For a designer – or anyone involved in marketing – the brief is often the most critical stage of any project. A tight brief makes or breaks a project.
Everyone’s first reaction on arrival of a new project is to get into the work. But when you take the time to consider and question the brief it often reveals insights and creative fuel that may have been missed.
Here are the ways I challenge a client design brief, and add value through that process.
Closed Questions AKA The “Tangibles”
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- Who are the audience?
- When is the deadline?
- Where will the work be seen?
These types of questions have direct answers and outline a designers limitations in the work. They are also the milestones / factors we use to judge the project throughout.
Open Questions
- What don’t you like?
- How do you feel about [insert approach]?
Open questions like the above invite more detailed responses which allow clients to expand and reveal more about their project and expectations. To a graphic designer, these questions often through focus of some of the more vague elements of a project.
Non-question Questions
A simple idea borrowed from Chris Voss and Tahl Raz’s fantastic book “Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It”. You prompt a client with a statement that either mirrors their language, or labels an element of their input. As they describe it:
Mirror
Definition:
When you mirror you repeat the last few words (or the critical words) of what someone has just said as a question. It makes others feel heard and understood, and opens the space for them to add detail and insight.
Example:
If someone says, “I’m really concerned about the deadline,” you might respond with, “concerned about the deadline?”.
Label
Definition:
A label acknowledges emotions, and shows empathy and understanding. It can often be used to throw light on anxieties or potential bumps in a project.
Example:
If someone seems stressed, you might say, “it sounds like you’re feeling a little pressured?”.
Most importantly these non-question questions require you to really listen to the client. And as a result the client knows you are not just on a script, but actively engaged. If reassures everyone.
Bonus Designer Question
And for non-designers too – honestly, this one nearly always uncovers a useful detail that got swept aside in the excitement of a call. And even if it doesn’t it makes everyone pause, and consider the discussion.
- Is there anything I should’ve asked, but didn’t?
This isn’t it though. This is one part of the internal process that consistently delivers for DC Design Works clients.
