1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:06,430 [Pasan Premaratne] When working with a client one of the important things is allowing for an approval or review process. 2 00:00:06,430 --> 00:00:11,580 You have to identify what's a good balance between the client, having the room to make certain changes, 3 00:00:11,580 --> 00:00:13,990 and you having way too many revisions. 4 00:00:13,990 --> 00:00:18,050 But even if you allow for revisions you need to have a process about it. 5 00:00:18,050 --> 00:00:25,780 If your process is to just email the client some files and let him respond with comments, the lack of structure will soon frustrate you. 6 00:00:25,780 --> 00:00:31,080 Clients won't be able to properly explain what changes they want and that's understandable. 7 00:00:31,080 --> 00:00:34,950 Design, or development, is not an area of expertise for them. 8 00:00:34,950 --> 00:00:41,870 So their vague directions will lead to either more revisions further along in the project and lots of frustrations. 9 00:00:41,870 --> 00:00:49,600 If you took the time to understand both the client's and the user's needs early on, then the review process can be a lot less painful. 10 00:00:49,600 --> 00:00:55,410 In this video we're going to go over some tips that can help you improve your review process. 11 00:00:55,410 --> 00:01:01,150 First, provide guidelines. Often times clients don't know how to provide feedback. 12 00:01:01,150 --> 00:01:06,940 As a designer getting feedback like, "I just don't like it," doesn't serve either party well. 13 00:01:06,940 --> 00:01:09,720 You don't know their reasons for disliking the design. 14 00:01:09,720 --> 00:01:15,920 You have no constructive criticism and therefore, can't really make a change that you know the client will agree with. 15 00:01:15,920 --> 00:01:23,170 Spend some time talking to your client and educate them in how to provide valuable feedback that will make the project easier. 16 00:01:23,170 --> 00:01:25,620 Ask them to explain gut reactions. 17 00:01:25,620 --> 00:01:32,690 Rather than saying, "I just don't like this," ask them to think about what exactly it is they don't like and why. 18 00:01:32,690 --> 00:01:37,250 Sometimes these reactions are warranted, but most times it's because the client doesn't understand 19 00:01:37,250 --> 00:01:40,110 the purpose of a certain design consideration. 20 00:01:40,110 --> 00:01:45,380 It either doesn't make sense off the bat, or you're not presenting the work in the right medium. 21 00:01:45,380 --> 00:01:52,860 For example, attaching static screenshots of a webpage won't help explain your design considerations with a hidden navigation bar. 22 00:01:52,860 --> 00:01:55,810 Certain things are better understood in the browser. 23 00:01:55,810 --> 00:02:00,510 Show examples of articulated observations that help the approval process. 24 00:02:00,510 --> 00:02:05,180 Show that you invite constructive criticism and relevant questions. 25 00:02:05,180 --> 00:02:11,820 Wherever you can, walk your client through your design considerations. Don't expect them to understand everything. 26 00:02:11,820 --> 00:02:19,090 Clients need to understand the choices you made. Otherwise they might approach them from a biased or uneducated perspective. 27 00:02:19,090 --> 00:02:22,560 Then you can provide explanations or documentation. 28 00:02:22,560 --> 00:02:27,070 Written supporting material can go a long way to explaining your design considerations. 29 00:02:27,070 --> 00:02:30,790 It might be easy to convey your thoughts and process to your client, 30 00:02:30,790 --> 00:02:35,030 but there's a high chance that the client is not in charge of the approval process. 31 00:02:35,030 --> 00:02:38,880 He or she has to then explain it to other stakeholders in this organization. 32 00:02:38,880 --> 00:02:42,230 You won't be there to present to these people like you did for your client, 33 00:02:42,230 --> 00:02:46,110 and you can't expect your client to explain your ideas as well as you did. 34 00:02:46,110 --> 00:02:52,500 By providing documentation or some form of written explanation, you can ensure that everyone who sees your designs 35 00:02:52,500 --> 00:02:55,570 understands the message behind it. 36 00:02:55,570 --> 00:02:58,590 You should also control the direction of the feedback. 37 00:02:58,590 --> 00:03:02,130 This can be tied to providing guidelines, which we mentioned earlier. 38 00:03:02,130 --> 00:03:07,850 When explaining, explain the design within the context of the content and the audience. 39 00:03:07,850 --> 00:03:13,540 When clients evaluate designs they tend to be biased and evaluate it from a personal perspective. 40 00:03:13,540 --> 00:03:18,450 Remind them that everything should be judged from a user's perspective. 41 00:03:18,450 --> 00:03:22,950 When presenting your designs always present them in the best medium possible. 42 00:03:22,950 --> 00:03:27,430 This goes along way to getting the client to really understand your design choices. 43 00:03:27,430 --> 00:03:33,770 It's hard to convey what's above the fold when you print or send over the Photoshop files or static images. 44 00:03:33,770 --> 00:03:37,140 Here's a few tips on how you could go about doing that. 45 00:03:37,140 --> 00:03:43,710 If your client is a local client, then set up a time to present the website to them and walk them through the designs. 46 00:03:43,710 --> 00:03:50,510 If the client is remote, set the website up on a server and schedule a phone call with them to walk through the designs. 47 00:03:50,510 --> 00:03:53,340 There are also apps that can help you with this task. 48 00:03:53,340 --> 00:03:58,920 Check out InVision app, one that's made specifically for sharing, review, and approval. 49 00:03:58,920 --> 00:04:04,130 Or you can use Basecamp to invite clients to the project where they can comment on any files. 50 00:04:04,130 --> 00:04:08,330 The review process is really important to your sanity as a freelancer. 51 00:04:08,330 --> 00:04:14,380 Following these steps doesn't necessarily mean that the review and approval process will always be easy and efficient, 52 00:04:14,380 --> 00:04:17,339 but it will make the task much smoother. 53 00:04:17,339 --> 00:04:22,339 The more you do it, the better you can streamline your workflow.