
Saved by Daniel Wentsch
You're My Favorite Client
Saved by Daniel Wentsch
If something isn’t working, point it out and go into as much detail as possible as to why. Tie it to the goals we agreed to earlier in the project. Understanding your reasoning is critical to solving the problem. Being told to do something a certain way, or worse, getting a comp of it done that way only means we have to reverse-engineer the whole t
... See moreIf a design isn’t working, tell the designer what and why. Be specific.
A well-designed world is a better world. I love knowing that a thoughtful piece of user interface makes someone’s life go a bit easier, whether it’s designing a menu that’s accessible to someone with low vision or watching my seventy-one-year-old father intuitively use an iPad for the first time. Good design has the power to change lives in big and
... See moreOn the value of design
If a designer shows you work in progress, it’s a great sign. It means they’ve moved beyond a fear that all you’ll see is the broken stuff to a willingness to collaborate with you. Look at it in the spirit of collaboration. Ask questions about what they’re showing. Talk about where they’re headed with it. Feel free to ask if there’s any feedback the
... See moreOnce you’ve hired a designer you need to trust them to do their job. This is harder than it sounds.
Most studios, us included, insist on a deposit based on a percentage of the project before we start work. Depending on the project’s size, it could range from 25% to 50% of the total project cost. Design studios aren’t a high-margin business. Getting that money up front gives us the running room to get the project going and dedicate people to your
... See moreAsking for a deposit up front should be the default
So when you discuss pricing with your designer (and it should be a discussion), make sure they can stand behind their quote. Have them walk you through it and explain why they’re charging what they’re charging. You should get an itemized breakdown for the project’s major parts. Some designers and studios may even be willing to give you an hourly li
... See moreIf you and I were to design a chair together, we’d have to consider some factors from the get-go. Of course, we’d consider the seat’s size, the height from the ground, the angle of the back, the materials, and the fabric. Before we made any of those decisions, we’d ask ourselves about the chair’s goals. Who would be using the chair? What would they
... See moreLook, you can get a website for $500. You can also get a website for $70 million. The former is gonna have less stuff on it than the latter. (Neither will necessarily trump the other. I’ve seen kickass $500 websites. I’ve also seen million-dollar budgets go down in flames.) Knowing how much money you’ve committed to a project helps a designer tailo
... See moreImagine two chair shops across the street from each other. One shop takes the chair’s design into consideration from the start. They hire the best chair designer they can. The chair designer researches other chairs on the market to figure out where they’re lacking. They ask people what they like and dislike about their current chairs, research mate
... See moreThe value of good design seems more clear for everyday objects than digital goods. This comparison helps to show the value of good design. And more importantly it leaves no doubt that design cannot work as an afterthought.