The Importance of Research in Design Projects, #011 the TRANSCENDENT

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Transcript

00:00The importance of research in design projects.

00:03The first impulse when starting a project, like most designers, is to put the pencil to the page.

00:10In that initial meeting with a client, you can find yourself solving a problem in your head.

00:15This would be fine if there were no real issues to manage and you only cared about the form and style.

00:22However, to do the right job, you need to buckle down and conduct thorough research.

00:27As we've already discussed, you need to understand the current brand strategy, competition, audience, goals, strengths, and weaknesses.

00:37The best way to gather this information is to sit down and talk with people.

00:42If the client is a small company or sole proprietor, you can speak with the owner.

00:47If there are more employees, you can make appointments to meet with as many as possible.

00:52You should know what the CEO thinks and you should hear from the person who delivers the pizzas.

00:58The information is broader and more realistic with more input.

01:02Plus, you might get some free pizza.

01:05Talking to the pizza delivery person may not provide the information.

01:09You need to determine a brand strategy and course of action.

01:13But it will help you and the client understand how well the employees grasp the brand.

01:18If everyone at a company is aware of the values and goals, we are doing great.

01:24But if everyone has different ideas, the message internally and to the outside world can be almost anything.

01:31You should learn about the client's competition.

01:34The person you are interviewing may be able to name their closest competitors.

01:38But it will take more research on its parts to learn about the next level of competition.

01:43Every organization has unexpected competitors.

01:46You can do this research online, in a library, or in person.

01:51For instance, there was an admissions project for a university.

01:56One of the designers began the application process for several other colleges.

02:00This gave us great insight into the competition's communications and responses.

02:05They even once worked as a salesperson for a day at a major department store

02:10to better understand their customer service philosophy.

02:14Identifying the correct audience is critical.

02:17Targeted marketing with clear messages can only happen when you know who you are trying to reach.

02:23Otherwise, you're telling the story so broadly that nobody cares.

02:28That's call spray and spray.

02:30You can determine who the current audience is by talking with your direct contact for the client,

02:36salespeople, communications department, and marketing team.

02:40Identify a few customers to hear their point of view.

02:44Typically, the CEO will be the best source to determine who the audience should be in the future.

02:51Another useful tool is online analytics for a website or Facebook page.

02:56Values, goals, and promises are the territory of the owner or CEO.

03:02The information is at the core.

03:04There are many instances where the designer says,

03:07my client isn't sophisticated.

03:10They should educate them, or an employee will insist the direction is wrong.

03:15But in the end, if the CEO decides the company is about sustainable practices,

03:20innovation, creativity, and risk-taking, then that's the right direction.

03:25It's his or her company.

03:27It's our job as designers to make that vision tangible.

03:30A good practice is to identify a client's strengths and weaknesses.

03:36Often, they may be too close to the issue to clearly identify all the strengths and weaknesses.

03:42They may recognize that the product is good,

03:44but be unable to see that the customer base is disappearing.

03:49Or they might acknowledge something positive,

03:51such as the ability to attract the best talent because of forward-thinking and human-centered policies.

03:57The point here is not to open the dialogue for a complaint fest.

04:02And people love to complain.

04:05Steer the conversation to productive ideas rather than individuals.

04:09Something like,

04:10XYZ won't clean, his food out of the refrigerator isn't particularly relevant.

04:16You're looking at the areas that are working and those that can be improved.

04:21It's important not to shortchange yourself in this phase.

04:24It's your time and expertise that is gathering a wealth of information that the client doesn't have.

04:31It's a hard job and it takes time and intelligence.

04:35Make sure you have a phase and budget in your contract specifically for research.

04:40This valuable information can have an enormous impact or prevent a disaster a few miles ahead.

04:46Without this step, jumping into the visual design of a branding project is like a doctor operating without asking a patient any questions.

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