Working with clients is the lifeblood of any designer. You may just design for your own company and not work directly with external clients, or you may be on the front lines every day talking to clients, selling design work, and trying to get more. 

Either way, there are a few skills that will help you deepen those relationships, and if you want to be a more valuable designer, this is a key area to focus on. Your goal should be to position yourself not just a capable designer, but a partner to your client's design efforts. And trust me, there is a big difference between the two. 

Being a partner means you show your client that you are in it for the long haul and that you care about the bigger picture they have to deal with. This helps build trust with them, and shows your colleagues you are thinking about the long game. This is always a win!

Rule 1: Make them look like a champion!

Making your client look like a champion requires a bit of thinking beyond the design ask, and it is one of the best things you can do to start positioning yourself as a more valuable designer.

Tell your client that not only do you want to nail the project, but you want to make them look like champs- in their organization, industry, and to their peers.

Think carefully about your client's position in their company and what goals they are trying to meet- not just with this project but in their “bigger picture”. 

For example, you may know your client feels the need to be more innovative in the market space (because you have done work to understand what makes them unique in the market place). Perhaps she has been hired to blaze new roads for the company. So in addition to explaining how your design choices will create a great experience for the end user, also explain (and perhaps mock up) something you have identified to help them be potentially more innovative.

While it is an extra bit of work, it goes a long ways to show that you are thinking on a higher level for your client. Note: When "going the extra mile", make sure it doesn't come at the cost of the original design ask. The original design ask is always the priority.

Possible things your client may be thinking:

• Are you the right designer to do this work?

• Do you "get" me?

• Can you work with me?

• Can you meet our process methods and needs?

• Will you deliver?

• Do you have plan?

• How do you work?

Ask yourself: How can you assure them about the questions listed above? What are some of the concerns your client has voiced in or beyond the scope of the project? 

Rule 2: Talk about your design choices in terms of the value they create, not just how it looks and feels 

Designers get pumped about their design. So do clients, but often for different reasons. 

As designers, we tend to geek out on craft, precision, and beauty. And we should! But your client thinks about your design work this way: "Does this do what I need it do?".

Which is why whenever I present design work, I start by telling the client up front what value the design is trying to create, then I explain how my design choices realize that effort. 

The conversation usually sounds something like this:

"Hi Client! The website design we are going to review today creates value by being an easy to navigate experience for the end user while also meeting your business needs of driving sales." 

This sounds pretty simple, but it is an easily overlooked step that truly helps frame all you design conversations. 

Rule 3: Practice Attunement

As you discuss and understand the problems your client is facing, a very simple skill to use is called “attunement”.

This is where you state back to the client the problem they are looking to solve, in your own words. For example, if a client were to say "I want you to design frictionless experience for the end user to book a hotel room", you might say back to them "So when you say a 'frictionless experience' for the end user to book a hotel room, does that mean that it should be the least number of clicks/taps to book a room? Is that what you meant?".

The goal is to state back the words the client used, but then try an example to make sure you both have the same understanding of what those words mean.

In this case, I tried using the clicks or taps to test what the client meant by "frictionless". I might be guessing correctly based on other information they gave me, but if I am wrong, it will be sure to start a conversation that will put me on the right track to create understanding.

This very simple step is frequently overlooked and the most effective communicators I know do this every time they are talking about design work with clients. It is only after they state the problem back to the client do they try to talk about what a solution might be. 

Do you have any "go-to" rules you use to build relationships with your clients? Leave a comment below!