Debbie Falck, Design Presence
Debbie Falck is a visual designer whose focus is user interface design of business applications and complex websites. While she is a solo consultant through her business Design Presence, she often forms ad hoc teams with interaction designers, marketing professionals and engineers. There is always a risk that things will get lost in translation when working virtually with people who are unfamiliar with her expertise.
DESIGN WORKSHOPS HELP CLIENTS UNDERSTAND PROCESS AND DELIVERABLES
When appropriate; she and her team may schedule a kickoff meeting where they walk through a design exercise with the clients. The meeting gives everyone a chance to get to know each other, as well as “group therapy” where clients can share their frustrations and vision for their product’s functionality, appearance and usability.
This initial session can take up to a day. Her team walks the client through some the steps they will be following throughout the project: developing personas and scenarios, generating user interface ideas and discussing branding requirements and look and feel. People break into smaller groups to address specific tasks, then reconvene and debrief. This process educates the client on the design process and gives them time to “put on the table things they’ve been thinking, but never expressed.” She and her team walk away from the workshop with stronger relationships and a deeper understanding of the client’s product and needs. The client has an understanding of what to expect, how the design process works, and where they need to collaborate.
MEET IN PERSON AT KEY POINTS IN A PROJECT
When it is possible, Debbie likes to be physically present at key points in the project, such as major design reviews. “The worst thing is to be talking about visual issues remotely and have no idea what they are viewing on their end, for example color shifts or distortions caused by browser issues.” Furthermore, you don’t have the chance to pick up on non-verbal communication on the other end; their facial expressions, who looks discouraged, who is making eye contact. “Sometimes it’s unavoidable. I have clients whom I’ve never met and it’s been fine. But they often have a sophisticated sense of visual design and the entire design process. They also shield me from the internal politics of the project.”
CHOOSE TEAM MATES CAREFULLY
She is careful in choosing team mates and relies on recommendations from people she knows who have worked with them. Debbie meets with the prospective teammate in person where they discuss their individual approaches to their work and the things they value. When dealing with someone new, it is a good idea to work together on a smaller project. Investing time and effort into building solid relationships with virtual team mates pays off. “You have to go in with people who can present themselves as a cohesive unit to the client. Trust is a major component of what makes the relationship succeed or fail.“
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