Knowing what your site should look like isn’t always easy. Some clients have strong ideas about design and come to us with a complete brief, whereas others have a really hard time conveying just how they’d like their site to look.
Don’t panic
It’s important to remember that there’s nothing wrong with this. It’s up to your designer to work with you and ask the questions that will allow them to understand your needs. We’ll talk about this from the designer’s perspective in another article but here are a few things that you can do to help them create the perfectly site for your needs
Everyday influence
The best thing about the web is that we use it every day, so without knowing it we often have a good idea about what we do and don’t like. Take a look around sites that you use regularly and note down things that you like the look of and also the styles and details that you’re not so keen on. You can then think about how these relate to your web project and you may well find that there are direct parallels.
Focus on the details
You don’t have to reference an entire design that does the job perfectly. It could just be one tiny thing that you like: a button that looks great or the way someone’s designed a menu that catches your eye. Note these down and show your designer as examples of page elements that might fit in with your project.
Talk talk talk
Remember that anything you can give your designer to help them understand your needs will help get you a better end result. As with most things in a web project one of the most important things is to get everyone talking and sharing ideas from the start. Keep in touch with your design team regularly and share any ideas or thoughts that you have, no matter how big or small, and you should be well on your way to a great looking site.