T H E I N T E R S E C T I O N O F C L I E N T S + D E S I G N

W O R D C A M P G R A N D R A P I D S

Taylor Vanden Hoek | Web Designer

A designers perspective on working with clients of different sizes to form creative solutions that meet them where they’re at, and where they’re going.

A L I T T L E A B O U T M E

• Print / Web Designer with a focus on Digital

• Transitioned into Web / Responsive / User Experience

• WordPress specifically in the past 3 years

• PHP / Javascript focus in the past 2 years

T Y P E S O F C L I E N T S

• Lone Rangers

• Boutiques / Grassroots

• Serial Entrepreneurs

• Tech Startups

• Established Startups

• Industrial Manufacturers

• International Corporations

T Y P E S O F C L I E N T S

• Lone Rangers

• Boutiques / Grassroots

• Serial Entrepreneurs

• Tech Startups

• Established Startups

• Industrial Manufacturers

• International Corporations

Understanding the context of the project is just as important as the solution.

B E Y O N D T H E R F PS TA R T I N G A N E W P R O J E C T

B E Y O N D T H E R F P

1. Does the RFP address their needs?

2. Who is the main point of contact?

3. Are there barriers to your existing process?

C L I E N T SR E A L - W O R L D E X A M P L E S

F I R S T H A N D A I DB O U T I Q U E / G R A S S R O O T S

Supporting the people of Cuba through in-person relationships and directly delivered medical aid.

T H E P R O J E C T

• Design / Develop a new website

• Make it easy to add resources like videos, pdfs, events

• Open to a logo / brand refresh

• Communicate what the organization does (better)

• Make it easy to manage (no training)

C L I E N T B A C K G R O U N D

• Board Members vote on all decisions (1x monthly)

• 1 Board Member assigned to this project

• Client editors would be non-technical with very limited time to invest in making changes

FIRST-HAND AID

LOGO USAGE

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TYPOGRAPHY

B A S E D O N W H AT W E L E A R N E D …

• Utilized WordPress out-of-the-box features

• Keeps the admin panel clean of extra plugins

• Features are easily supported by WordPress community - easy to find tutorials / training

H O R T O N W O R K ST E C H S TA R T- U P

Founded in 2011 by 24 engineers, Hortonworks provides experience and training for Hadoop development, designing, building, and testing.

T H E P R O J E C T

• Support ongoing changes to the website with design and development

C L I E N T B A C K G R O U N D

• Worked with Marketing Director

• Client can communicate what is needed but often lacks the UX experience to develop a plan

• Company continues to grow rapidly (from 12 to hundreds of engineers)

W E F I R E D T H E C L I E N TS O M E T I M E S T H I N G S D O N ’ T W O R K

B A S E D O N W H AT W E L E A R N E D …

• Internal technical team making changes simultaneously

• Huge changes to make admin panel accessible - dozes of departments edit their own content

• Lots of custom plugins

• Scrapped a lot of work throughout the project

K O N T I K II N T E R N A T I O N A L C O R P O R A T I O N

An international leader in cloud-based enterprise video solutions.

T H E P R O J E C T

• Increase sales of a particular service in hopes to make it a flagship service for the company

• Competitors have a strong hold on the service in the market even though the clients service is superior

• Client is unsure how to turn the sales pitch into the fully realized marketing plan

C L I E N T B A C K G R O U N D

• Worked with Marketing Director - solely focused on brand consistency and sales

• Client reported to several chiefs and departments

• International locations can pose another level of complexity for solutions

B A S E D O N W H AT W E L E A R N E D …

• Equipped the client with knowledge to ‘pitch’ ideas internally and get buy-in company-wide

• Developed action-oriented concept into a responsive landing page

• Made the page editable & repeatable by client

• Get to know your clients

• Be ‘appropriately’ flexible with your process

• Advocate for what you know is right

• Help clients understand your perspective

T H A N K S !

taylor.vandenhoek@gmail.com | taylorvdh.com