The Echidna Team Blog

We think we've got some interesting things to say - but you be the judge.

“I Don’t Like that Design”

Tuesday, November 01, 2011 at 9:04 am by Erin | 6 Comment(s)

Are you in charge of your company’s new web project?

If so, listen in. Whether you’re redeveloping the corporate website or building a mini-site for your next big product launch, GET READY, because being a leader is not always easy. 

Picture this….

You’ve been working with a professional web team for a few months now. You’ve defined your audience, web project goals and objectives, as well as your company’s corporate brand/identity. Your web team has brought back a fabulous design that meets all of your expectations and more importantly, meets all of your target audience’s needs. It’s time to get sign-off from your boss, but you’re not worried because the design looks great. Trust me, it’s NOT that simple. 

Design sign-off and consensus is one of the most difficult things to achieve between a group of individuals. Design, whether in print or web, is subjective and usually falls back onto a personal preference, like or dislike – it might not be fair, but it’s a fact.

Your boss, your manager and others within the company as well, will usually have a few comments on the new web design that you’re so proud off. This can be frustrating, but don’t give up. When you’re about to show your new web design off, take a deep breath and keep these few tips in mind.

  • Rather than asking how your boss or manager likes the design, ask how he/she feels the target audience will react to the web design?
  • Ask your boss if the design meets the company’s business objectives and if it’s clear what a user is supposed to do once they land on the homepage of the website.
  • And most importantly, NEVER send the design around via email and ask, “What do you think?”. Book a meeting with the decision makers and explain the process of how and why this design came about.

Keeping these few tips in mind, you’re now ready to take on the challenge and receive sign-off on the web design. Do you have any tips or tricks on receiving design sign-off?

 

 

Bookmark and Share | Post a comment | 6 Comment(s)

Reader Comments

Wednesday, November 02, 2011 at 1:13 pm by Rosie Bluse

This is so funny because i made some (ok...all) of these mistakes with the last web project I ran. Using the tips you suggested is going to work for next time.

Thursday, November 03, 2011 at 12:22 pm by Liisa

These are all great suggestions - a few others I'd add:
1. Engage decision-makers from the beginning. Don't spring a final design on the person who ultimately has final sign-off as an introduction to the project. Get their input and show how their ideas have been incorporated in the process.

2. Present concepts from which to choose. Never present a concept you wouldn't be ok moving forward with - but a good guide is to take the main idea from safe, to solid, to stretch, to see how far you can go with the design.

3. In the "how did we get here" meeting, which should ideally result in the selection of concept and minimal design change requests, lead the audience to the design stage, so that the visual presentation is a logical progression of the goals, objectives and audience insights. Build excitement by having a clear articulation of what the design has accomplished.

Just a few thoughts...you know what they say about hindsight....

Thursday, November 03, 2011 at 12:58 pm by Erin

Liisa! Thanks for the comment. These are all great suggestions. It's often difficult to engage the 'decision makers' throughout every step of the process (or in all of the meetings), but I 100% agree that they need to be kept in the loop as decisions are made along the way.

Thursday, November 03, 2011 at 1:05 pm by Mike

If #1 happened more often I'd be a happy camper.

Friday, November 04, 2011 at 9:17 am by Liisa

True - #1 is more a function of the client organization, than the agency or vendor (or whatever you want to call the outside consultant), which makes it difficult to control, but will almost always result in fewer rounds of revisions grin The other hard part is actually knowing who the decision maker ultimately will be (not just the president for example, but the person the president listens to and trusts, which can be a spouse, child, colleague, EA, who knows!)

Friday, November 04, 2011 at 10:46 am by Noah Tepperman

Great post, Erin. I've bookmarked this for future sharing (as well as my own reference) so that I ensure we better use this kind of approach.

I thought Lisa's comments were also really important and relevant.

Post a Comment

*Required fields

Commenting is not available in this weblog entry.