By signcraft
Posted on Wednesday, January 6th, 2016
A key part of being a successful designer is asking the client the right questions—especially early in the process. Larry Elliott, Elliott Sign & Design, created a worksheet to use with clients to help him get the information he needs to design a logo or sign efficiently. Since most clients haven’t thought about how their logo or sign will communicate their brand—and who they want to reach—it’s important to clarify these and other issues as early in the design process as possible.
If the client is at his shop, Larry gives them a printed form that asks 12 simple questions. If not, he emails them a link that takes them to an online form on an internal page on his site.
In both cases, the form gives him essential information that lets him be more successful with his initial design. He gets a feel for their target market, colors they like or dislike, and what sort of designs appeal to them.
“This form lets me know the client’s likes and dislikes in advance,” says Larry, “which really helps guide us in creating their logos and signage. There are fewer revisions and less wasted time.
“If they come by the shop, I give them a printed version to fill out. Otherwise, I’ll email my prospective client a link to the form. I don’t post the link in any of the page menus on the site to prevent curious visitors to my site from filling it out and wasting my time.”
Besides gathering important information for you, this process also helps build the client’s confidence in you. It shows the depth of your knowledge about what goes into a successful design, and your desire to create a design that will truly represent their brand.
