By Brendan Dekker

If you’re the type of person that gets confused with words like aesthetics, visual tension, fluidity, dominance, and balance then this article is for you. In many industries (and the web industry in particular), it is extremely important that a designer and a client can communicate their thoughts and ideas in a very efficient manner. It is often difficult for a designer to grasp a business concept, as well as for a businessman to understand the importance of good design. This is a gap that must be closed for a project to be executed efficiently.

It must first be established that the client/designer relationship be founded in TRUST, each one knowing undoubtedly that the other is good at what they do. Contrary to popular belief, a designer’s job is not merely to make something look nice… that job belongs to an artist. A designer’s efforts attempt to merge functionality and ease of use with style and attractiveness, as well as to do so in a way that fits with your company’s image. This is not an easy task. At the same time, it becomes the clients responsibly to communicate to the designer their wants, needs, and initial ideas (if they have any) BEFORE the design process has begun. There is nothing more inefficient than a client telling a designer what they want AFTER the efforts have been made to create a good design.

The next step is communication throughout the design process. If your designer starts rambling off an assortment of terms that don’t make sense to you, stop them. The designer’s job is not to confuse the client. Don’t be afraid to ask questions to find out what something means. After all, the designer is working for you. In contrast to this, always remember that you trust your designer. Why would you have hired them in the first place if you didn’t? If efforts are made to communicate ideas throughout the process in an organized manner, the result will effectively be a happy client. If a “happy client” is something you’d like to be, it is important to remember three key terms… trust, organization, and communication.