Our true story
This client was handled by a colleague. During a meeting, I listened to her presentation as an observer and felt it could be shared as a case study. The cause, process, and outcome of the incident are roughly as follows, which I will briefly describe.
There was a client who needed a product prototype but didn’t have a design yet. Therefore, we had to handle the design and printing and we assigned an industrial designer to work with the customer. The client sent over a drawing and requested a model similar to this. See the image below:
“Designing this is so simple!” That was our colleague’s first impression when seeing the image, and the designer felt the same way, so they quoted a reasonable price. The client readily accepted.
Soon, the designer came up with the first 3D draft. After the first version was released, the client made some requests and minor modifications. He sent two images, saying that he wanted the opening of his model to have a rounded edge like a washbasin.
The designer revised the design according to the client’s requirements and sent it over. Then the client said they needed to add a bevel. A couple of days later, they said they couldn’t open the 3D drawing and asked if they could send the 2D dimensions. Two days after that, they said they needed to add a logo. Finally, they asked if the design was asymmetrical…
The changes and requests kept coming in, until finally the designer got a little angry and said, “Couldn’t you just tell us all the requirements at once? This is a waste of time; revising is more troublesome than making a new design.” What started as a simple bottle design took over half a month of communication to complete. At first they said it was only a simple bottle model, so the design fee wasn’t expensive. But after so many revisions, the designer finally said that any more changes would require an extra charge, and the client said, “Fine, that’s it then, no more changes.”
I felt sorry for the designer and my colleague for a few seconds. The above is just a brief description of the general process. To summarize in one sentence, the client didn’t have a clear idea of what they wanted at the beginning. They kept changing their mind, which made the designer revise it many times. After each revision, it was overturned, making the designer’s job very difficult.
This client gave me a thought: how should we treat designers well? I also do a little graphic design, and I always find the process of creating a design painful, only to have it completely rejected and have to start all over again. Clients and managers alike seem to only care about the results, not the process. If the design isn’t OK, then it’s considered a failure then it’s on you. This is a deep-seated pain that every designer experiences.
How Can We Communicate Effectively With Industrial Designers?
1, Clearly define your needs
I believe that it’s OK if you don’t know how to design but it’s crucial to to be clear about what you need . Of course, some design knowledge makes communication easier and clarifies how to achieve your requirements.
However, not understanding design isn’t essential, but it’s vital to have a clear understanding of your needs. If your first ideas aren’t comprehensive, you’ll constantly need to add more later, and the designer can only create designs based on your vision. Like the client mentioned earlier, who didn’t clearly define their desired design and kept changing their mind, at last wasting their time.
2,Quantify and visualize your requirements
The second point is to quantify and visualize your requirements. Because knowing your own needs in your mind doesn’t mean the designer gets it.
There’s a term called the “curse of knowledge,” which states that once we know something, we can’t imagine how it would appear to someone who doesn’t. When we try to explain our knowledge to others, due to information asymmetry, it’s difficult to fully explain what we know. In short, our knowledge “curses” us.
Specify the product’s dimensions (length, width, height, etc.), the desired style, colors, and functions. The clearer the better; for anything unclear, provide visual references. Use nouns and verbs instead of adjectives. For example, if you say your product should have a “vibrant urban feel” so users can experience a rich urban lifestyle, what actual design info can the designer get from all those adjectives? You’d be completely lost, right?
3, face-to-face communication is best
Thirdly, face-to-face communication is best . Although this may seem unrealistic given the prevalence of the internet, it doesn’t change the fact that face-to-face communication is more efficient. Therefore, try to communicate in person whenever possible. Online communication can easily lead to impatience and is also more time-consuming.
Final Thought From HK Gaofeng
The points mentioned above, in my opinion, can significantly reduce unnecessary work if done well. Of course, this isn’t the only area I’m concerned with.
Life isn’t always like this. I’ve asked our engineers and some designers, and in most cases, clients only have a concept; they don’t have floor plans. They just sketch something on paper, not knowing the dimensions, only roughly estimating the size with their hands. Making changes, and more changes—that’s the daily routine for designers.
The reality is, both clients and agencies want the product design done as quickly as possible, and clients are generally the more proactive party in product design. Therefore, the quality of the initial work directly impacts the agency’s design.
