The Questions To Ask a Client About a Project

Are You a Graphic Designer?

Are you a graphic designer who’s just been assigned a project and you don’t know how to proceed from there?

I know the situation you’re in, and even though I don’t work in the same field, I have had problems before with clients who didn’t know what they wanted. Moreover, the problem was that I didn’t make sure to clarify everything from the get-go.

When you don’t know what questions to ask a client about a project, you’re in a very tough spot because one of two things can happen:

• Either you go forward with your ideas, finish the project, and it just so happens that the client likes what you’ve done.
• Or you put forth a lot of effort, time, deliver the work, and you then find out that it’s not even close to what he wanted.

Good job, you just wasted a solid amount of time doing something useless, and you could even lose the project.

Why not think things through from the beginning, and make sure that you thoroughly understand what the client really wants? Even though he might not be entirely sure of the exact specifications, he will surely give you enough hints to create a certain framework to build upon.

As the graphic designer, it’s your responsibility to make it easy for your client to understand what he wants, how he wants it, and what to expect as far as remuneration is considered.

Let’s not waste any more of your time, because I know you’re here to solve the problem many of us had to face at some point, figuring out what questions to ask a client about a project.

Here they are, classified into four categories: Details about the company, Details about the design, Target audience, and Budget and deadline.

Details About the Company

Here, you should be focused on questions about your client’s company, details concerning both its structure, long-term goals, competition, future prospects, and so on. These will help you devise a long-standing plan for the logo itself, and construct it based on the goals it should attain, as well as the target company.

Therefore, here are a few samples that you can use:

1. What is its activity domain?
2. What products or services does it provide? Are they going to be offered internationally or just locally? Because depending on the spread, you could construct the logo using different elements, recognizable on one of two fronts.
3. What was the reason that the company was founded, the motivation behind it?
4. What are the exact pros and cons of the company?
5. Who is the competition, and what are the main differences between their services and those of your client’s?
6. How do they perceive the future development of the company? Could it branch out in other areas or further build on the present services?

Details About the Design

In this case, what you should be asking is details about the logo itself, preferred elements, possible ideas, main goal, and so on. Almost nothing is more important than these elements. After all, you are going to be creating a logo for your client.

These are some of the most essential questions to ask a client about a project of graphic design:

1. What colors do they prefer and why?
2. Are there any restrictions?
3. What main idea is it supposed to express?
4. Do they want to include any icons or words?
5. Do they have any other logos they like?
6. What are the logos they don’t like?
7. Is there anything in particular that they would like to include in the logo?
8. What makes a good logo in their opinion?

Target Audience

As far as questions to ask a client about a project, you should remember that many clients forget about or they simply don’t care enough about their target audience. But the client’s expectations and desires are actually one of the most important elements.

Without further ado, here are a few examples of questions regarding the target audience:

1. Who exactly is going to use their services or buy their products? What kind of people?
2. What target audience is the company currently focused on?
3. Is the target audience going to change any time in the future?
4. How does the target audience normally find out about their services or products?
5. Is the target audience predominantly male or female?
6. What is the typical material situation of their customers?

Budget and Deadline

This is where you should establish the costs of the logo design work you’re going to be doing, as well as other underlying details about the process itself, the budget, the timing, other potential aspects that would help efficiency.

These are some examples that could help you:

1. What is most important to them? The quality of the logo, the costs involved or a swift delivery of the design?
2. Is this going to be something permanent or are they going to modify it in the future?
3. How many revisions do they want to see before the final concept?
4. What is the exact deadline?
5. How much money would they be willing to invest?
6. Will they require any more graphic design services in the future?

Final considerations: What Are The Questions To Ask a Client About a Project?

Regarding the questions you should ask a client about a project, these are among the most essential that will ensure you that your work won’t be in vain. Moreover, it will show the client that you are a professional and that they are going to go through a very deep process of creation.

Most clients will appreciate that you are asking the questions, as it shows that you know what you’re doing, and it will increase the likelihood of them hiring you again.

Either way, you should make sure they know that you are available for further work if the pay is good. So, just in case, ask them if they have anything that they need assistance with. It might not be the most natural thing to ask, but believe me, it’s not only natural and advisable but also ignorant not to do.

Just so you can create an even better impression, you should also be thinking about creating a template, or a questionnaire with these questions that you send to your client’s e-mail.

It will not only greatly enhance your standing among all other graphic designers available, but also give the client the impression that they are working with a true professional. Nothing is more important than making sure you will get hired again.

Now that we’re here, I hope you’ve learned the essential questions to ask a client about a project, and that you will have a much easier time dealing with those tough projects that truly test your skills.

Some clients may know exactly what they want, some might not have the slightest idea, but now that you know what to ask them, the problems will solve themselves. Happy designing!