'd know yourself where you want your bathroom, what colour you want it etc but you're not going to be drawing up the blueprints or mixing the cement and painting the walls.

To those of you who do like to and have received such plans, what is the best format to do it in?

Gordon

I wish all clients were like that. When people ask me to do stuff they usually give the most ambiguous descriptions possible. "I'd like it to sound, y'know, really just very harmonious and to sound good." And then the uber descriptive "This presentation must be 'Wow', no in fact it must be 'Super Wow'." The last website I made was for a guy that wanted something that looked 'quite unique and good'.

I find it extremely frustrating if a client doesn't have any initial input as they will definitely know what they don't want so when you show them some work (that may have taken a great deal of time) they will know if they don't like it and want you to change it. What to? 'I dunno, something a bit more - designful or something'. Maybe I'm just a crap designer.

As for the format - any format would be fine for me. Rough scribbles on a piece of paper and a description of colours has been enough for me in the past.

The more info the better, it saves a great deal of time and maybe you could get a cheaper price as it will cut down design time?

canker

As a designer I like to get as much of the client as possible, by way of their design ideas, up front. But you as the client should understand that what is developed from these ideas isn't always going to look just like it did on paper - sometimes it just doesn't translate well to screen format and sometimes you have to make design concessions for accesability and usability reasons. The worst thing, however, that you can do as the client (from the designers point of view) is, having given all these ideas at the start, change your mind when you see the finished article.

Whatever way you can express your idea to the designer will be good (the way you suggest in your original post sounds about right!), but make sure that you are not going to change your mind too much aftergiving these ideas to a designer and be prepared for the designer to come back with something thats more inspired by your ideas rather than an exact match of your design.

kjt

It depends on how you will be communicating with the designer. Email/post/phone/in person.

I agree with Gordon
"The more info the better, it saves a great deal of time and maybe you could get a cheaper price as it will cut down design time?"


Anything you can give the designer will help him/her to give you closer to what you want. And it could indeed save you some €€.

I find that sitting down with the client and looking at a few sites and pick out bit of what you like from sites and tell the designer what you dont like about that site too.

Best of luck.

JustHalf

The best way a client can approach a designer (and vice-versa) is as a conversation about your needs.

The problem with providing a designer with a lot of pre-made decisions about the site is that those decisions may be mis-informed, or worse: conflicting with your organisation's needs.

What is more important: that your site fulfils these needs, or that your site is structured like your first sketches?

Through conversation, needs turn into goals, goals turn into requirements, requirements turn into structure. On top of a sound skeleton-like structure is built a pretty face* and the body is filled with solid content. If you start the conversation at the "pretty face" level, you're missing out on a wealth of knowledge that any competent designer can provide you with, and literally all the designer can do is try to make something look nice.

Don't underestimate the importance of a sound structure. You should want your visitors to be able to navigate your site easily, and it's so easy to come up with a site structure that makes no sense to your visitors. If General Electric can make this mistake**, so can you!

I'd suggest meeting with potential designers, tell them about your organisation and what it tries to do, then ask them about what process they'd use to make a site for you. If they don't mention:

• Designing the site for your visitors / users / customers (watch for them asking about who would use the site).
• Making the site work as part of your overall strategy (they'll need to ask about your strategy).

...then don't hire them.

The "site plan" should ideally come from a discussion with your designer. They should (if they're competent) have a much better idea of what works and what doesn't. And to put your mind at ease, they should be able to explain why things work better.

Dave

* If you need a pretty face. If you want to look like a bargain basement store, a "pretty face" is actually a bad idea. eBay is a good example. It looks cheap, but that's what they're going for.
** From a past version of their site, I can dig it up for you if you want.

p

NeptunesMoon wrote:

Kstanl, the main obstacle in my way of doing that is that I'm not a web designer. I have no knowledge of how to use design programs etc. Think of it as if you were to design a house, you'd know yourself where you want your bathroom, what colour you want it etc but you're not going to be drawing up the blueprints or mixing the cement and painting the walls.

I don't think that's a correct analogy. You would have a rough idea of what rooms/sizes you were looking for, and what budget you had. You'd then work with an architect to come up with the plans. If it was just left to you there's a huge chance you would overlook serious issues, simply because you're not a professional.

To those of you who do like to and have received such plans, what is the best format to do it in?

Following on from above, if you work with a designer rather than dictating to them you will get the best results. A designer will come up with a nice layout and design for your site. You should put together all the content you have for your site for them. That's the most important thing, so they can structure the site, and know waht you want from them.

Regarding actual page layouts, or page structure, then I would advise drawing rought sketches, and showing them to the designer as things that you've thought of, but they're just ideas.

You do know your business, but you're not a designer, so let them use that as a tool to come up with a design, that sells your product/service and your business effectively. That way you will get the best out of your designer, and the best value for money.



Alternatively, if you're really just looking for something exceptionally cheap and cheerful, there's lots of website Templates sites where you can buy a website and throw your content in. Not everyone needs a bespoke design for their site. It all depends on the value of their brand and their target audience.


All the best with your website!