Module 3:

How to work well with clients?

Welcome to Module 3. In this module we’re going to investigate the working relationship between the

Event Designer and the Client. We’ll look at how the designer should see things from the client’s

perspective and what that means. We’ll also take a look at how presentations should be made to a

client through the creation of Mood Boards. These can also be known as story boards, (mostly in the

film industry and sometimes fashion). They are also sometimes known as vision boards as we’ve

mentioned before. Generally in the event design, fashion and interior design industries, the term mood

board are used. From there, we’ll talk about the importance of client feedback and how you work with

that to redevelop ideas as well as being creatively flexible and adaptable.

What you’ll learn in this module:

3.1 Seeing things from the client’s perspective

3.2 Creating Mood Boards

3.3 Client feedback and redeveloping ideas

3.1 Seeing things from the client’s perspective

Who is the client?

The Client is usually the person who will hire you for the job. You might also be hired by an event

director/manager who works for the client. To make it simple, in this module the client will be the

person you deal with most directly and who makes all the decisions based on the work you do. In other

words they’re the person who approves your work.

Often in more personal events like weddings and parties, you might be hired directly by the person who

is hosting the event; it may even be the person the event is for if it’s a wedding or a party. In this case

they will be the client. In larger or more corporate events the client might be a company. In this case

the company might hire an event management team who might then hire you as an event design

specialist.

Confusing? Don’t worry; it will become clearer as we go along. For the purposes of this module the

client will be the person you answer to directly. It will be a generic or general term that we use, so

this will make it less confusing.

What is the Client’s perspective?

Now we know that the Client is the person who hiresyou and that you answer to them on all matters of

approval, what is their perspective and how do you see it?

The general definition of perspective as it relates to thought is – A particular attitude or way of seeing

things, such as a person’s point of view on something.

Following this definition, if the client has a particular way they see the event or project you’re working

on, you have to try to see it in the same way. You must step outside yourself and into their shoes so you

can see their point of view as to the direction the event design should take.

The Brief

We’ve discussed many times, the importance of the brief. The more detailed the brief and the more

specific the brief is, the better it is for the designer. More information means more clues

and inspiration on the expected direction of the design and the desired outcomes. In a perfect

world the brief will have everything you ever need to complete the job without a hitch. In the real world

though, you will often read the brief and as you look at it more closely you’ll begin to have questions.

As you go through the brief you will need to write these questions down so you can discuss them with

the client. This will allow you to get more information or clarify, make clearer, the information you

have. It’s best to do this early to avoid misinterpretation or not seeing the client’s perspective clearly.

Working with the client

Briefs can sometimes be a work in progress and it’s not always clear what the client really sees in

their mind’s-eye. Different client’s ability to communicate creative concepts will often be a factor.

They are not designers and may not have experience working with designers. It’s your job to work

with them at this stage so you clearly understand their perspective or point of view.

It’s not uncommon to work with a client to develop a brief together.

This requires:

Professionalism

Patience

Understanding

Attentiveness/focus

The ability to interpret ideas

Ask questions

Take notes

The reason this process is so important is because it will help to limit any confusion and major

changes in the design direction as you proceed. The last thing you really want is, to have to

totally re-build or re-develop concepts because there was a misunderstanding. Because you

weren’t able to tap-in-to the client’s perspective or the way they see it in their mind.

Other things apart from just the look & feel of the design that could be lost-in-translation -(regarding

the client’s perspective) - could be the scope, size or detail of the concept and more importantly the

anticipated budget. That’s certainly another thing you will need to be clearon very early in the

process.

I mentioned earlier, “in a perfect world”. Things are sometimes not perfect in the client - designer

relationship and this is where professionalism and patience comes in. Clients can and often do

change their minds. There’s only so much you can do to get it right but if they change their mind,

you’ll have to be adaptable and flexible and above all – professional. How you deal with this is

important and it’s best to keep calm! Either, try to change the clients mind back, if they’re having

second thoughts, or quickly come up with some inspiring variations or new ideas if all else fails.

It’s certainly not the most ideal situation when a client changes their mind, you can only hope they

don’t do it at the last minute. Last minute changes can blow out your timeline and your budget, not to

mention all the hard work you’ve already put in. Being able to crisis manage is another important

part of your job and don’t forget contingencies!

As we mentioned a bit earlier, the clientcan be different people at different levels depending on the

scale and type of the event. In the corporate world the client might be a company and you may be

hired directly by them through their in-house marketing team or through an event

director/managerhired by them. Usually at this instance, you should receive a more professional and

detailed brief. Although this isn’t always the case, you still may need to discuss it further with the

client, whoever they may be, in order to see their perspective more clearly.

At this level your client will most likely have more experience dealing with event designers but they

still may not “speak your language”, so you will have to learn theirs.

It’s important to be able to:

Communicate clearly and professionally

Be confident

Be analytical

Take detailed notes in any briefing sessions

Ask relevant and well-targeted questions

Be concise/to the point

Understand their perspective

Don’t be afraid to put your ideas out there

Perhaps make suggestions (if the situation allows)

Be flexible/adaptable

Although you may be dealing with more professional people in the corporate world and you may have a

more detailed brief, you still need to see things from their perspective. Their perspective will be

different from other clients, so being versatile in the art of perspective translation is helpful and will

come with experience. People in the corporate world also change their minds, so always be prepared

and have your contingencies in place.

It’s all about the client

Seeing things from the client’s perspective is a skill that you will learn through experience. It’s the ability

to clear your mind and focus on what they want or think they want. It means listening carefully,

staying focused and taking notes. You need to get inside their head and see what you will be working on

from their point of view. This process isn’t just about you it’s about them. It’s also about your ability to

see through their eyes and translate that into ideas they will hopefully like and approve.

3.2 Creating mood boards

Now you can see into the mind of the client and understand the project from their perspective, it’s time

to go over your notesand begin work on the conceptualization and design processes. By now you should

be armed with all or at least most of the information you need to get started. In this section we’re going

to focus on Mood Boards. We’ll have a quick overview of what they are, what they’re used

for, different ways they can be created and what they should communicate.

What are mood boards?

We noted earlier that mood boards can have different names like story boards or vision boards. In

the event, fashion, graphic, interior, textile and other related design fields they’re most commonly

known as mood boards. They are as their name suggests, a presentation board, that’s used to create

the mood of the intended design or its Look & Feel.

Once you’ve been through your conceptualization stage and you have a good idea about

the design directions you’d like to take, you can start putting together mood boards. These will

eventually be used for your first presentation to the client to give them an idea of how you see the

moodor look & feel of the event

What are mood boards used for?

Mood boards can be used for a varietyof things depending on which design field you work in and at what

level. Some designers who work to create their own product, such as fashion designers, will use mood

boards to arrange their ideas for their “story” or fashion collection they are designing. It’s sometimes

called a story because there is a common theme that links everything together and takes you on a visual

journey, a bit like a story would.

These stories aren’t written with words - (although they often start that way with notes) - they are

created visually using different media. Media is any material you might use in the creation of a mood

board for example, card, paper, paint, ink, pencil, fabrics, and photos, etc. You can use whatever you

need, to achieve the right mood or look & feel for your design direction.

If you’re a designer in the event, interior or graphic design fields, you’re most likely going to be hired as

freelancer, have your own business or company or work for an event management company or

design/ad agency. In this situation you’ll mostly have to complete work for a client, whether they be

an individual or large corporate entity/group of companies.

Whoever the client may be, you will use your Mood Boards as a presentation tool to communicate

your ideas for the mood or look & feel of the event. This will be the first time the client has the

chance to see what ideas you’ve come up with and whether they fit their perspective of how they see

the event. Presentations are very important because this is where you will find out if you’re on

the right track and you’ll also get feedback from the client, good or not so good.

Ways to create mood boards

When it comes to creating mood boards, you’re only limited by your imagination. How you create them

is entirely up to you and of course will be influenced by the type of clientyou’re working for and the type

and scale of the event – remember to stick to the brief and your notes!

Traditionally, mood boards are created on what is sometimes called Display Board or Poster-board. It’s

made from a rigid material that’s strong enough to stand on its own and have other materials or media

applied to it. You can usually get it at specialist stationers and art supply stores.

As mentioned earlier, there are so many different media that can be used in the creation of a mood

board. The selection will depend on the type of event and the style of the design. If the event is a wedding

for example, you might use photos, fabrics, textured materials, color swatches/patches, paints and

illustrations.

Whatever you need to communicate the mood or look & feel for that particular event is what you will

use.

Depending on the client and the event, you could also use technology to present your mood boards. Once

you’ve done your initial concept work, completed any research and created some roughs, you could then

go to the computer to create the mood boards. You could use software such as Photoshop,

Illustrator perhaps even InDesign and specialist software such as Sampleboard, Moodboard

Lite or Olioboard to name a few. We’ll take a closer look at design software in Module 4.

If you are using a mix of photographs and drawings, there are so many resources now available online,

such as Image Spark, Moodstream, and of course Pintrest are ideal for mood board material. Always be

aware of Copyright© law when using shared images in commercial environments!

Another very important thing to remember when creating your mood boards is the basic Design

Principles! Always engage Balance, Proportion, Rhythm, Emphasis and Unity. You’ll need to use these

design principles to pull everything together so it works harmoniously.

Mood board layout

You can place the media on the board as collage (collection) in an organized balanced way, or a

more random, organic & emotional way. Again it depends on the event type, the client and style

you’re going for.

There are different ways a mood board can be laid out, again depending on the design theme. First

you’ll have to decide if you will go with a Portrait or Landscape orientation. Then divide the board

according to the Rule of Thirds – this will give you a focal point that will direct the eye to a main

feature. With the rule of thirds it isn’t a central focal point it’s always slightly off center.

Standard layout of the media on the board comes in 5 arrangements, these include:

Band – linear row of images balanced with any text as well as negative space

Axial – for compositions that tend to branch out from each other

Group – as it suggests, arranged in groups perhaps according to different elements

Grid – in a grid like pattern, as you might see in a newspaper

Path – has an emphasis on the visual movement through the images

What a Mood Board should communicate

Mood boards should be evocative or emotionally suggestive and develop a theme to engage the

client’simagination. The theme is based on the brief and your research will usually follow

a trend such as:

Industrial

Lifestyle

Nature

Retro

Pop-culture

Sub-culture

Minimalist

Ethnic

Environment

If you’re lucky enough to be on a job where you have some creative leeway or freedom, you can mix

and match trends to create new ones. Subcultures are a great example of mixing and matching

trends. Just think of Steampunk, Gothic Lolita, Cozplay, Hipster and New Romantic, to name just a

few. By playing with themes and trends you’ll not only have fun you’ll also have many concepts to

draw on. All you have to do then is decide which the right one for the job is.

Ultimately the mood board must communicate your design ideas to the client in a clear and visually

exciting way. It should fulfill not only the brief but hopefully the client’s perspective. If you have done

your job well, feedback should be positive and changes or revisions, minimal.

Client feedback and redeveloping ideas

We’ve had a good look at the importance of the brief and the information it should contain

as well as the importance of trying to understand the client’s perspective. If you’ve

followed the process from the beginning and made sure you’ve listened and focused during

any initial meetings or briefing sessions, you should have a good idea of what’s required.

Never be afraid to ask questions if you’re not sure about something because we know how

crucial it is that you see things from the client’s perspective and understand them early.

We’ve talked more about developing your creative ideas from the information and

understanding you have. We’ve also re-examined the process from conceptualization to

developing design themes, trends and stories, through to the creation of mood boards

and their important role in the presentation.

Once your mood boards are complete and ready for presentation, it’s time to meet with the

client, to sell your ideas, for their event. This is where you take those precious concepts you

so lovingly imagined, created and developed, out into the cold, hard light of day (harsh

reality). It’s a big moment because this is when you and all your hard work have to speak

directly to the client, meaning it has to have a positive impact on them.

Depending on the size of the occasion and whether you’re presenting to one person or a team, the

whole process can be a little daunting or overwhelming. This is where you’re communications

skills really go-to-work. You need to be confident and calm, so you can get your ideas across clearly

and really sell them. If you’ve done your homework and you know your client and what they want,

this should make you more confident.

Presentations require:

Confidence

Communications skills/public speaking

Professionalism

Some sales and marketing skills

Analytical skills

Good personal appearance

Interpersonal skills

o Verbal communication

o Non-verbal communication

o Listening

o Questioning

o Manners

o Problem solving

o Social awareness

o Self-management/controlling your emotions

o Responsibility/accountability

o Assertiveness

It seems like you need to be perfect or superhuman but it’s not as incredible as it looks. You can

teach yourself all of these things and in most cases; if you’re aware of them you learn quickly

with practice and experience. You also probably won’t need all of these skills when you present

mood boards to a client but it will help to have a few.

Getting feedback

After your presentation the client will give you feedback based on their thoughts of the design

direction and whether or not it fits with their perspective. If done professionally, feedback can be very

helpful in refining and improving the design direction.

If the feedback isn’t what you expected or you felt it was a bit negative, don’t be offended, insulted or

upset. This feedback is all part of the process and can be a very valuable experience. It’s rare to get

things perfect the first time and there are always changes made along the way for a variety of

reason. Don’t take negative feedback as a personal affront to your talent as designer. It’s not

personal it’s about the client getting exactly what they want.

Clients can often be wrong, so don’t be afraid to defend your ideas and back them up. Just

remember to be professional and respectful. During the feedback session, be sure and take notes as

the client offers their opinion and perspective. In some cases feedback may be given to you in a

written report or a revised brief after the feedback session. This revised brief plus your feedback

notes will be the basis of the re-development of your design work.

During feedback it’s important to:

Be professional at all times

Listen carefully

Take notes

Be calm/manage your emotions

Be flexible

Be understanding

Offer alternatives/be proactive

Post presentation and feedback

Once the dust has settled and you realize the world didn’t fall in on you, it’s time to get back to the

drawing board. The feedback given by the client should have been extremely valuable in helping

you to refine the design direction.

Head back to the studio, set up your mood boards and study the revised brief, your feedback notes,

or both. You might need to have a bit of a re-conceptualize at this point, to see how you can

develop what you already have, into what is ultimately needed. You don’t have to start from the

beginning; you just need to find a way to connect everything so it works.

Take the things you have that do work and set aside the ones that don’t. Begin to incorporate new

ideas or variations that are consistent with the feedback. By sticking to your process and keeping

calm you’ll be able to get the look & feel back on track ready for approval.

Tip

Working well with clients is the most important part of your business because without clients you’ll

have no business. This doesn’t mean you have to do or think everything the client suggests because

they can often be wrong and sometimes they just misunderstand what you’re trying to do, or say.

Developing and utilizing good inter-personal skills, communication skills and design communication

skills will be invaluable in working well with clients. The feedback they offer is also invaluable

because it can help you refine your work and make it better. Being able to see things from their

perspective will enable you to be adaptable and develop design directions that work for the client

and for you.

Just remember, you’re a designer and not everyone speaks your design language, so help them by

communicating clearly and by understanding how they see things. This will make for a wonderful

and rewarding relationship with the people you work with. It will teach you more about the process

and it will help grow your client base.