19 comments

  • Account deleted almost 5 years ago

    Or - Never show more than one design option because clients either always want the worst one, or they want to combine them.

    Go with one and if they don't like it, ask why not and go from there. They're not going to drop you as a client because you got it wrong the first time and if they do, they were probably a client you dont want in the long run anyway.

    10 points
    • Taylor PoeTaylor Poe, almost 5 years ago

      they want to combine them

      Yes, this is very common in my experience. The team feels like there's been a nice compromise and can't see that the merge is worse than the discrete directions.

      4 points
    • Lenny TerenziLenny Terenzi, almost 5 years ago

      Why would you ever show a worst one? I always show multiples but never something I do not think solves the problem and looks great. If the ideas come I am going to show them. We need to get over ourselves in the line of thinking that there is only one solution to the problem.

      0 points
      • Account deleted almost 5 years ago

        I don't anymore. When I started off, for some reason I thought you had to show three options, so i put all the thought and effort into one design, then did two ones which werent as good because, logicial if you've solved a problem as well as you can, the other ways of solving that problem arent going to be as good. Then I did this a few times and saw that clients always combine them or don't know what to pick, so I just decided to stop showing options and give them one design and go from there.

        -1 points
    • Cody FitzpatrickCody Fitzpatrick, almost 5 years ago

      I'd also advise to stay away from clients that send you mockups (derived from their own mind) yet ask for repeated changes on them because X, Y, Z, etc. should be different.

      0 points
  • John PJohn P, almost 5 years ago

    Always believed one option and iterate is the best way to get to a solid end result consistently.

    "Three options" all too often leads to poor compromise and dilution and usually a sign of a weak design director.

    7 points
  • Bevan StephensBevan Stephens, almost 5 years ago

    Another solution to the problem you are tying to solve, I.e how to converge on the right design out of many options, is to test your designs with real users, which is proven to be much more effective rather than trying to guess internally.

    4 points
    • Andrew C, almost 5 years ago

      For a logo and other communication design how does this work? A focus group or something like this?

      1 point
  • Aaron Wears Many HatsAaron Wears Many Hats, almost 5 years ago

    Does anyone else use "the duck"?

    https://rachelbythebay.com/w/2013/06/05/duck/

    This is one of my favorite takes on the subject ever.

    1 point
  • Andrew HoltAndrew Holt, almost 5 years ago

    I've been a stakeholder in many a design review, and often seeing only one option can be quite frustrating. It makes feedback more difficult if it isn't matching my expectations. Often times I've seen a design and I'm like...eh, this isn't on target. At these times, seeing alternative approaches can help drive a constructive conversation.

    That said, if you are confident in the approach and can defend it, then yes, by all means make the decision.

    1 point
    • No NameNo Name, almost 5 years ago

      Be able to defend the design that you make.

      Got it.

      0 points
    • Stuart McCoyStuart McCoy, almost 5 years ago

      Perhaps you did a poor job explaining what you wanted or expected? Contrary to popular belief, the client isn't always right, we just have to make it seem that way most of the time.

      1 point
      • Joseph BarrientosJoseph Barrientos, almost 5 years ago

        Perhaps he wants to be wow'd. Contrary to popular belief design isn't a plug and play career. UX can be looked at as a science but anything visual always comes with a designers interpretation of the problem and their own solution.

        personally i tend to design as many options as possible, exhaust myself and present those I feel most comfortable with. Especially in product design, some times there are multiple solutions and they're all subjective(until tested and proven otherwise).

        3 points
      • Andrew HoltAndrew Holt, almost 5 years ago

        Maybe - perhaps it's important to differentiate between branding/marketing-type work and product work. For the former, seeing early directional options has always been helpful. I've just been in too many situations where the designer/design team used some very specific style without clearing it all before the first check-in, and it doesn't work for me. If I did a poor job explaining what I wanted in these situations, I'd expect the design team to help me articulate the goal, and even then I'd want to see what options were considered.

        For the latter, as a product lead it would indeed fall on me if I couldn't articulate the problem such that the solution was clearly correct or incorrect, though even then, there are almost always many ways to solve a problem, not all of which are clearly "correct'.

        So maybe the takeaway should be "know your client/stakeholder" - if they have no design sense and showing them options is going to be a shit show, then by all means avoid that. :)

        1 point
  • Andy MerskinAndy Merskin, almost 5 years ago

    100 points to this article.

    Especially: "Three design options are standard in product teams. This is typically to create the appearance of due exploration, but often it becomes a reflection of a lack of trust in a designer to solve the problem themselves."

    I see this happen way too often at my workplace, for this reason, and in a very cold, subtle way.

    0 points