Taken from Future of Web Design (#FOWD), London 2015 Conference. http://futureofwebdesign.com/london-2015 It's fair to say that clients often get painted as the bad guy in our industry. I mean, who else is at fault when projects go awry? Well, more often than not, it could be entirely avoided by extending our pursuit of delightful user experiences to how we approach our clients as well. In this talk, Matt will cover how to build fantastic client relationships, by design. He'll share tried and tested techniques which can be applied to reduce stress, satisfy clients and ultimately deliver better user experiences for everyone.

1. HELLO.I’m Matt
@duckymatt
#FOWD

2. @cyberduck_uk cyber-duck.co.uk

3. CLIENTS
Image credit: Hughes Entertainment, Twentieth Century Fox (Home Alone, 1990)

4. CLIENTS
WORKING WITH
BETTER
Image credit: Paramount Pictures (Top Gun, 1986)

5. Image credit: Columbia Pictures (Groundhog Day, 1993)
I’VE BEEN HERE BEFORE
THING IS,

6. FOWD?
SO, HOW DOES THAT RELATE TO

7. CLIENTBLAMING
REASON #1

8. Spent days putting this awesome design together
and just got client feedback. Looks like I'll be
spending the next few days ruining it!!
Gah. Working w/ a client who doesn't get this.
Making my head explode. They don't care about UX.
When you push forward a client design request
that you both know is a terrible idea.
Image credit: Talkback Thames and Channel 4 TV (The IT Crowd, 2006)

9. Image credit: Capella International, Eric’s Boy, KC Medien, Moving Pictures and New Line Cinema (Austin Powers, 1997)

10. http://clientsfromhell.net/

11. http://www.sharpsuits.net/

12. http://www.sharpsuits.net/

13. CAN YOU MAKE IT SO
PLAYS EVERY TIME SOMEONE
RECEIVES AN EMAIL FROM US?

14. BE RESPONSIBLE
FOR YOURSELF
AND YOUR WORK
Image credit: Universal Pictures (Frankenstein, 1931)

15. How much of the
shit we complain
about all day has
our fingerprints
all over it?
MIKE MONTEIRO
Photo credit: Amber Gregory: https://www.flickr.com/photos/fontshop/7091584773/ Check Out: http://www.abookapart.com/products/design-is-a-job

16. THE ‘R’ WORD
REASON #2

18. You don't get to decide which
device people use to access
your website.
KAREN MCGRANE
Source: http://alistapart.com/article/your-content-now-mobile
Photo credit: Eirik Helland Urke: http://www.flickr.com/photos/webdagene/6149954950/

19. THE WEB DOESN’T HAVE
A FIXED WIDTH

20. WE’VE HAD TO
ADAPT TO THESE
CHALLENGES
Image credit: Paramount Pictures (Airplane!, 1980)

21. I CLIENT WORK
REASON #3

22. Image credit: Chartoff-Winkler Productions and United Artists (Rocky, 1976)
CLIENT WORK IS REWARDING

23. BUT IT CAN ALSO BE CHALLENGING
Image credit: Bold Films, Blumhouse and Right of Way (Whiplash, 2014)

24. The design process is
weird and complicated
because it involves
people…
…who are weird and
complicated.
MARK BOULTON
Photo credit: Anton Peck: http://www.flickr.com/photos/26545827@N00/5691825327/ Source: http://bradfrostweb.com/blog/post/where-theres-muck-theres-brass-mark-boulton-at-smashing-conference/

25. CLIENT WORK IS ALL
ABOUT RELATIONSHIPS
Image credit: Touchstone Pictures (Turner & Hooch, 1989)

26. THREE KEY FACETS
Image credit: L.A. Films and HBO (¡Three Amigos!, 1986)

27. EMPATHY
TRUST
COMMUNICATION

28. EMPATHY

29. PUT YOURSELF IN YOUR CLIENT’S SHOES
Image credit: Cinema Group Ventures and Paramount Pictures (Trading Places, 1983)

30. Image credit: Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation and Cubicle Inc. (Office Space, 1999)
UMMM, YEAH…

31. CLIENTS WANT TO BE GUIDED
CLEARLY DEFINE THE ROLES OF
THE CLIENT RELATIONSHIP.
Image credit: Paramount Pictures (Forrest Gump, 1994)

32. SETTING AND MANAGING
EXPECTATIONS

33. YOU DON’T GET A SECOND CHANCE
TO MAKE A GOOD FIRST IMPRESSION.
Image credit: Pixar Animation Studios & Walt Disney (Toy Story, 1995)

34. Image credit: Lucasfilm Games LLC (The Secret of Monkey Island, 1990)
THE SALES PROCESS

35. Image credit: TriStar Pictures & Gracie Films (Jerry Maguire, 1996)
FIND OUT WHAT
THEIR BUDGET IS UP-FRONT

36. VALUE BASED PRICING
Image credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/markart/236849245/

37. THE CONTRACT
Image credit: New Line Cinema, MGM & WingNut Films (The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, 2012) Check out Contract Killer: https://gist.github.com/malarkey/4031110

38. Check out shouldIworkforfree.com

39. Image credit: Walt Disney Pictures (Cool Runnings, 1993)
KICKING OFF THE PROJECT

40. ONE ON ONE
INTERVIEWS
Image credit: Village Roadshow Pictures, NPV Entertainment, Baltimore Pictures, Spring Creek Productions, Face Productions, Tribeca Productions (Analyse This, 1999)
http://goodkickoffmeetings.com/2010/04/stakeholder-frontloading/
BEFORE ANY MEETINGS

41. The turning point in
many interviews is when
the interviewee gets up
and closes the office door
and lowers their voice.
PAUL BOAG
Photo credit: Andreas Øverland: http://www.flickr.com/photos/andreasoverland/4954194732/ Source: http://boagworld.com/business-strategy/how-to-improve-your-site-using-stakeholder-interviews/

42. GOALS
REALITY
OPTIONS
WAY FORWARD

43. ACTIVELY
LISTEN
Image credit: Hartswood Films, BBC Wales & Masterpiece (Sherlock, 2010)

44. AVOID MOVING GOAL POSTS
http://dilbert.com/strips/comic/2000-11-05/

45. TRUST

46. INTEGRITY
RELIABILITY
TRANSPARENCY
RESPECT

47. HONESTY
DON’T OVER-PROMISE
AND UNDER-DELIVER
Image credit: RKO Radio Pictures and Walt Disney Productions (Pinocchio, 1940)

48. BE RELIABLE
DELIVER WHEN
YOU SAY YOU WILL
Image credit: Warner Bros, Guber-Peters Company and PolyGram Filmed Entertainment (Batman, 1989)

49. This is the extraordinary thing
about creativity: If you just
keep your mind resting against
the subject in a friendly but
persistent way, sooner or later
you will get a reward from your
subconscious…
…If you've put in the pondering
time in first.
JOHN CLEESE
John Cleese on Creativity - Watch every second of it, you won’t regret it, I guarantee it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AU5x1Ea7NjQ

50. GIVE UPDATES
EVEN IF THERE ISN’T
MUCH TO REPORT
Image credit: Columbia Pictures Corporation and Hawk Films (Dr Strangelove, 1964)

51. TRANSPARENCY
INVOLVE YOUR CLIENT
THROUGHOUT THE DESIGN PROCESS
Image credit: Universal Pictures, Amblin Entertainment, U-Drive Productions (Back to the Future, 1985)

52. TAKE THE CLIENT ON THE
JOURNEY WITH YOUImage credit: MGM and Loew’s (The Wizard of Oz, 1939)

53. SURPRISES
SUCK
Image credit: Lucasfilm (Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back, 1980)

54. WORKSHOPS
ARE A
DESIGNER’S
BEST FRIEND
Check out: http://alistapart.com/article/the-core-model-designing-inside-out-for-better-results

55. EXPOSE YOUR
CLIENTS
TO RESEARCH
DIRECTLY

56. There is a direct
correlation between
this exposure and the
improvements we see
in the designs that
team produces.
JARED SPOOL
Photo credit: Jeffrey Zeldman: http://www.flickr.com/photos/zeldman/8614173005/
http://www.uie.com/articles/user_exposure_hours/

57. RESPECT
NOT
REVERENCE
Image credit: Paramount Pictures, Alfran Productions (The Godfather, 1972)

58. SORRY DAVE
Image credit: MGM and Stanley Kubrick Productions (2001: A Space Odyssey, 1968)

59. FIND THE PERFECT BALANCE
Image credit: Paramount Pictures and Lucasfilm (The Raiders of the Lost Ark, 1981)

60. Your ego is a
bad designer
CHRISTOPHER BUTLER
http://www.newfangled.com/your_ego_is_a_bad_designer

61. UNCOVER THE
UNDERLYING
PROBLEM
GET THE CLIENT TO
FOCUS ON PROBLEMS
RATHER THAN SOLUTIONS.
Image credit: NBC Universal Television (Columbo, 1971)

62. STAY POSITIVE MEANS YOU CAN SAY NO
WITHOUT BEING THE ‘NO’
PERSON
Image credit: Walt Disney and Pixar Studios. (Up, 2009)

63. MAYA ANGELOU
Photo credit: York College ISLGP http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Maya_Angelou_visits_YCP!_2413.jpg
People will forget what you said.
People will forget what you did.
But people will never forget
how you made them feel.

64. Not only were we satisfied with the quality of work carried
out for us, but we also really enjoyed working closely with
the team in both a professional and personal capacity.
It was very dynamic and creative. I always felt they
really cared about the project.
Great team to work with, everyone was
enthusiastic from the first day to the final delivery.
Image credit: Broadway Video, Little Stranger, NBC Universal Television (30 Rock, 2006)

65. COMMUNICATION

66. ACTIVELY AVOID
MISINTERPRETATION
FORK HANDLES
OR FOUR CANDLES?
Image credit: BBC. (The Two Ronnies, 1976)

67. When you're struggling
to write a sensitive email,
stop trying. Pick up the
phone and call instead.
CARL SMITH
http://devianthippie.com/ Source: https://twitter.com/carlsmith/status/430505161765974017

68. PRESENT DESIGNS,
DON’T JUST EMAIL THEM
Image credit: Dreamworks SKG, Universal Pictures, Scott Free Productions, Mill Film, C&L, Dawliz and Red Wagon Entertainment (Gladiator, 2000)

69. DESIGN FEEDBACK
PASS THE MESSAGE
Image credit: Thames Television (The Sooty Show, 1968-1992)

71. YOUR DESIGNS WON’T
SELL THEMSELVES
Image credit: Gracie Films and 20th Century Fox Television (The Simpsons, 1997)

72. “WHAT DO YOU THINK?”
IS THE ENEMY OF
CONSTRUCTIVE FEEDBACK
Image credit: Warner Bros, Hawk Films, Peregrine and The Producer Circle Company (The Shining, 1980)

73. The client didn’t hire
you to make something
they liked, and
something they like may
not be the thing that
leads to their success.
MIKE MONTEIRO
Photo credit: Amber Gregory: https://www.flickr.com/photos/fontshop/7091584773/ Source: https://medium.com/@monteiro/13-ways-designers-screw-up-client-presentations-51aaee11e28c

74. KEEP DESIGN CRITIQUES
GOAL ORIENTED
Image credit: NASA (http://www.nasa.gov/centers/johnson/about/history/jsc40/jsc40_pg8.html)

75. BE CONSISTENT
IN YOUR USE
OF LANGUAGE
Available on iOS or Android: http://uxcompanion.com/

76. SOME OF THE WAYS
WE FOSTER BETTER
COMMUNICATION

77. SKETCHING
Image credit: Twentieth Century Fox Films, Paramount Pictures and Lightstorm Entertainment (Titanic, 1997)

78. PROTOTYPING
Image credit: Paramount Pictures, Marvel Studios, Fairview Entertainment and Dark Blades Films (Iron Man, 2008)

79. STYLE TILES
http://styletil.es/

80. http://boagworld.com/design/pattern-library/
PATTERN LIBRARIES

81. TEST, TEST, AND TEST SOME MORE
Image credit: The Ladd Company, Shaw Brothers and Warner Bros. (Blade Runner, 1982)

82. EMPATHY
TRUST
COMMUNICATION

83. SO NEXT TIME
Image credit: Michael White Productions, National Film Trustee Company and Monty Python Pictures (Monty Python and the Holy Grail, 1975)

84. WHAT COULD YOU HAVE
DONE DIFFERENTLY?

85. COULD YOU HAVE DEFINED
THE ROLES BETTER?

86. DID YOU SET AND MANAGE
THEIR EXPECTATIONS?

87. DID YOU COLLABORATE AND
INVOLVE THEM AS AN EQUAL?

88. DID YOU STRUCTURE
FEEDBACK APPROPRIATELY?

89. SOMETIMES…

90. No matter how much you try,
you can’t stop people from
sticking beans up their nose.
JARED SPOOL
Source: http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2011/07/08/beans-and-noses/Photo credit: Brandon Dilbeck (http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:JellyBellyBeans.jpg)

91. MORE OFTEN…

92. LEARN YOU MUST
Image credit: Lucasfilm (Star Wars: Episode I, 1999)

93. AND DO BETTER
Image credit: Warner Bros, Village Roadshow Pictures, A&E Television Network,
Bazmark Films, Red Wagon Entertainment and Spectrum Films (The Great Gatsby, 2013)

94. THANK YOU
@duckymatt
Copyright: Studio 37 & La Petite Reine & La Classe Américaine
& JD Prod & France 3 Cinéma & Jouror Productions & uFilm (The Artist, 2011)