Comments on: Designers and Communication Skills: Why and How to Improve

By: Effective Communication

Effective Communication — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 06:18:39 +0000

Excellent article. At one point it says: “You Depend on Them, They Depend on You”. How will you use your communication skills to create a relationship where both of you win? Because if you strife for a win-win resolution, it’s so much easier to work together. Nobody feels they have compromised because it’s been done on a different level, not a level of wants, but a level of needs. And more work can be done without the feeling of resentment that comes up sometimes.

By: Some really interesting posts that I came across in the last few days… | Communication Skills Training

Sat, 20 Dec 2008 08:18:38 +0000

[...] Designers and Communication Skills: Why and How to Improve – Earlier this week I posted a group interview with several established and successful designers. One of the questions that was asked to each participant was “What do you feel are the most important skills for a designer to have/develop? … [...]

By: Top 10 Stars of the Week, March 31 | Auburn Images Photography by Scott Fillmer

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 16:05:35 +0000

[...] Designers and Communication Skills: Why and How to Improve [...]

By: 981d5a4db298

981d5a4db298 — Wed, 14 May 2008 06:37:55 +0000

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By: Colorado Trucking Jobs

Colorado Trucking Jobs — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 15:44:32 +0000

I think that the hard part is developing the trust at first. But once it’s developed – the communication is very fast. goals are understood and standards kept in mind. This makes a powerful company!

By: Migliorare la comunicazione nei rapporti con i clienti : cssblog.it

Migliorare la comunicazione nei rapporti con i clienti : cssblog.it — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 06:02:36 +0000

[...] o, peggilo, incomprensioni che potrebbero danneggiare la nostra attività. Prendo spunto da un interessante articolo di Vandelay Web Design per dare qualche consiglio in [...]

By: Top 10 Stars of the Week, Mar 31 | a Blog by Scott Fillmer

Top 10 Stars of the Week, Mar 31 | a Blog by Scott Fillmer — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 11:04:40 +0000

[...] Designers and Communication Skills: Why and How to Improve [...]

By: The Top Best Graphic Design Articles from March 2008

The Top Best Graphic Design Articles from March 2008 — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 02:43:43 +0000

[...] Designers and Communication Skills: Why and How to Improve – from Vandelay Design [...]

By: Talley Mulligan

Talley Mulligan — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 12:34:07 +0000

Some good points here. I have found, however, that while making communication a priority is without question essential to ensuring that projects remain on track, for many designers (myself included) a hazy sense of how to go about it— or worse, knee-jerk impositions of process for process’ sake, often sends the wrong message. Emphasizing the wrong things— minutia unrelated to business goals or user needs, for instance— encumbers the process unnecessarily and burdens the project management-challenged among us with tracking of details that may be lost on the client. Obviously details need to be tracked, but throwing the proverbial baby out with the bath water serves no one and will certainly represent a distraction for designers wearing more than one hat.

In order to maintain the sense of confidence in your work you’ve been at pains to establish, client interactions should flow in a natural and comfortable manner while covering the bases (communication summaries, approvals, etc) that actually do have an impact on project outcomes. The point being that massaging clients’ expectations is not limited to strict accounting of every imaginable nook and cranny, but also the tone or mood of the interactions over the course of the entire project. Is, for example, each meeting a tedious chore of mucking through specifics for which the client isn’t clear what the relationship of individual agenda items to the site’s purpose is? Or are they meandering waltzes through a labyrinth of ideas that yield little actionable information when you revisit your notes?

It’s key to communicate and even more so to communicate the right message. And preferably, that message should be calm, collected, and confident.

For those interested, one resource on the topic that I personally have found instructive is Dan Brown’s Communicating Design (http://www.amazon.com/Communicating-Design-Developing-Documentation-Planning/dp/0321392353).

Thanks for the post, by the way. Always good to be reminded of the importance of these considerations (it’s an ongoing battle).

-t

By: Adoptive Parents

Adoptive Parents — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 16:48:42 +0000

I think that in most of the company’s I’ve worked for – the slow and inefecient communication has really hindered the success of the company.