Designing vs. Making Stuff Up
No web designer ever designed a web page. No magazine designer ever designed a magazine page. No news designer ever designed a newspaper page. You don’t design the page, you design the content. Without the content, you’re just making stuff up. That is not design. Call it decorating or guessing, but don’t call it design.
Before the design work starts, before the project starts, even before the contracts are sent to the client for execution, the issue of content must be addressed.
“Where is the content?”
“What content will be on this page …and on this page?”
“Who is writing the content?”
“When will you deliver the content?”
Answers to these questions will define how the project will proceed and when the design can begin. Perhaps more importantly, answers to these questions tell you just who you’re dealing with and how prepared they are to begin a project with you. And you may find that they’re simply not prepared. Best to know that before the contracts are signed and the project is under way.
These questions are scary and unexpected for most potential clients. Often they haven’t considered content beyond the abstract idea that the pages will have content. It’s your job to correct this mistake and address what must be addressed—before you offer a bid. No, really. How can you know how much work is ahead of you or even if your potential client is ready to begin the project unless you have answers to content questions? Other factors will impact the project, but where design is involved, content decides almost everything.
If you are “designing” without the content, you are being paid to do something that you’re only pretending to do. And that’s not a good way to serve your client or his interests.
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Comments (15)
Was just having this conversation today. With how often I talk with doubting clients – it’s always good to have a “backer” – so to speak, with way more experience than my self.
Nice redesign of the verse (I love plays on words).
Excellent advice. I recently made a client push the start date of his project ahead by 2 months so we could spend more time defining and refining the content before putting pen to paper or mouse to screen.
BTW – Awesome work on the Peter Schiff site. Schiff + Unit = too much awesomeness. The Internets will explode! :)
These same questions have been at the very core of each project/potential project I start, and you’re right: they can be scary and unexpected. Expressing very similar questions to some potential clients, they’ve looked blank and defensive, almost saying, ‘What, we have to do something too?’ – it sounds a lot like ‘work’ to them (and that’s what they think they’re paying you to do for them…content included).
Of course, that’s not the end of the questions…
If a potential client responds with, ‘Well, I don’t have any good content, who can help me write it?’ The answer is: get a good Copy-Writer or Editor (specifically content for the web)…and these people are like gold dust because they make a difference! ;)
Good web design definitely hinges on good content, that’s important.
Completely agree, Andy.
Jeffrey Zeldman once said, “Content precedes design. Design in the absence of content is not design, it’s decoration.”
Great job – as always – elaborating on that fundamental design tenet.
While I agree with the overall idea, its hard when you are a freelance web designer and you can afford to wait on a client to produce content cos 1. you may loose them and 2. You don’t get paid if the job doesn’t start.
@ocube:
I’m sorry, so your point is that it is preferable to do a poor job of design–but take the client’s money anyway–instead of having standards and doing what is right? Really?
Yes, it’s hard. And by your logic here, you could be the poster child for what’s wrong with freelance design. Congrats. I’d suggest you do what’s right or do something else for a living.
Great points. I found it hard to refine my process initially but it’s a much better way to approach it.
Great post! In regards to ocube’s comment, Do you not take a deposit before the project starts?
Let’s not attack people for falling into the trap that we’ve all found ourselves in at one time or another.
Perhaps a more constructive comment would be to make sure your contract protects you. Make sure you are clear with your clients before you ever agree to a project as to how the project will procede. And yes, a deposit might also help.
Awesome post! I think that’s the main reason why there are tons of nasty designs when the content is placed after the design job has been done.
@Andy chill out a bit, the key word was ‘hard’ not impossible! In fact I started out by saying I agree with the idea. To start with I dont know what attacking me will achieve (maybe you got out of the wrong side of the bed).
@Liam It doesnt happen to me much these days as I dont freelance as much as I used to (have a full time job) so I dont start if I dont get content. I was merely trying to point out that sometimes it could be difficult.
After I got the 5th assignment to design without any content (or too much of it, most of it garbage) I have resorted to writing the copy myself. It sounds ridiculous, but I’ll be done here by this time next year anyway. I can hold out until then.
If nothing else, it helped me improve my copywriting quite a lot (mostly through research) and also made clear to me as well as the client what they were trying to communicate. So if you’re in that unfortunate situation and have time to spare (I’m talking student or intern here – if this happens on a full time job, leave), go ahead and make lemonade out of them lemons.
[...] Designing vs. Making Stuff Up [...]
Good advices indeed, this should really help for beginer designer like me :)
i am also web designer but i got designing tricks from here that is nice idea i read nice stuff here thanks..
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