[thelist] Spec Work...?
aardvark
roselli at earthlink.net
Wed Aug 29 07:57:30 CDT 2001
> From: "Eric Langlitz" <feed at chicken3.com>
[...]
> Any thoughts/comments/experiences?
nope, don't do it... it is also possible that the client is one of those
who is never happy... how did the client characterize previous
experiences? have you heard anything on the street? i have had a
few clients who just do *not* like any designs you provide, and
have been through every designer in town... eventually, you just
have to disengage them... doing work for that type of client on
anything other than a pay basis is a bad idea -- they rarely value
the work...
that's another key, people tend to not value something they get for
free... i think isaac already mentioned that, tho...
*if* you want to pursue this, take half an hour or so and sit down
with the client... get a list of sites the client likes, or wants his/her
site to be similar to (not ripped off from)... get an idea of
colors/shapes/designs/treatments/etc. that are right out and ones
that may work... don't move until you have a list of design
ideas/elements that you and the client have put together (and that
the client has signed off on)...
then do a threesome of mock-ups -- for pay... perhaps a reduced
cost if you want to cut the client a break...
meet with the client for criticism to see what works and what
doesn't... keep a running list... when the client says "i don't like
green," you can tell him/her where to stick it when he/she asks for
a green navbar (can you tell this has happened before?) after a
design round...
you can now restart the process... lather, rinse, repeat for each
series of designs...
when the design is picked, lock it down... get sign off, and make
any changes to the design clearly out of scope...
i remember a client who made it clear he didn't want tabbed
navigation... within two weeks he made me put in tabbed
navigation... we've all got stories like this, so be prepared for it to
happen...
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