Mock-Up Design Control
August 19, 2005 | 
26 Comments
I hate doing mock-ups, you hate doing mock-ups, so let’s all talk about doing mock-ups! Chew on it, it’ll be delicious.
Although I haven’t been in the freelance gig as long as some peers of mine, I’ve been in it long enough to say that I’ve had a wide selection of clients. Either way you have to work in their best interest, whether you code the site over a beer at a bar or if the client is threatening to shoot a beer bottle off your head for not complying.
Avoiding the pricing factor, one of the biggest variations in the design process is how many design mock-ups (and revisions of those mock-ups) are provided. On one side we have clients who want to get the most for less, and then designers who want to make the most doing less. But that situation runs into issues such as, “We never agreed on this site, but that’s what I paid for. He only allowed 2 tries at it,” or “This guy kept nagging me over one more change, but I’m tired of this.”
Now remember that this applies more to designing for the web than to say, designing for logos or print. Recently I asked for a quote on a logo and it only inlcuded 3 mock-ups, one of which I had to choose and run with.
Personally, I’ve always ran with the philosophy of, “make this customer happy and then they will tell 5 more potential customers about you.” So in accordance, I provide as many mock-ups as I can providing as many revisions as necessary. Now before you start throwing knives at me, this is more of a marketing statement. You’re letting the customer know that you are willing to work with them for the purpose of getting them a design they will be happy with. Putting this into practice, I design as many as I can think of (which is usually 3-4) and make the client participate to help revise as necessary.
Yes, this statement could get taken advantage of, so make sure you have backup - in writing. Remember that fine print everybody hates? You can have it to. Besides, it is good practice to draft up some type of contract before starting any work. If you disagree with my approach you could limit your mock-ups to 2 and only provide revisions as you deem necessary, but have it in writing. If you must limit, agree on it beforehand so it won’t show up as dirty laundry later on, and I can’t stress enough on putting it in writing.
Even if you’re not working with the ideal client, try and make the situation more comfortable for you. Don’t do more work than you have to, but then don’t rip-off the client. Above all, know what you’re in the business for and apply those rules to your work. I might not get as much money from my clients as some others, but at least I can say that I have met their expectations in all cases. Some might not look at it that way and use the bottom line as a factor of success.
So take from it as you will, and share if you have the desire to.
Take care,
Bryan
Filed under: Web Design
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Comments
1. Chris Gruber said:
I hate this: Often I’ll provide (for example) three mockups. Two are very clever, sharp-looking, quite stunning in some instances (if I may brag), but then I feel the need to provide a third one, just to round out the choices for the client (who I am intent on pleasing). The third choice is something I’ll whip up in a few minute’s time, just to fill a spot, sort of like asking a plainclothes cop to stand in a police line-up; just occupy the space.
Invariably, the client will choose that god-awful third choice. I put my heart and soul into custom-designing mockups for them, but they pick the suck-ass mockup. Blows my mind and yet it happens every time (except the last time, since the client was a friend and respects my design ideas more than an average client).
Any ideas why?
Posted on August 19, 2005 01:18 PM | #
2. Bryan Veloso said:
It’s just taste really. A lot of times I’ve been asked to take a look at a design for an intentional 2nd opinion and some of the time it has happened that the one they put their heart and soul into is the one I didn’t like. It’s mainly because of a different view of the project, or maybe the style is out of place. It could be a whole slew of things.
Also, some of my most well recieved designs have been the ones that have come out “rushed” or “by accident”. I don’t know why that happens either, but it does happen frequently.
But remember, you can always save the two you didn’t use.
Posted on August 19, 2005 01:39 PM | #
3. nat said:
I don’t think it should be an issue of “he only allowed 3 tries so i had to pick one.” Rather, the initial agreement should spell out at what point the quote will have to be revised if the job can not move forward. As long as the client understands up front about the time involved in coming up with design options, and knows that after a certain point, further revisions/concepts will cost more than the initial price, everything should be fine.
Another option for revisions is to say that the initial quot covers X rounds of revisions, and after that the client will be billed an hourly rate for changes.
Posted on August 19, 2005 01:45 PM | #
4. Steven Ametjan said:
Personally, when I’m working for a client I don’t give them any mockups. But that’s mainly because I hate doing mockups in Photoshop and then trying to caress the HTML into what I produced in Photoshop. Instead, I prefer to do a couple of really quick sketches to get an idea for how a page would flow with a specific style of layout, and once I find one that flows the best, I begin blocking the page out in realy honest to goodness HTML.
By providing one HTML demo of a page to the client, they can see how the page will look to a user inside a browser. They see how it handles different text sizes, different browser configurations, and different screen resolutions. I think this helps them really come to an understand of what it is they’re wanting, and then they can make comments on what they want to do differently from what I provided them.
Posted on August 19, 2005 01:45 PM | #
5. Eric DeLabar said:
I don’t do many mock-ups in my day-to-day work, our art director does that, but I run into similar situations in my free-lance photography.
Recently I took pictures of a local wanna-be country music star. As we went through the resulting pictures, I chose the well-framed candid photos, and she chose the posed, subject-in-the-center shots. While my choices were probably more academically-interesting, she had her mind set on two-dozen of the same picture with a slightly different background.
In the end, my portfolio is better with her rejects, and she got what she wanted, but it’s a little upsetting that the web will now have twenty-four more not-so-interesting photos, and it’s at least partially my fault.
Posted on August 19, 2005 01:57 PM | #
6. Bob said:
I’ve been fortunate enough, I suppose, in my freelancing career, to have clients who are generally happy with the first thing I give them. There may be tweaks here and there, but by and large they’re happy (even ecstatically so) with the first thing I give them. *knocking on wood*
That being said, I’ve also found that anytime I create a series of mockups, they usually go for that first one – no matter what order I put them in to show the client. It’s very strange, as sometimes the first one is not necessarily the best.
Posted on August 19, 2005 02:02 PM | #
7. nat said:
i think it’s important to only show the client work that you believe in. if that means two mock ups instead of 3, or only showing the photos you think are interesting, then so be it. If you can’t live with it if the clent chooses it, it shouldn’t be in the presentation, likewise, the client should recognize that you are the expert in the field, so they should trust that you have chosen only the best work to present to them. if they’re not satisfied, you have the opportunity to discuss how they would like it to be changed, and if necessary, you can always go back to the third or fourth design that you elected not to show.
Posted on August 19, 2005 02:07 PM | #
8. Christian Watson said:
I try and only show one mockup, but do enough work up front in understanding what the client wants so that the design is very close to what they’re looking for.
After that, it’s just a matter of tweaking color, typography and ‘little things’ like that to get to the final result.
Posted on August 19, 2005 02:52 PM | #
9. elv said:
I’m 1000% with Christian. Whenever it’s possible I’ll do only one mockup. But before I grab the pencil I meet the client and make him talk about anything he expects and needs. A lot.
Clients usually seek an advice, so why should I ask them to choose between two mockups?
Posted on August 19, 2005 05:18 PM | #
10. Christopher Hawkins said:
Chris:
“Invariably, the client will choose that god-awful third choice. I put my heart and soul into custom-designing mockups for them, but they pick the suck-ass mockup. “
Aside from not putting the bad work in the lineup to start with, I have to suggest that perhaps clients are simply incapable of discerning between good design and bad design. I can’t tell you how many time a client has whipped up a complete piece of garbage in FrontPage and asked me to “just clean this up a little”. They seriously think that it’s just the same as a professionally developed site. And in case you’re wondering, yes, I do refuse those jobs. ;)
Bryan:
How do you deal with the “I’ll know it when I see it” clients? Those types can go through 2,4,6,8,10 mockups and still be hemming and hawing about what they want from a site. Being committed to satisfying the customer is good, but…my goodness, there are some truly indecisive types out there!
Posted on August 19, 2005 06:10 PM | #
11. Neil said:
I used to provide multiple mockups, but no more. To me, showing multiple mockups often just shows that you don’t really have a handle on what works best for your client, or that you don’t have confidence in what you’re presenting in the first place. Do your own iterations privately and get them out of the way before you start showing your client work instead of making your client make design decisions for you.
I really don’t know where the requirement of “multiple mockups” came from, but it makes absolute no sense to me. The idea is that as a designer you need to work your ideas out before hand, and allow yourself the time to explore other avenues before you present to the client. There is occasionally projects that require more than one concept, but I’ve found this to be quite rare.
What I do is I iteration privately and work out ideas on my own. I start on paper and I force myself to explore and brainstorm ideas until I feel happy with at least a few of them. I then sit down and start working in higher and higher fidelity mockups. I keep doing iterations until I’m happy and then I show the client one design. The client then has a specific number of iterations allowed where they can make suggestions for change or improvements.
If you’ve done your pre-production and research properly, usually the first run just requires a few iterations to whip into shape.
Let’s face it: how many times have you worked hard on a design and felt it was just great, but then had to whip off two or three more concepts because that’s what you promised the client?
Posted on August 19, 2005 06:41 PM | #
12. Daniel Schutzsmith said:
I can’t say it enough, “Always get a contract before beginning any work”. If the client truly respects you and truly means business, then they will have no qualms signing a contract that protects both you and them.
Posted on August 19, 2005 06:50 PM | #
13. Chris said:
Here’s the problem you’re all running into: you’re building something without blueprints. It’s totally subjective. If the client’s wife prefers a red logo, that’s what you’ll produce. You can’t win if you prefer a different solution than your client. You need to know:
1. The client’s brand strategy, to tell you: what is the brand platform, messaging, tone & personality
2. Who is the customer/user (and if the client’s brand even speaks to them – and it may not)
3. What does that customer want to accomplish using your site?
Without this foundation, you and your client will not be speaking even remotely the same language, and you will be doomed to providing solutions that please your client (or yourself), not providing real solutions to real problems.
No, not all clients will repsond to this method. Some will always be stubborn and just “want what they want.” But this method (providing objective, measurable goals) will work much more often than not.
Hope that helps…
Posted on August 20, 2005 12:23 AM | #
14. Chris Gruber said:
Mr Hawkins (forced to use your last name, as there are already too many Chrises in on this discussion. ;-):
I can’t tell you how many time a client has whipped up a complete piece of garbage in FrontPage and asked me to “just clean this up a little”.
Amen. I’ve been there. But that’s one of our ancient complaints: Trying to explain to them that FrontPage + a Dummies book ≠ professional web design.
Posted on August 20, 2005 12:38 AM | #
15. Chris Gruber said:
@Bryan: But remember, you can always save the two you didn’t use.
Heh. Indeed, I do. I have had a few of my designs I’ve liked quite a bit get rejected multiple times, too.
@Neil: To me, showing multiple mockups often just shows that you don’t really have a handle on what works best for your client, or that you don’t have confidence in what you’re presenting in the first place.
I hadn’t thought of that before, but damn good point, sir.
@Chris: Some will always be stubborn and just “want what they want.”
Damn straight. It’s hard to explain (and get through) to the boss of a client company that site design is for the customer, not the boss. Simple human stubbornness seems to be the hardest thing to undermine here.
Posted on August 20, 2005 12:43 AM | #
16. Bryan Veloso said:
Wow, thanks for the comments everybody. I was really wondering how different freelancers went through this process. Rethinking what I said up there, “doing as many as you would like,” could only be one (if that’s what you like). I do understand how choices can be good for the client but also send them into a spree of confusion. Recently because of work and all if I were to get a project I’d only do one and run with that, because of the situation. For me, it’s a matter of wanting to give the client something that we’re mutally happy about (or else I’d be really ashamed to say I ever made it, believe me, I’ve been there).
Putting it in the objective sense, I think Chris [No Last Name] had great points to follow. Very business oriented questions and they also sound like questions you can carry on to any part of the design process or any other process having to do with products and services.
Thanks everybody.
Posted on August 20, 2005 02:28 AM | #
17. Nathan Smith said:
I prefer to do most of my mockups in Fireworks, that way I can just upload the actual PNG I’m working with, and the client can view it through their browser. This is beneficial for two reasons: 1. No JPG / GIF loss on compression / color-depth, and 2. If I’m not on my development computer, but still have Fireworks handy, I can re-download via a browser, and pick up where I left off. The drawback of course, if filesize.
Just thought I’d post that for all the Photoshop die-hards. :)
Posted on August 22, 2005 06:59 AM | #
18. Roger Herbert said:
Another danger I’ve encountered with providing more than one mockup is that after spending X hours/days on three different ideas, the client will reject them and ask for a fourth idea based on cannibalised elements of the three you made. Frankenstein’s Mockup.
Posted on August 22, 2005 11:41 AM | #
19. Philip said:
Semi-related question:
A lot of you have talked about how you only allow so many mock-ups to the client and so many revisions of the chosen layout. Someone even mentioned that anything over that limit is charged on a per-hour basis, implying that he charges a flat rate for his design.
Now, maybe this is a whole different topic, big enough for its own post (up for it Bryan?), but what’s the normal method of making money for those of you out there? When creating a website for a client do you charge a single flat rate with very specific details on what you will and will not do, or do you charge per hour after discussing the budget with your client? If it’s the former, how do you decide on a price?
Posted on August 22, 2005 08:27 PM | #
20. Adam said:
We require our clients sign-off on a creative brief that explicitly describes the design. Our intent is to make the design process as sure a thing as possible. We have happy customers about 99% of the time on the first design we present. In the rare case that they are not pleased, we will produce a second concept based off of their feedback from the first and still considering the creative brief. This has worked wonders for YourMark.com.
Posted on August 23, 2005 06:00 AM | #
21. Jose da Silva said:
I prefer the methodology of presenting 1 mockup to the client and the re-arrange it according the client’s feedback.
In contract should be the maximum number of arrangements allowed by the client, this will prevent the delay of the project for cliets part.
Posted on August 23, 2005 08:04 AM | #
22. Kathy said:
It’s so interesting to read how other people handle mockups. I’ve found a system that works pretty well for me. I give the client a fairly extensive “design questionnaire.” If they don’t want to fill it out, I’ll just sit and talk over each question. By that time I have a pretty good feel for what they like. I do one mockup, usually a .png file that I’ll upload. I don’t bother coding it, because that mockup almost never survives into the next phase. Still, it gives us something to work from, and the second mockup almost always does the trick.
Posted on August 23, 2005 04:56 PM | #
23. paul said:
Recently because of work and all if I were to get a project I’d only do one and run with that, because of the situation.In the rare case that they are not pleased, we will produce a second concept based off of their feedback from the first and still considering the creative brief.
I do one mockup, usually a .png file that I’ll upload.
Posted on August 23, 2005 11:14 PM | #
24. Gorge said:
Dam good posting.I read some of you’re articles and they are really nice.
Posted on August 25, 2005 11:42 PM | #
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