I don’t know anything.

 

That’s the starting point of any project. If I start a project with the notion that I know it all, I won’t hear a thing my client says. 
And most of my work starts long before a design begins. 𝑰𝒕 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒄𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈.

 

My client knows their world better than anyone. My job is to ask questions and to really hear the answers. To translate those ideas, feelings and values into something that speaks verbally and visually.

 

When I brief my team, I am not just passing on instructions. I am passing on a deep understanding of my client. Usually after multiple long conversations where I’ve asked and challenged and dug deep.

 

Recently, a client described their organisation as “QUIETLY POWERFUL BUT ALWAYS TRUSTED”

 

When I heard that, I asked “𝙄𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙖 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙤𝙣 𝙬𝙝𝙮 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙖𝙣 𝙩𝙤 𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙫𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙨 𝙦𝙪𝙞𝙚𝙩𝙡𝙮 𝙥𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙛𝙪𝙡“?

 

Their response to my question helped me understand their audience even better. 
“𝙊𝙪𝙧 𝙘𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙚𝙢𝙤𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙫𝙪𝙡𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚. 𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙𝙣‘𝙩 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙚 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙧𝙮𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙬𝙚 𝙙𝙤 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢 𝙩𝙤 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙬𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙖𝙪𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙮“

 

That one line shaped everything.

 

The tone. The colour palette. The confidence without the noise and without triggering a feeling of being controlled.

 

When my client saw the first concept, they said, “𝙀𝙭𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙡𝙮. 𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙪𝙨.”

 

That is the moment we aim for every time.

 

Because if it does not resonate with the client, it has missed the point.

 

Good design is not made for clients.
It is made 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 them.

 

I don’t know anything.

 

So here is the question.

 

𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱, 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝘁𝗼 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗿𝗲?