Recently I saw an advert for a logo design job where the client provided little more information than the industry that the business was in. The client then stated that they would not answer any questionnaires, “so don’t bother asking”!
I’d love to see the final logo, but I pity the designer tasked with creating the logo without being allowed to ask questions. I’d also love to know why the client was so against answering any questions.
If you’ve ever worked with a designer before, you’ll already know that you’ll be asked a lot of questions at the start of a project, and some more during the course of the work. And if you’re a designer, I’m sure you’ll agree that being able to ask a lot of questions is important.
Why is it important?
Basically, the more information your designer has about your project, the better the end result. So the more you can tell your designer about your requirements, the more likely it is that they’ll deliver what you need.
Sure, you can tell someone you need a logo for your plumbing business, for example, and tell them nothing more than the name of the business, but the final logo will probably be a generic logo suitable for any plumbing business. It will be little more than a piece of clip-art and won’t convey anything about what makes you the plumber people should be lining up to hire.
However, if you tell your designer about your business, including things like your target market and your unique selling point, they can deliver a logo that’s much more than a piece of clip-art.
A lot of designers have a standard set of questions that they’ll ask about a logo design project, including things like what style of design you like, what colours you like, and various other questions intended to gather as much information from you as possible. Your answers all help to create a solid starting point for generating ideas for your logo.
So please, the next time a designer asks you a lot of questions, don’t be alarmed; they’re just trying to do the best work they can for you!
Thanks for the great article!
I have come across this dilemma myself many times. Learning from a few projects that did not go the way I planned, I now have separate questionnaires for logo design and web design projects. I like to set up an initial meeting with my clients up front, and advise them of two things: 1) I do not work without a down payment or contract on a project, and 2) No work will be started on any project until they are able complete the questionnaire.
I have found that this technique helps weed out the clients that are not serious about the project (which often are also the ones that do not pay in the end). The clients who are serious appreciate the fact that I want to learn as much as I can about them, and they realize the value it has during the creative process.
No freelancer may ever find the “prefect client”, but any steps we can take to strive and make the process a bit less painful for the client and designer alike is a positive move forward.
Hi Mark,
great technique. I’ve recently compiled questionnaires myself, and found them to be very useful in gathering information from clients. And having the initial meeting is a great way to figure out if you and the client are a good fit for each other.
Thanks for stopping by!