Where does it all go wrong in the feedback process... ..avoiding "McGraphics".

Something that we hear a lot from fellow designers is that they have lost control of their client, in so far as feedback just keeps coming, sometimes from multiple people, and the designer feels that they are losing money and that the project has gone way off scope.

We used to get this, but over the last couple of years have made changes to avoid it (more on that another time... I thought we had it sussed but Paul Boag gave me a bit of advice which has caused me to try another approach - Rick).




We call this issue, "McGraphics"... McGraphics is where your client becomes )or believes they become) the 'design expert' and begins prescribing how and what you should be doing with the design. They might say, "can we have this part blue, that bit red and make that part circular, please". When this starts to happen, the minute you say "yes, ok no problem", you start to lose control and take a submissive role in the relationship.

The way to retain control of the feedback process is to position yourself as the expert RIGHT AT THE START... remain positive but establish the fact that you are a design expert and explain to the client HOW to provide feedback. It's important that (ideally at the kick-off meeting) you ask the client to focus on the objectives of the project, and leave the design solutions for meeting those objectives, to you.


If you get this wrong, or fall into a submissive role, this is what you get:



Graphic and Web Design in Daventry and Northampton from Look, Touch & Feel Design