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Many times as a designer it’s easy to get your vision and the vision of your client interchanged. It’s a key to always understand and keep in perspective that it’s your job to use your creativity to help your client see their vision.

In 2005 I designed a website for a client that was a family ran business for generations. The history involved in that business was something the family took extreme pride in. I make it a point to find out as much about a client as I can when I work with them. Granted, not all clients are going to have an extensive history to them. However, if you hope to have them as your client today they were already doing something yesterday. What I mean by that is no matter how new, or old, a business is it has a story. Point is the story is their history.

The history, or story, of the client is what will help you get a clear grasp of their vision. From their story you will learn what fueled them in the beginning, what they hoped to accomplish and what they are pressing forward to accomplish now.

Remember the client I mentioned earlier? When they saw the website, specifically the history section, the family broke down in tears. No kidding! They went on to say how it was exactly how they envisioned it. Why? Because I used my creativity to help them realize the visual representation of their vision.

Will every client actually break out in tears of joy? Only in a perfect world! Although if you know who you are designing for I can assure you that a majority of the clients will commend you on knowing exactly what they wanted. That is the compliment I shoot for with every client. Of course I want their referrals, but when you display the distinct ability of knowing exactly what they want not only will they refer more businesses but those referrals will be all the more willing to be your client.