At Megacorp eSoftSolutions-web.ie we believe that YOUR success means OUR success; that's why we engineer solutions tailored to YOUR company and YOUR customer's specific needs. Every project that we undertake is unique and we assess minutely the personality, structure and business goals of your company; commencing the design and development only when the spec is perfect.

Trust our client-focused and quality-driven team of passionate professionals to get your job delivered on-spec and on-time no matter what!

this implies:

The customer is King, the customer is always right, you say 'jump' we say 'how high', 'yes sir, no sir, three bags full sir'. Our bottom-line doesn't matter, because all we care about is you. We're actually a charity-organisation and we just want to make you happy.

Hmm, yeah... right

Now I say this somewhat generally but it does seem to me that confidence in the validity of 'having a website' and the company that creates it has declined in recent times. There is a perception perhaps that many companies are basically Cyber-Snake-Oil merchants - in for a quick few million whilst the IT boom is on - they might basically give you pretty much the same product that they give everybody else if they can get away with it. Detailed Spec? Don't make me laugh. Don't be surprised if you find yourself paying extra at a later date [during the suddenly invented 'Phase II'] for all the fancy stuff that you originally wanted but didn't get because the project drifted and the budget disappeared down a black hole. You were assured that this could and would be implemented and you signed for it. Be very careful when selecting a company to carry out your job. See if the work that they've already done is richly varied. Can they demonstrate that they have a solid and monitorable project-management system? Quality-control? If so, that's a start. But I'm not actually a project manager so I'll try to restrict myself to design issues except to say that the client, [unless they become totally unreasonable and simply will not co-operate] is King.

Design

Now, most clients want cool design - something that will make them look great! Right? There's more to it than that. The final design should be a solution that truly is tailored to their unique requirements. Unless they've insisted and agreed otherwise; basically, they want it cheap. If only all projects superceded their predecessors! Still, even when everything is spec'ed, agreed and signed it can still be hard - even when you have the client's best intentions at heart. Clients are rarely designers and they will often want you to basically plagiarise their competitor's sites. You may protest - they may think you're just a silly designer with your head in the clouds fearful of repetition and keen on expressing your own tastes. Never mind the tailored solution - how will this make them look different from the competition?

Another thing about plagiarism - and there's a lot of it going on - not only does it genericise everything - you can also end up with a look that will become dated very quickly. NIKE may be able to change their look once a month and keep up with the changing tastes of a jaded '2-second-attention-span' audience - but do you have the budget? Why copy from what's currently cool and be stuck with it for years? Have a look at the BBC news - good, classic design. Look at some decent newspapers - timeless, solid, user-friendly formatting. Ah, you might say, that's just conservative corporate dinosaur-design. Is it? It works. It looks damn good and it'll last. How often do you see airbrushed illustrations of muscle-cars with babes draped over them in 'good' brochures these days? Seen many of those Victorian-style designs with 50 different decorative type-faces all jumbled together because it was new, and they could?

People who plagiarise usually do so from 'what's cool now'. That client goes "WOW - I haven't seen that before. That's really modern." In a month's time everybody's at it.

So what's the point - what are my convictions in a nutshell?
Still interested?

• When you analyse the client, their customers and spec the job - agree it and stick to it. Make sure that they know that this is a partnership - that they're also responsible - if they move the goalposts mid-way then make them aware of the implications for their budget and deadline.
  
  
• Let the information and feelings that you have absorbed from them guide you in your solution - don't just crow-bar their dull requirements into what you want:
  
  You'd be surprised at the common-sense insights that a client can illuminate you with when they haven't been staring at the job day after day for a week. If you really want them on your wavelength - keep them involved and make them feel a part of the design process - that way they'll be less likely to make U-turns - they'll feel ownership too.
  
  Don't just tart it up according to what current fashion dictates:
  
  It'll date and look derivative. At the most selfish level - remember that you'll probably have this thing in your portfolio for years.
  
  
• Maintain the attitude that the customer is King - they're not just naive and grateful idiots that issue cheques. If they abuse the situation beyond repair - finish the job and say Goodbye. Be better at spotting the warning signs in future.
  
  
• Good Quality of product and service. It'll be obvious wether it is or isn't. You may get away with this job and your final instalment of the fee but will the client return in the future - AND what will they tell others about you? Referrals are possibly the most important source of business.
  

So does this mean that you'll just do dull work and have a dull portfolio? No, there won't always be jobs that are groundbreaking - and won't advance you as a creative person but many other ones will be. Inject your saved up energy and ideas into those - don't pour you soul into an aesthetic lost cause - get satisfaction from those jobs in knowing that they got the job they wanted. No point flogging a dead horse!