Wed, April 20, 2005
On Iteration—11:59 AM
Since I'm in all-redesign all-the-time mode, I've been clicking on the blog links that refer to the design process a little more often than I usually do. This one is about whether you should present design clients with multiple options, or put all your energy into one and then convince them how great it is:
One Idea is Better than Three [Garret Dimon]
I definitely agree, although I'd hesitate to hire this guy as a consultant based on all the spelling mistakes. It got me thinking, though, about what a difference it is when the designer is the client (as in my case, currently). You can't generate a bunch of concepts internally and only show the client the best one if you're also the client. As a result, I'm not sure if my process is faster or slower. I do sometimes notice myself stepping back and putting on the "client hat" to evaluate the different options I'm generating. But a lot of the time, I'm designing, considering, rejecting, and reworking all at the same time. Which is nice in some ways, but frustrating in others. You don't have someone pushing you to consider a completely new approach. I've tried creating that pressure artificially, which has worked to some extent – especially when going "back to the drawing board" with a method like the "Patterns in Web Design" article I mentioned previously.
"kotc" — Wed, 4/20/05 5:41pm
ooooh, 37signals. Yummy.