Why do most agencies show three different designs for one home page?
Not only is it budget and time consuming, but more importantly, this practice typically adds to client confusion and puts the design at a high risk of being “Frankensteined”.
Offering the client their choice from three designs opens up a virtual can of worms. There is always one design that the team loves and two other designs that are on the bench, wishing they were just as good. More often than not, the client will choose some parts of each and want to combine them into one, hence the term “Frankenstein”. I have honestly not seen a Frankenstein design that I love.
So is it possible to conserve budget AND get it right (or close) the first time?
I think so.
Get to know each other
Fill out the Creative Brief in person, when possible. Listening to your client talk about their company and its dynamics gives you much more information than just having them fill it out on their own. When you’re face-to-face, you can easily pick up on subtle cues, such as tone of voice and facial expressions.
Keep content king
All site content and architecture should be nailed down before any design is done. Whether writing the content or just organizing it, it’s best to have the message in place. That way, the site can almost design itself (not really, but you know what I mean).
Be intimate
Designers need to be one with the content. When they fully understand both the info in the Creative Brief and the site content, they are better armed to create a fantabulous design without having to go round after round.
Kirby Kana – Creative Director — Kirby has been working on the web since 1998. She enjoys overseeing our totally amazing creative team responsible for web site design, front end development, brand management, integrated marketing solutions and interactive multimedia.
