Understanding why your client exists will help you understand how they will succeed. Asking this question allows the client to give you the most important information about the business, and therefore, allows you to see what content should be displayed in a more prominent manner.

What are the long-term goals of your company?

Knowing how a company views itself is helpful in the design process. For instance, if you’re designing a logo for a new company who’s main focus is getting through the next couple years and making a name for themselves in the market, you might be more willing to design on the wild side of things. If, on the other hand, you are working with an investment company who’s main goal is to provide a solid foundation for their clients, the marketing collateral needs to reflect that.

Tell me 5 words that describe your company culture.

A company is directly reflected in the company culture, and thus, understanding how the company works from within is a great way to know where to start designing. If we take the startup from the previous example, this eccentric, young, innovative, envelope-pushing company isn’t going to be well reflected in a solid, corporate logo. The logo should directly reflect the actions that occur within the office and should directly reflect the people who work there. Consider the below—how do you think the company culture differs between these two places?

What is your company/ firm known for, and what would you like it to be known for?

If a client can tell you what a firm is known for, at the most basic answer you will understand your clients business better (which is always helpful when working with a new client). But if they can also tell you what they would like to be known for, you can use design to bridge that gap by incorporating new elements into their design to reflect a client’s future goals

In your mind, what does “a good website” look like?

Here is where you will get bombarded with key elements to incorporate into the design. Knowing what someone’s design preferences will help you think on a similar playing field as you client. By understanding what design elements they are attracted to, you can incorporate some of them into their brand identity.

Who is your target audience?

Every good designer should know a little bit of marketing. And every marketer knows, you have to appeal to the target market. Understanding your client’s consumer will allow you to make appropriate choices all through the design process, and thinking like that consumer will allow you to make an impact with the final design. Take the example below. As a children’s hospital, your target audience is clearly children and parents. You would want the audience to feel safe and comfortable coming into the clinic, despite the likely tragic circumstances. Therefor, the logo should reflect that. Which of the below makes better sense for a pediatrics’ ward?

What do you like/dislike about your brand?

Simply put, you’ll have a starting point—whether it’s a complete overhaul or just a little editing. Understanding what to change in a logo or a website is just as important as knowing what to keep.A lot of times, a client doesn’t want a complete redesign, but simply a facelift. Sometimes, just changing the color combinations or tweaking the font can make all the difference in the world, but understanding what they NEED will be essential.