How to present work to a client

A few recommendations, based on my experience, on how you should present the results of your work to the client.

Types of work

The four types of work I have most often encountered that should be presented to a client are as follows:

1. Concept,
2. UX and UI design of new functionality,
3. making client changes,
4. suggestions to improve the current interface (initiative).

Concept

Concept is an abstract term that does not imply anything concrete. Within the scope of design — it is a fantasy on how the subject of the concept should work. To present a concept, you need to do not only the predetermined minimum (for example, the main screens of the service interface), but also something from the surroundings, and something in addition.

If you want the concept to be well received, then in addition to the agreed pages of the website, make them adaptive. And during the presentation, show these layouts on a smartphone. It is desirable to show on a physical device, and not in the form of pictures on the projector, so that the concept came as close to reality as possible and did not seem something distant.

The concept should be presented in person, face to face. During the face-to-face, you can see both the reactions on the faces of the audience and the emotions during the Q&A session. This will help solve many questions immediately on the spot and prove that the concept is viable, that there is confidence in it. A concept is, after all, a fantasy about a topic, so there are plenty of open questions about it.

If presenting in person is not possible (for example, the flight to the client’s location will cost an amount comparable to the cost of the upcoming project), then you should prepare the maximum amount of materials that can describe everything you have in mind. You will need to anticipate what questions the recipients of the presentation may have. Try to present it in front of your colleagues before sending it. If the presentation file will be sent, make sure that it is prepared in all possible formats: PDF, Keynote, and PPTX. In this case, the likelihood that it simply cannot be opened (which is not rare) is minimized.

The most luxurious thing in the case of a remote (not in-person) presentation is a landing page that introduces the concept of the interface. A page that talks sequentially about what you could talk about in person and show. This is where all the images would fit, videos, and links to files. And also a link to the landing page can be sent without problems to all colleagues. And with its opening will certainly not have problems.

Ideally, all of the above should be done: a personal presentation, a presentation file in all formats and a link to the landing page, where the client can find the presented and related materials.

By the way, I had a case when a concept was prepared and the process of this preparation was presented along with it. In the end, the client was not satisfied with the concept, but they liked the presented process so much that they still chose us to work with. Work continued on the next concept.

UX and UI design of new functionality

Let’s assume that the interface is already designed, built and integrated with CMS. The service is working and growing. Something is constantly being added to it: the possibility of conference calls, or analyzing the stock market.

Usually, the new functionality is a set of mockups, step-by-step representing all the stages of working with it. If the functionality is too complex for a couple of mockups, you should first visualize it schematically (and present this piece), and after the schemes are approved, you should start with the final mockups.

It is better to present the interface of the new functionality by voice and cursor. Skype, Slack, Zoom or other similar software that allows you to show your screen to the client will be suitable for this purpose. The functionality is new, so how it will work in the future is not clear yet, as the client customers are not yet familiar with it. This situation is close to a concept where you can’t predict everything. During the call you can not only show and tell how the new interface will work, but also answer any questions that may arise.

I do not recommend to make all the states of all screens at once in the presentation of the new functionality. There is a high probability that some of the work will be wasted, because the project manager or the client may have knowledge that affects design decisions, but this knowledge has not reached you. During the presentation, all the pitfalls will just show themselves.

When pitching the interface of new functionality to developers, you should describe what happens on the screens. And the narration should be correlated with the steps in the interface. For example: first logged in (link to the authorization screen), then opened a page (link to that page), then opened a menu there (link to the menu screen), and so on. In our studio, Figjam is used for this purpose, where layouts and their states are collected. The main ways from the buttons to the states following the click on them are laid out between the mockups. Not rarely these ways are provided with comments (for example, long tap can’t be shown in layouts, only described).

Making client changes

When it comes to client changes, most likely the contact has already been established and there is no need for a personal presentation of the work. But even in this case, you should not just link to the modified layout. It is necessary to describe what exactly was changed, where this change came from and what was the purpose of it, as not everyone has a perfect memory and high level of attentiveness. Not everyone can remember what the problem was and what the task was.

If you want the modified mockups to be approved, help the mockups to be approved: don’t disperse the client’s attention to different comments and e-mails. Describe in one message what you did, why you did it that way, and provide mockups or links to them.

Suggestions for improving the current interface (initiative)

A good interface designer not only helps in solving business problems, but also independently suggests improvements that will either help the user complete their task faster or brighten their stay in the interface. The situation is similar to the presentation of the interface with new functionality described above, but here the work is initiative, not commissioned.

Firstly, such work should be shown only after all the tasks with high priority have been presented, even if your proposal has been ready for a long time and is just gathering dust on the shelf. From the outside it should look like “We fulfilled all your needs first of all, but here we also thought how it could be better”, not “We don’t give a shit about your tasks, here is our vision”.

Second, suggestions for improvements should be brief. You should do with one or two screens, even if they have to be followed by drawing of a hundred mockups. The initiative should look like “We didn’t spend a lot of time on this, but look how we can benefit from it if we finish it”.

I am Sasha Tikhonov, co-founder and art director at Flyphant.

We are Flyphant. Mobile applications and web development, graphic design, motion graphics — this is all that we are not only able of but also love doing.

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