0:01 [Music]
0:03 how do you align with your clients
0:05 interests in this next clip you're gonna
0:07 want to hear from design legend Paula
0:09 Scher and how she's able to talk to
0:10 clients and figure out what they want
0:11 even when they don't know how to
0:13 communicate it a lot of it starts before
0:16 you begin designing because it has to do
0:18 with your conversation with them but
0:21 mostly if you ask somebody what they're
0:23 looking for in a couple of key ways
0:26 they're going to be able to tell you and
0:29 the one thing that I've done at
0:31 pentagram is we have this book of
0:33 trademarks that has I don't know about
0:34 five hundred marks that we've done over
0:38 the years and I if I have particularly
0:41 if there are three participants who are
0:44 the clients or more I give them each a
0:46 book and I tell them to take it you know
0:49 a sticky note and mark the ones they
0:51 love in one color and the ones they hate
0:54 in the next color so that way I can tell
0:56 what their tastes are is somebody really
0:58 a mod modernist or somebody like a lot
1:01 of curlicues that's important thing to
1:05 know if you have a group of three and
1:07 they come out all the same and they pick
1:10 the same ones that's fantastic if they
1:11 come out all different you're in trouble
1:12 because you're gonna have different
1:15 tastes making decisions around the table
1:17 so you have to know what they see
1:19 sometimes you just ask them what they
1:21 like and after they get through Nike and
1:23 Apple you can get into the real things
1:25 that you need to find out like what are
1:27 their competing businesses etc but you
1:30 do learn a lot from that because that
1:33 tells you a bit about what kind of form
1:35 they like and if they talk about their
1:38 competitors find out how much they want
1:40 to be like them and how much they want
1:42 to be different from them and that's
1:44 very revealing but these are things that
1:46 give you cues on how to design something
1:48 and if you don't ask those questions
1:50 you're really not in a position to be
1:52 informed about how to approach it it's
1:55 one thing to say you have a good idea
1:58 for a forum or interpreting the business
2:01 but if you do it and it's very pure and
2:03 very modernist and you have somebody who
2:04 doesn't like that you're gonna have a
2:06 problem with the forum so you have to
2:07 know that from the get-go and that way
2:09 you sort of know how to do it pretend
2:11 and and women will understand this
2:13 pretend like you have to shop for
2:15 somebody else that's a little bit of
2:17 what designing for somebody else is you
2:18 got to go out you got to get them a
2:20 shirt you know they'd like and you have
2:23 to analyze everything they wore and what
2:24 they always have but they always bought
2:26 and what they never bought and then you
2:28 know sort of how to pick it that's kind
2:29 of what you're doing when you design
2:32 it's a girly answer I love that answer
2:34 actually you actually gave me some
2:36 really great actual things that we could
2:39 implement so super awesome the idea that
2:40 you can ask your client about
2:42 competitors like they want to be the
2:45 same or different how do you phrase that
2:46 in a way that allows them to tell you
2:49 the truth because I think every client
2:50 you ask that there we want to be totally
2:52 different but just like everybody else
2:56 well first of all they're human and you
2:57 have to assume that's gonna happen from
2:59 the get-go you know if everybody goes to
3:01 a party they're all wearing black you
3:03 can't make somebody who always wears
3:05 black put on a pink party dress and go
3:07 to the party you can make them wear a
3:09 red belt on the black dress but that's
3:11 about as far as you're gonna take him
3:12 and you got to let it go just make it a
3:14 terrific red belt you might zip up the
3:16 whole outfit but you have to think about
3:19 things in those terms if a client tells
3:22 you that they don't want to be like
3:24 someone but they're competing with them
3:26 it means they want to be like them a
3:29 little bit not just in the bad ways in
3:31 the good ways and you have to find out
3:33 what that means sometimes that doesn't
3:34 have anything to do with their graphic
3:36 design sometimes it has to do with the
3:38 way they the company's organized or the
3:41 kind of media they get or something they
3:43 Envy about the other the other person
3:44 and I think a little perception and the
3:47 conversation will help you do it it's
3:51 it's not that different from talking to
3:54 a friend and trying to find out what
3:56 they want or what's bothering them if
3:57 they sat down and talk to you these
3:59 people are coming because they need
4:01 something and you have to figure out
4:05 what it is they need and the way to know
4:06 if you're on the right track is to play
4:10 back some description of something that
4:12 might be along the lines of what you
4:13 might do for them to see if you get a
4:15 positive read on their faces they're
4:17 nodding you know does that is this
4:18 something or do they not know what
4:21 you're talking about and
4:23 you can use examples should it be like
4:25 such-and-such or what do you think of
4:27 this and those those answers are very
4:30 key when they start to tell you that
4:31 they like something or don't like
4:32 something you should listen very
4:34 carefully when they do [Music]
