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1. 
   

   Make a phone call. Do not use an e-mail for this interview.

   
   
   

   You can't even know if he is answering this questions or he is just mentioning some previous ideas he has.

   
   


2. 
   

   If it is unpaid... do not do it. You are not only damaging yourself but the whole industry.

   
   
   

   The "Oh, I'm new" is not a reason at all. Either you have practiced a lot and have become good at designing or don't do it.

   
   

Asking for a "mood board" is waaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much to ask any client. That's perhaps a designer's tool and a client should never be asked to do that work. That's what they are paying you for (or not paying as the case may be).

Rafael is correct when he posted make a phone call. Often in emails people skim and don't actually read. So things get missed, overlooked, and just forgotten about. In a phone call you can ask, if he evades, ask again. If he isn't clear, ask for clarity, etc. There's no skimming or forgetting during a phone call. It may take asking several times. It may require you explaining why you need to know. But I'd try to not end the phone call until I had answers.

Your questions are good questions to ask.

I would explain to the client.....

Hi Chris,
I can certainly create what you need but I really need these questions answered. Imagine if you hired a caterer for an event. They'd ask about food allergies, number of attendees, etc. All in an effort to do a better job. That's what my questions are for, to ensure I do a better job designing the [whatever it is].

If this is unpaid work then, frankly, I wouldn't keep "stalking" the client. I would make 2 maybe 3, phone calls and send 1 maybe 2, emails. Then explain that I can't move forward without some direction.

Your client doesn't know what they want, and they don't know what any of the things you ask mean.

You know the industry that the client works in, you know the name.

Throw together a few different ideas in very rough draft.

Send them to the client making very clear that these are rough sketches to get a concept not a final piece and ask them to rate each one by how much they like them and give feedback.

Iterate on the feedback.

I'm a software engineer not graphic designer but over and over again I find that if you ask someone what they want they don't know. If you present them with a few options though they will immediately know they don't want 1 or 3 but they sort of like 2 but can you add this bit from 4 and maybe X and sometimes a bit of U and then add a unicorn.

First, It's not good for you nor for the whole sector to do free works. But I understand that at first is hard to take money from someone who trusts you.

I think that the problem is the questions you are asking and how you are asking them. These questions are made almost in argot, you are using a very straightforward and professional language.

My approach would be more human. If you have the opportunity to go to the company to talk to your client. Look at how they work, how is everything organized, maybe even you will see other things you can improve such as billboards, cards or catalogs and you can suggest expanding your contract.

But if you can't go there, just call him. Talk to him as a counselor, this way you are selling your own brand. Ask him what they do (I think you've already talked about it), ask him how is the company doing (probably will tell you about problems that you can identify with design or marketing problems, even they tell you about competence) why he thought about requesting your help, what he thought about improving (you've already done this for sure) ask him if you like any company style (probably he should have pointed other company logos right now).

The part where you ask about competence in my country at least would feel gross. You have to research the market. Which companies are the best, which ones are the direct competence, what's the difference between that company and your client's company, how to make that differences matter or not. All that is your work as a designer.

Have in mind that unless you are working for a really big company that has complex inner bureaucracy and needs to control every investment, you usually won't receive all these answers in a straightforward manner.

As a designer, you won't be only designing. You will be a "friend" of that company. Most of the people would come to you without really knowing their needs, even if they act as they know. You have to act as "visual communication therapist" to hear their problems and analyze what they need.

Sometimes you have a client who doesn't know themselves what they actually want. They expect you as the designer to come up with the brand identity. In that case it can be a valid design process to just throw things at the wall and see what sticks. Give them a couple of different drafts and then ask them what they like or dislike about them.

This is of course a process where you will invest a lot of work which will end up unused. You also risk getting caught up in an endless cycle of review after review with the client never being completely satisfied. So if you decide to use this process, then the client needs to be aware that they are paying you by the hour and that you also expect to get paid for those designs they do not pick in the end.

That's a nightmare waiting to happen. Dip-set. Find another client with money and an actual request.

I understand the difficulty when it comes to communicating with clients and getting the information needed to create a cohesive design. With that said, Scott and Rafael are both very correct in that a.) a phone call is always an effective means of figuring out what is in a client's head and b.) the client is never the person to be creating a mood board.

It is not entirely out of line to request if there are specific logos or designs that come to the client's mind when they consider their own form or taste for a style, but this is also not often given in design processes.

If the client cannot be reached over the phone and will not provide any more information, there is still a lot of work that can be done. If the client will not tell you what they specifically want, they can certainly tell you what they do not want judging by the designs and sketches you put forward.

The design process begins by assembling all possible aspects of the company together and sketching every idea that comes to mind. Create more solidified examples of ideas you find strongest, and allow the client to pick them apart and choose details they like and would prefer to remove. Most clients have a hard time actually saying what they really need, and what they think they need is seldom what the best possible design is for a project.

Hope this offers some clarity.

You're the designer!

• They "hired" you for ideas, so you'll need to put some in front of
  them and get a sense of what they like. Make 3 quick very different
  mood boards yourself and ask them which one they like best.


• Write up your questions in a numbered list, with space between.
  Word them very simply.


• Tell the client "I'll need you to answer these few questions so
  I can have the information I need to do a great job for you. Please
  type your answers right below these questions and email it back to me
  by Friday."

You can't ask a client to do a mood board, but they may have an "ideas" folder laying around, so always ask. There are some clients who just want to hire someone good and let them run with it and they usually end up being great clients. So his behavior is not unusual.

Why are you working for free?

You may be starting out, but charge something - get 30 or 50 bucks out of them. Always charge money. You need to pay the light bill so you can run your computer. If they don't value your time they won't take the time to work with you properly. Give him some basic stuff for free - logo, whatever....then a price quote for anything else, maybe a bundle of ad materials for a flat rate. And then let him know your hourly rate.

If they don't answer the questions by Friday,you tried. Move on.

Good luck!

I came across this by chance, and I am one who could have hired a designer (not for free!). If you do this for free in order to get your "foot in the door", maybe ok - but don't do it more than once.

Anyway, he has actually told you what he wants: "crisp, simple, perfect & clean, easy". It is not CLEAR what he wants, but that's why we hire people from the outside, to help us do stuff we can't do ourselves. Don't expect people who hire designers to know how to order stuff from them. Very often, you will probably be surprised as to how little clarity there will be in some job descriptions. I know, I have written a few such myself, and only later realized that they must have been horrible to base any actual work on. Ordering is an art form :-)

I suggest you put in VERY LITTLE effort in a first sketch that is crisp, simple and clean (possible 2-3 variations). Then you can leave it up to him: If he wants to move forward he should pick which one to keep working on, and he should pay for the next phase of the project. If he doesn't like any of them, you are probably best off finding other projects and better clients. Good luck! Hard work often makes people stand out from the crowd, thankfully.

Start with what you have: “crisp, simple, perfect & clean”.

Can you use this to narrow down options for number of colors, font styles, illustration styles, etc?

Iterate with your client by asking yes-or-no, this-or-that questions:

Thanks for getting back to me. Based on your description, I'm thinking one or two colors (maybe red and gray based on your company name), san serif font, vector art rather than hand-drawn, ...

Am I on the right track?

From these two font styles, which do you prefer?

...

These two [logos/websites/posters] from the [different] industry illustrate different approaches that I would consider crisp, simple, and clean:

...

The first might appeal more to younger, urban demographic; the second to an older, more conservative demographic.

Which is more in line with what you have in mind?