I was a bit taken aback, as I was taught a sort of prototyping process in art school: starting off with competitions to see who could have the most thumbnail sketches the first day after the brief was given (50 was the most I ever heard of), then systematically working our way down to at least 3 potential finalists, the best of which was selected by the professor and the class for final completion.

Then I thought about Mr. Sagmeister, his work and his fame, and it made sense that design celebrity could have certain perks (along with speaking engagements and design projects from clients like Adobe and Lou Reed). However, his idea conjured up visions of a prima donna designer bullying his clients into submission “You do not like it? No design for you!”

But as I got to know Stefan, I began to realize he is not like this at all. In fact, while he can be very frank and straight-speaking, he seems to have a lighthearted and amiable way of doing it... In April 2004 I worked with him for a month, and I watched him propose one heckuva crazy poster to a client who had given him a completely different headline and concept to follow. In one short meeting he had the client sold. Of course, I became even more curious and asked him more about the whole “one design proposal” thing.

“What if they do not like your design proposal at all? Do you ‘fire the client’?” No, not at all. He carefully considers the client’s perspective and hesitations, and if they are valid concerns he creates another proposal or two to get the job done. But this has only happened once or twice in all his years of working on his own.

Only once or twice???

Amazing. Admittedly, we’re talking about a maestro, who does have some secret talent the rest us of don’t. No amount of step-by-step will ever teach me that. And so I chalked it up to one of the benefits of being Sagmeister, and proceeded to carry on like normal for the next few years. Present at least 3 finished design concepts to my clients, then combine elements of them for the final. Rinse, repeat. Sigh.

Then, in late 2005 I finally picked up a book that Brian May had been trying to get me to read for years: Creating the Perfect Design Brief by Peter L. Phillips (of Gillette and the Design Management institute). I still have only made it through the first 5 chapters, but chapter 3 really struck me.

In that chapter, Phillips argues that designers need to convince their clients to “partner” with them on the design solution. That is, to participate so completely in the design process that they feel as much ownership of the solution as the designer. Mr. Phillips says that this is done most effectively when designer and business partner reach agreement on the objectives the design must achieve.

This agreement is reached by building trust: the designer establishes trust by interviewing, listening, researching and strategizing with their partner to draft a set of objectives both parties can agree to; a document known as the design brief.

Phillips says far more than this of course, and much more coherently than I have stated here. But the major point is this: build trust with your partner (the person formerly known as “client”) to establish clear and measurable objectives for the design, so that they will then respect your expertise on the subjectives of the design (how it should look).

This made sense to me. It also clicked with me that some of my colleagues (Michael Hendrix and Jonathan Bragdon) had been employing this sort of tactic for several years with good success — using business consulting to lead to design work. I thought I would give it a try.

So I enlisted the help of design colleague Matt Greenwell (who has a knack for collecting then synthesizing and clarifying information) and Caleb Ludwick, our marketing strategist / writer. We sat down with our “partners” and went through a discovery process that not only helped guide our design but helped the client unearth, explore and articulate their business goals. We then reported it back to them, got approval, designed and presented the one concept for the whole identity. They loved it.

Since then we have done many projects exactly like that. And no, not every project has a happy ending. A couple have been pretty sad, as a matter of fact.

But then, when I think about how many of our “three design concept presentations” have not had happy endings, it seems to be a wash. With one major exception: that with one proposal I did not waste my time designing 2 proposals I hoped would not be chosen. Additionally, I can say that the fact that the clients who were not happy with the proposed design are also clients whose companies did not have clear business goals or target audience. One has since split into two organizations, another has yet to get off the ground (a year after we parted ways). A third is doing okay with a logo from another agency (yes, from time to time this happens too).

Today’s lesson, then, is “Do your homework. Do the research. Build a good team, and build trust with your business partner. Then work very hard to select the one design that best achieves the objectives.”

It is scary and risky I know. But come on, it’s your job after all. You are a professional charging professional rates.

Still not convinced? Let me answer your questions with questions:
- Do you really want your accountant to set out three different tax returns for you?
- Who expects their doctor to give three different diagnoses of their symptoms?
- And when was the last time a chef sent out three versions of the same ingredients prepared three different ways for you to choose from? Oh, and only charged you for the one meal?

Mmmhmm. Listen to Slim:

You better lose yourself in the music, the moment
You want it, you better never let it go
You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow
This opportunity comes once in a lifetime yo.

Good article Paul. I’ve been using the one design concept for 2 years now and it works great. Most clients don’t know what their objectives are and can’t figure out how to write them down. I help them get objectives on paper and then design the concept from their brief. Of course, when I present the concept, they forget their goals and trip over themselves about how it looks. This used to bother me. Now I see it as another business opportunity. I quote a flat fee for one design concept and then time and materials for as many revisions as they have the budget to make. Inevitably they either run out of budget or figure out that the original design concept works just fine.

ooo - now that's an idea whose time has come. thanks for sharing frank.

Wow good insight Paul! Thanks for sharing

This all resonates with me as I'm sure many others. Especially now working in a corp. in-house dept, I see the importance of partnerships that you're speaking of and the positive effect is has on our projects. Our time spent concepting, writing, designing etc. isn't observed as billable hours so there is a natural tendency for projects to become mismanaged and lead to rewrites and yes even version #15 brochure!Yep!

So more and more I'm realizing the importance of closing that gap (and more importantly that it's MY responsibility) between my role as a designer and the client's - and sadly it's often by way of a post-mortem evaluation of a project. After the frustration is over,it's easy to see the holes in the process whether the objectives were unclear etc. but it usually boils down to lack of communication. I bet Stefan never had issues because he took the time to create partnerships wherein he and his client felt comfortable exchanging ideas and worked together towards one solution. He never needed excuses like "they didn't like anything I showed them" or "they keep changing their mind".
Oh my face is red - is yours? Yep I'm guilty too .

Paul,

Trust. Partnership. Exchange. Shared responsibility. That is a concept for success. If a client feels a part of the process, it's pretty hard to argue with the end result. I applaud your approach to building good business relationships. In sharing and listening, one generally finds consensus. The lesson you have learned and applied to your business is something others never grasp. How unfortunate for it could have saved them countless hours of frustration, anger, and disappointment. In the end, clients want to do business with their friends.

You're discussing strategic client management really, Paul. Each customer requires managing differently. Some customers will not be able to handle a single choice -- they feel trapped. Some can -- they want to be told what to do. If different designers can solve a single problem with varying results then surely a single firm can provide appropriate and varied quality designs when necessary. That's where staff come in handy. Guess I don't see an across the board solution but a client specific one.

It also helps if you're a talented designer. Client investment doesn't necessarily ensure a good product or that they'll like the end result, it just increases the odds.

Of course, submitting more than one design can be useful, good cop bad cop style. Backfires if they pick the bad design.

If the goal is to convince the client to pick the right design, I can see the usefulness of employing different strategies for each client.

Good points — I do believe every client is different and should not be handled systematically. And I most certainly believe there are unlimited potential design solutions for any project (far more than even 3). But I do believe one of two things happens whenever I present more than one idea:

1) I am afraid of the client — that they won't like what I propose or they won't think I've done enough work — so I am presenting several ideas. Even though I know which one I would pick for them.

2) Or I am not doing my job by choosing the BEST design from among the several solutions I like — based on the objectives.

Neither of those seems healthy. Either I have cheated my client by not doing enough work to earn the fee I am charging or I am asking my client to do some of my work for me.

I think there is something to putting yourself out there and saying: I think this is THE best solution. I know it makes me think much more deliberately about the work I am doing for / presenting to my clients and it seems like a good thing for them as well as the quality of my work.