Women in Advertising

Women in advertising is a vast and broad topic. This web page concentrates mainly on the effects of advertising on women as well as the representation of women in advertising throughout the course of history.

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One night in a club I was wearing my wonderbra and was getting quite a lot of attention even to the point of two men came over to tell me what a wonderful chest I had!! But the funniest thing happened, a chap was walking across the room but staring so hard at my chest that he suddenly fell down the stairs much to the amusement of myself and all my friends, but my Wonderbra certainly attracted a lot of attention that evening!!! -- B J (2001-11-28) 







History of Women in Television Advertisements 

There are many different stereotypes of women in advertising. Throughout history there have been many studies that proved women were mainly portrayed on television advertisements as housewives or occupations that are subservient to men. Studies also show the disproportional ratio of women to men in TV advertisements. In the 70’s, it was reported that women were found on camera only 21 % of the time. Allan and Coltrane conducted a study that showed inversely, in the 80’s female appearance on TV advertisement were 5.8% less compared to the 50’s! (Pierce, 1999) In 1996, the Kaiser Family Foundation and Children Now calculated that women were on camera 42 percent of the time. Though this was an increase percentage wise from previous decades, gender inequalities still are rampant. This fact is proved a study conducted by Professors Daniel J. Bretl and Joanne Cantor of the University of Wisconsin (1995) which found that 90% of voice-overs used in advertisements were male, despite some of the products were aimed predominantly to females. (http://www.childnow.org) 

Effects of Advertising on Women 

Advertising has many effects on society as a whole. As a result of not being in as many commercials, at very young ages boys and girls conclude that girls are valued less than boys. The commercials that females are mostly in are ones that portray them as them and thin and beautiful while some how also being subservient to men. The negative effects of advertising on women fall into a huge range of problems. The most common would effect be the constant increase of women’s struggles with dieting and eating disorders. As, Wilson and Blackhurst point out, “…fifty-six percent of all women are on diets (Pipher, 1995) …and eighty percent of girls have dieted by the time they reach eighteen (Brown, 1993).” Unfortunately as girls were raised, they were always taught to be submissive and dainty. It almost seemed like they are told their opinions don’t matter and that they should just sit there look pretty or be fragile like glass dolls. Many ads use this to their advantage. They make girls think that the only thing they should do is work on their appearance, because their opinions don’t matter. This results in several girls falling into depression or developing eating disorders. The inner struggles of keeping the pain in cause some girls to want to commit suicide before wanting to be fat. (Kilborne, 1999 p.132)

How Can We Try to Put an End to the Negative Effects of Advertising on Women? 

There are a billion hypotheses on why advertising is so effective on women. The important question is, what does one do to stop and try to prevent future generations from falling into the struggles women past and present had to face? Start awareness groups - that explain to pre-adolescent teens not to be manipulated by advertisers.

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~ To ban pro-anorexia and pro-bulmia sites – many of these teach young girls to practice eating disorder. A campaign perhaps to banning such sites would be beneficial.

~ To place advertisements that have positive effects - ones that get the message across to girls that they should accept themselves the way they are.

~ As Kate Pierce points out “Equal pay and equal portrayals in the media will not by themselves change the status of women in America, but they can be catalyst for further change.” Though it is human nature to care about one’s appearance, it should not be women nature to scrutinize to the point of self-destruction.


The importance of the youth obtaining this knowledge is crucial. Advertiser’s play out sex roles in even children’s programming “The result is a continuum of limiting messages that often tell girls and boys alike that female appearance is central, that boys can do and achieve things girls can¹t, and that boys have more value than girls.” 
The first step toward revolution is awareness, to educate the future generations. It is not really possible for the present to make a substantial change. People are set in their ways and practices they individual beliefs. The fact is that there have been plenty of women in America that strive and have overcome many obstacles but are not recognized at the same stature as men. Hopefully, the future generations will learn and realize that every man and woman is created equal, despite centuries of contradiction. 

Beauty and Body Image in the Media

Beauty and Body Image in the Media

"We don’t need Afghan-style burquas to disappear as women. We disappear in reverse—by revamping and revealing our bodies to meet externally imposed visions of female beauty." Source: Robin Gerber, author and motivational speaker

Images of female bodies are everywhere. Women—and their body parts—sell everything from food to cars. Popular film and television actresses are becoming younger, taller and thinner. Some have even been known to faint on the set from lack of food. Women’s magazines are full of articles urging that if they can just lose those last twenty pounds, they’ll have it all—the perfect marriage, loving children, great sex, and a rewarding career.
Why are standards of beauty being imposed on women, the majority of whom are naturally larger and more mature than any of the models? The roots, some analysts say, are economic. By presenting an ideal difficult to achieve and maintain, the cosmetic and diet product industries are assured of growth and profits. And it’s no accident that youth is increasingly promoted, along with thinness, as an essential criterion of beauty. If not all women need to lose weight, for sure they’re all aging, says the Quebec Action Network for Women’s Health in its 2001 reportChangements sociaux en faveur de la diversité des images corporelles. And, according to the industry, age is a disaster that needs to be dealt with.
The stakes are huge. On the one hand, women who are insecure about their bodies are more likely to buy beauty products, new clothes, and diet aids. It is estimated that the diet industry alone is worth anywhere between 40 to 100 billion (U.S.) a year selling temporary weight loss (90 to 95% of dieters regain the lost weight).1 On the other hand, research indicates that exposure to images of thin, young, air-brushed female bodies is linked to depression, loss of self-esteem and the development of unhealthy eating habits in women and girls.
The American research group Anorexia Nervosa & Related Eating Disorders, Inc. says that one out of every four college-aged women uses unhealthy methods of weight control—including fasting, skipping meals, excessive exercise, laxative abuse, and self-induced vomiting. The pressure to be thin is also affecting young girls: the Canadian Women's Health Network warns that weight control measures are now being taken by girls as young as 5 and 6. American statistics are similar. Several studies, such as one conducted by Marika Tiggemann and Levina Clark in 2006 titled “Appearance Culture in Nine- to 12-Year-Old Girls: Media and Peer Influences on Body Dissatisfaction,” indicate that nearly half of all preadolescent girls wish to be thinner, and as a result have engaged in a diet or are aware of the concept of dieting.  In 2003, Teen magazine reported that 35 per cent of girls 6 to 12 years old have been on at least one diet, and that 50 to 70 per cent of normal weight girls believe they are overweight. Overall research indicates that 90% of women are dissatisfied with their appearance in some way.2
Media activist Jean Kilbourne concludes that, "Women are sold to the diet industry by the magazines we read and the television programs we watch, almost all of which make us feel anxious about our weight."
Unattainable Beauty
Perhaps most disturbing is the fact that media images of female beauty are unattainable for all but a very small number of women. Researchers generating a computer model of a woman with Barbie-doll proportions, for example, found that her back would be too weak to support the weight of her upper body, and her body would be too narrow to contain more than half a liver and a few centimeters of bowel. A real woman built that way would suffer from chronic diarrhea and eventually die from malnutrition. Jill Barad president of Mattel (which manufactures Barbie) estimated that 99% of girls aged 3 to 10 years old own at least one Barbie doll.3
Still, the number of real life women and girls who seek a similarly underweight body is epidemic, and they can suffer equally devastating health consequences. In 2006 it was estimated that up to 450, 000 Canadian women were affected by an eating disorder.4
The Culture of Thinness
Researchers report that women’s magazines have ten and one-half times more ads and articles promoting weight loss than men’s magazines do, and over three-quarters of the covers of women’s magazines include at least one message about how to change a woman’s bodily appearance—by diet, exercise or cosmetic surgery.
Television and movies reinforce the importance of a thin body as a measure of a woman’s worth. Canadian researcher Gregory Fouts reports that over three-quarters of the female characters in TV situation comedies are underweight, and only one in twenty are above average in size. Heavier actresses tend to receive negative comments from male characters about their bodies ("How about wearing a sack?"), and 80 per cent of these negative comments are followed by canned audience laughter.
There have been efforts in the magazine industry to buck the trend. For several years the Quebec magazine Coup de Pouce has consistently included full-sized women in their fashion pages and Châtelaine has pledged not to touch up photos and not to include models less than 25 years of age. In Madrid, one of the world’s biggest fashion capitals, ultra-thin models were banned from the runway in 2006. Furthermore Spain has recently undergone a project with the aim to standardize clothing sizes through using a unique process in which a laser beam is used to measure real life women’s bodies in order to find the most true to life measurement.5
However, advertising rules the marketplace and in advertising thin is "in." Twenty years ago, the average model weighed 8 per cent less than the average woman—but today’s models weigh 23 per cent less. Advertisers believe that thin models sell products. When the Australian magazine New Woman recently included a picture of a heavy-set model on its cover, it received a truckload of letters from grateful readers praising the move. But its advertisers complained and the magazine returned to featuring bone-thin models. Advertising Age Internationalconcluded that the incident "made clear the influence wielded by advertisers who remain convinced that only thin models spur the sales of beauty products."
Another issue is the representation of ethnically diverse women in the media. A 2008 study conducted by Juanita Covert and Travis Dixon titled "A Changing View: Representation and Effects of the Portrayal of Women of Color in Mainstream Women's Magazines” found that although there was an increase in the representation of women of colour, overall white women were overrepresented in mainstream women’s magazines from 1999 to 2004.
Self-Improvement or Self-Destruction?
The barrage of messages about thinness, dieting and beauty tells "ordinary" women that they are always in need of adjustment—and that the female body is an object to be perfected.
Jean Kilbourne argues that the overwhelming presence of media images of painfully thin women means that real women’s bodies have become invisible in the mass media. The real tragedy, Kilbourne concludes, is that many women internalize these stereotypes, and judge themselves by the beauty industry's standards. Women learn to compare themselves to other women, and to compete with them for male attention. This focus on beauty and desirability "effectively destroys any awareness and action that might help to change that climate."

Importance of Advertising

Advertising is one of the oldest forms of public announcement and occupies a vital position in an organisation's product mix.

According to the American Marketing Association, Chicago, "Advertising is any paid form of non personal presentation of ideas, goods and services by an identified sponsor."

To advertise means to inform (seen as the flow of information about a product or service from the seller to the buyer). However, advertising does not end with the flow of information alone. It goes further to influence and persuade people to take a desired action - like placing an order to buy a product.

The consumer market has become highly competitive with a new brand being born almost everyday. Irrespective of the kind of product you are looking for, be it consumer durables like refrigerators, air conditioners, washing machines or fast moving consumer products (FMCG) the number of brands available is truly mind boggling. Naturally it is the prime concern of every marketer to promote their brand as a shade better than the competitors'. Advertising comes in handy here.

However, simply informing a customer that a brand exists is not enough. Advertising should be targetted towards the prospective audience in such a way that it forms a positive impact on the customer and in the process creates brand recognition.
Marketers generally target advertising campaigns at the groups of customers:

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First Time Users of a product - Customers who don't use that product category at all. The aim is to convince them to try that product.
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First Time Users of a brand - Consumers who don't use a particular brand but might be using a competitor's brand. The aim here is to convince buyers to switch from the competition product to theirs.
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Regular users of the brand - Buyers who are using the brand already. The aim is to serve as a reminder of the brand's benefits and convince them to continue using it.
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Launch a new brand into the market.

Irrespective of who the ad is targetted at, a firm that plans to spend on advertising, must make sure that advertising campaign creates a positive impression of the brand in the minds of the customer, creates a need in them to try the brand and a commitment to continue using it.

Contributing Author: Akanksha is a freelance content writer. An Advertising graduate, she writes Research based Articles on topics ranging from content writing, travel, home improvement etc.

15 Ways to Make Your Press Release Stand Out From the Crowd!

Do editors of newspapers, magazines and online news sites really
use press releases? Too right they do. In fact, the press
release is one of the most effective forms of publicity. But
many businesses, both online and off, underestimate the power
the press has to promote their business and get their product or
service noticed by potential customers.

There are no figures that show how many news stories are
generated by press releases but my guess is that it runs into
the hundreds and thousands, if not more. Many will be published
word for word. Others will be paraphrased. But, either way the
stories generate free, credible publicity for you, and your
business.

So how do you convince reporters and editors to sit up and take
notice of your company’s news? Write a press release that’s
newsworthy, factual, topical, and then send it to the right
people. It’s not as simple as it sounds, though, because the
press is bombarded with information everyday and their
priorities are not necessarily yours. 

Have no fear. Here are 15 tips to help you write a press release
that will impress reporters, and increase your chances of
publication.

1. Don’t waste the reporters’ time submitting something that
isn’t news. Find an interesting angle or a new twist and you’re
almost guaranteed success. If you make your story sound dull it
will probably end up in the trash. The best source for ideas is
the magazines and newspapers themselves. Not the front page
headlines but the one or two paragraph items on page three or
page 10. Play close attention to these because they often
suggest something bigger is afoot. If that something can tie
into your product or service you’re on to a sure-fire winner. 

2. Your headline should summarize your story in ten words or
less. It tells the editor, at a glance, if your story is
newsworthy or not. Avoid adjectives like “amazing” and
“exciting’. It’s a turn off for journalists. A simple title such
as,“MarketingBiz.com Announces Launch of Newsletter Service” is
better than, “MarketingBiz.com to Launch Exciting and
Interesting New Service.” Remember, this is news, not
advertising.

3. Make sure your lead sentence contains all the main points of
your story. It should tell the reader who has done what, where,
why and when. Try not to let this sentence ramble on. Make sure
it’s straight to the point and contains only essential
information.

4. Include all the benefits of your product or service. If your
product is 20% cheaper, say so. If your service can help make
your client, healthier or wealthier, say so. Concentrate on the
advantages to the consumer because no one cares about the
advantages the product has to you.

5. Add detail to your story. In the body of your release add
extra information in order of importance. But beware, editors
delete paragraphs from the end so make sure you include vital
information early. 

6. If possible include one or two quotes from reliable or expert
sources. Quotes give a point of view, reflect the personality of
the speaker and add a human element.

7. Keep the length to a single page if possible. Definitely no
more than two. Anything over that becomes a chore for the
editor. If you must go to two pages put “more” at the bottom of
page one so the editor knows there is more to your story. At the
end of your release put either the word “Ends” or ### or –30-.
This lets the editor know your release is over. 

8. If you’re sending photos with your release, always include a
caption listing the names of people in the photo. Include
sources, contacts and the release date.

9. Avoid embargoes unless they are absolutely necessary. They
are often used to make a story look more important than it
actually is. Editors will rarely be fooled and you may find it’s
counter-productive.

10. Sending your release to the right people and to enough
publications will increase your chances of getting your story
printed. There are literally thousands of newspapers, magazines
and online publications for trade and the consumer. Find the
right ones by:

 Checking listings in a media directory. You can find
them at your local library.  Using an online service
such as PR Web, that offers free distribution, or a paid service
like PR Newswire.  Sending the release to trade
publications related to your business  Contacting local
and national TV and Radio

11. The more press releases you issue, the more will get
printed. Ensure you issue at least one story a month. But don’t
send out a release for the sake of it.

12. If you’re sending your release via email, avoid sending file
attachments. Editors are wary of viruses and most will
immediately delete your release.

13. Avoid fancy letterheads and gimmicks. What you say is more
important.

14. Include contact name(s), telephone number(s) including cell
phone numbers and an email address. This may sound obvious, but
a surprising number of releases are submitted with this
essential information missing.

15. Make your grammar and spelling perfect. A poorly written,
grammatically incorrect press release tells the editor one
thing…that your company does not have professional standards.
Proofread your release several times before you submit it. Don’t
just rely on a spell-checker.

35 Quick Tips for Writing A Press Release

Layout 1. 1-2 pages in length. 2. Double-space. 3. 1.5 to 2 inch
margins. 4. Use company stationary with logo and slogan. 5.
Avoid bright or dark-colored paper. 6. Center "News Release" at
top. 7. Place a "release date" under "News Release". 8. On
second page, type "page 2". 9. Use company stationary with logo
and slogan on page 2. 10. Leave out "release after" date on
second page, all else should be the same. 11. At end of press
release, type "-30-" or "# # #". 12. Include both black & white,
color, and a variety of font sizes (but no more than four).

Format 13. Inverted pyramid (biggest point or major message
first). 14. Straight to the point at the beginning. 15. First
and second paragraphs devoted to your main message. 16.
Secondary information comes AFTER main message. 17. No
pussyfooting around, be clear up front, at the very beginning.
18. Don't go on and on. 19. In the third section, establish a
connection with you. 20. Use a problem/solution format. 21.
Comparing and contrasting ideas can be inside the
problem/solution format. 22. Be careful of your facts, spelling
and grammar 23. Only one news release per e-mail or envelope.

Information to Include 24. Newsworthy information, not sales
copy 25. All the Who, What, When, Where, Why and How elements.
Their order depends on level of importance. 26. Enticing
headline which summarize the material/news. 27. Photos if
available, or where they can be accessed in press section of
your web site. No stock images. 28. No cover letter.

Distribution 29. Don't send press release out in a mass
e-mailing 30. Don't pester contacts 31. Editors will not
distribute anything sloppy, difficult to read, or understand.
32. Mail release by first class mail. 33. Don't use any type of
labels, including your return address. 34. Add "PRESS RELEASE"
and "Release Date:" on outside of envelope. 35. your general knowledge 

20 Worst Habits of Clients

Below is a common list of issues designers have to deal with while working with clients on projects and how to avoid or solve those issues in a professional manner.

This article was written by Gino over at YouTheDesigner.

1. Wanting Great Designs for Cheap Prices

Because everyone seems to have Photoshop and know a designer nowadays, many clients tend to have a bad idea of what design is worth. While it can be ok to have low prices when you are starting out, when you are confident enough and your work is good enough you should come up with prices that make it worth your time.

Many clients also try to outsource their projects to India and other places where designers work for rock bottom prices, but you need to stick behind your work and hold out for those clients who know what you are worth. Let them know why you are the best choice!

2. Asking you to Design on Spec

This is when clients want to see a finished design before they pay. You should avoid doing this as much as possible, but in times of desperation it could be he only option. Be confident though and let clients choose you based on your portfolio and not on spec. Be especially careful of designing on spec for people on classifieds and forums because it’s a common scam in places like those where they really are not clients, but designers themselves looking to steal your work and use it for their own projects.

3. Slow Payments

Some clients are notorious for paying slowly or not at all. The way I combat this is to ALWAYS require a down payment before I begin work. For smaller project I usually ask for all the money upfront and I never send the final files until I receive the last payments.

4. Not Planning out the Project Upfront

I find it extremely important to plan out a project as much as possible before starting work. Even if they have a tight deadline make it clear the project must be fully planned out before you begin. After all meetings and discussions are done write up an estimate listing all of the details of the project and your prices and terms.

5. Not Giving you all the Copy and Images Needed up Front

This is probably one of the most common bad habits of clients. I try to stress several times that I require all copy and images before I begin and this usually gets them to give it to me on time. Although don’t be surprised if you end up having to design using dummy text and make annoying adjustments later to fit the actual copy.

6. Not Having High Resolution Images for Print Projects

This is usually due to the fact that clients do no understand the fine points of resolution or that they just do not have any high resolution images available. Try recommend using high resolution stock photography or illustrations instead, but if they really must use those images try to keep them as small as possible. If this happens make sure you write in your contract that the images provided were of low resolution and may not reproduce well when printed.

7. Forcing you to use Poorly Designed Logos and Other Elements

Many times clients will ask you to include pre-existing logos or other design elements within the project you are working on. You will have to judge when and when not to argue this if you feel it hurts the overall design. Learning how to negotiate and inform clients on what you believe is best can be considered an art form and takes practice!

8. Can you Make that Type Bigger?

This has always been on ongoing battle between designers and clients and has become a sort of inside joke for designers. Even Paula Scher commented on the issue by naming on of her books Make It Bigger.

9. Asking for Way too Many Revisions

This one can be pretty easily avoided by establishing a set amount of revision rounds and initial concepts before starting a project. Make sure you get this in writing or at least save your emails where they agree to your specifications. This is most commonly done in the logo and identity design area of graphic design.

10. Asking for Additional Work on top of the Original Agreement

This one can be good or bad. It’s bad when they spring additional work on you and don’t want to pay more, but it’s good if your agreement outlines the pricing for additional work.

11. Never Available to Questions or to Look at Samples

Often clients can be extremely busy and working on multiple projects at once. As designers it’s important for us to be able to contact our clients to show them samples, revisions and ask important questions. This one is really up to you guys. You can either try and deal with it and get the project done or you can let the client know about the issue and try and resolve it or drop them.

12. Pinning Printing Costs on You

Many designers handle printing for clients, but I try to stay away from this. I’ve seen way too many clients try and stick designers with outrageous printing bills because of an error in the final design. I basically say I can recommend printers to you and do an initial check of the files to make sure they are print ready, but it’s up to you and your printer to do a final prepress check and make sure the files are correct, because I will not be held responsible for any printing costs whatsoever.

13. Not willing to pay for Additional Costs

This usually turns out bad if you try to spring additional costs on clients at the end of the project. Once again this problem can easily be avoided if you specify upfront what the additional costs are or might be. This can include stock photography, stock illustrations, printing costs and rush fees.

14. Canceling Projects

Whether you or a client decided to end a project you should be covered in some way. Using a contract again is a simple way to protect yourself. Simply state that if a project is canceled, you will invoice for work completed up until that point. Some designers give no refunds at all and some are happy to refund clients if they are the ones who drop the client because of issues.

15. Returning Many Months Later for Login Information

I recently had a client from over two years ago contact me in desperation because he lost certain login information. Lucky for him I keep good records and I was easily able to look up his info. I’m not sure what would have happened if I didn’t have it, but having it in my records made it an easy problem to solve.

16. Asking for Files Years Later

Similar to log in information clients often misplace files you send them. I always keep files on my computer, even from projects years ago and I make sure to back up my files on multiple external hard drives.

17. Legal Action

No one likes this one, but it does happen so be prepared. Always save emails and paperwork in case you need to present them as evidence. Also make sure you find a lawyer that can help you if something comes up. Ask family and friends if they know any good lawyers who would be willing to represent you if a problem occurs.

18. Over Controlling

Some clients are very over controlling and don’t allow for much creative freedom. When dealing with an over controlling client it’s important to let them know you are the designer without sounding to harsh or rude. Just give them your honest opinion on issues and suggest things when you can without being to pushy.

19. Lack of Research & Planning

Sometimes clients want a website or some other project done, but they have absolutely no idea what’s going on. By this I mean they have done no research or planning before hand, but still want a complicated website that’s easy to update.

This makes things extremely difficult for designers because we have to explain every last detail several times for clients. While helping clients is our job there are some clients who really need to go back to the start and do more research on what they are getting themselves into.

20. I Know Everything

Similar to over controlling clients, some clients think they know everything there is to know about design and what your job entails. They tend to tell you exactly what to do with your designs and can be very pushy. Sometimes you have to just deal with this, but as mentioned before don’t be afraid to give your input. I mean they did hire you because you are a professional designer right?

How to get clients to say yes to your designs

Paul Boag, a famous web designer and host of one of the coolest web design podcasts out there, Boagworld, did a great presentation on how to get clients to say yes to your designs at the 2008 Future of Web Design Conference.

Paul talks about how to make clients understand what we do, while giving us some tips on how can we make them approve our work. I highly recommend you to watch the video below, but for those who do not have 35 minutes spare, the video is summarised below.

NB: In the video you can not see the slides on the projector but you can see the slides here. I suggest you have a look at the slides before watching the video.

So, how do we get clients to say yes?

Paul kept stressing that the designer’s relationship with clients is fundamentally flawed.

We have to face the fact that a big part of our job is to nurture our client relationship. In many ways, we treat the clients like Monarchy and see ourselves as their servants. Often times we follow their leads, in a submissive way, and are afraid to express our opinion.

It’s time for us to change, moving from a master/servant mentality to a peer to peer mentality. We have to take the role of an expert and make them perceive us that way. But how?

Change The Relationship: Be the expert

Have a methodology. A methodology puts you in control. It enables you to set expectations with the client and lets them know what is coming.

Clients want to have a sense of what is coming next. Explain the process, the stages the project will go through. Have a design process. This way you’re setting yourself up to be the person who’s in charge of the relationship. Put yourself in your clients shoes: They are nervous & unsure if they did the right decision to go with you. Make them feel confident in the situation. Make them feel confident that picking you, your studio was the right choice.

When kicking off a project, make sure that there’s a thorough research phase(depending on your process this can entail: success criteria, business objectives, competitive analysis, priorities, user personas, user expectations, site personas) All of this research will help you explain WHY you are doing what you’re doing later on. You need to prove that you are the expert by justifying your decisions. You will have to constantly refer back to the information you gathered in the research phase.

Justify it also by referring to third party experts. People love facts and figures. By referring to other experts, you become an expert by association. Write down everything a client has agreed to, that way you can refer back to it.

Be positive

We need to stop blocking the ideas our clients have. Paul says yes to anything what his clients say but then goes ahead and explains the consequences. “Yes, that’s a good idea, but then, keep in mind that this would…! But hey, here’s an alternative, why don’t we do this instead.” It’s all about being positive. It’s about offering smart alternatives. Be enthusiastic and caring.

Clients are not stupid, they are intelligent clever people. Just because they don’t understand the web, it doesn’t mean they’re not clever. They will pick up on your condescending attitude very quickly. We need to give them credit for what they’re good at. They know their target audience. They know their business. They might have a hard time trying to communicate it in a way that we understand, but we have to help them do so. Always keep in mind that the client will most probably have to live with the design that we’ve built for them for a long time. If it was your portfolio site, wouldn’t you probably hesitate a few times? Haven’t we all been there?

We have to stop excluding the client from the process. Designers have this fear of showing work that we haven’t finished. We need to be better than that, we need to get over this fear and include our client often. By getting the client involved in the early stages of the design process, they feel part of it and therefore feel valued. They are much more likely to sign off a design that they’ve been an actual part of. This may not be appropriate for all designs but in web design it is appropriate.

Shape the client’s role

We need to look at shaping the client’s role. When starting a new project, have a kick-off meeting to explain the overall process but also explain what’s required of the client. They might have never worked on a site, have never worked with you and simply don’t know the process. We have to educate the client, and explain what their role is, which will help them understand each step and also constrain them. By educating the client you can set boundaries.

When educating your client:

Focus on problems
Too often we talk about solutions and not problems. “I don’t like that blue, I want it to be pink”. That won’t do anything for you. You need to find out what the underlying issue is. Always focus the client on a problem, not a solution. The client should instead say “I am not sure the blue is going to appeal to the target audience”.

Focus the client on the business
Concentrate on business objectives. Don’t let the client get caught up in the small details. Focus them on the business objectives of the site. We need to keep the client away from the knitty gritty.

Focus the client on users

Shifting the client’s view on users, moves them away from personal opinion. They usually say “I don’t like“… Get them to say “I don’t think our users will like…”

When you send a client an email with a link to designs, say: “How do you think your user will react to this?” instead of “Let me know what you think!”

Managing Feedback

We need to accept the fact that when dealing with clients, politics will get involved. Even if you work on small business websites, where you talk to the company owner, he’ll show his wife, or his 10 year old nephew. With bigger clients, they have whole committees. Politics are a big part of our day to day work and we have to learn to deal with it. What Paul suggests is to find out who these people are and, if possible, talk to them directly. If you can make them feel listened to, and talk to them directly, then they come on board. They feel listened to and valued. They will end up defending you and your designs.

Design By Committee

In the real world, there is going to be design by committees. The sheep mentality is the danger. Try avoid them getting all in one room. Have separate conversations with them.

• Benefit 1 : You’ll avoid the alpha male dominating the discussion.
• Benefit 2: You’ll avoid the sheep effect and the ‘design on the fly’ problem.
• Benefit 3: You’ll be the only one that knows the overall picture. You can draw the information together and you can refer back to decisions they have made and justify.

But most of all, try to control the type of feedback you get. Again, focus on the user. When dealing with large committees Paul issues a questionnaire to ask specific questions to focus the client on the right way of thinking. We have to make sure they focus on the issues they should be really focusing on.

Types of clients and how to deal with them

Paul explains that there are four types of clients and you must deal with them each in their own way.

The Difficult Existing Client
Become the positive person. Be pro-active, Be excited. Quote experts and become an expert by association.

The No Clue ClientYou need to take control of the relationship and tell them what to do. “This is the right decision and I really believe that…”. You need to be reassuring.

The Micro Manager ClientRefocus them on their role. The really powerful thing with micro mangers is the question of asking why? Focus them on problems and not solutions. “What are you trying to achieve by increasing the logo size by 20pixels?” And with this you might come up with an even better solution. You will have to constantly refer the Micro Manager Client to stuff they previously agreed on.

The Marketeer Clients:With marketeer clients you will have to explain the difference between print and web based design. They speak a special language all on their own which you will need to adopt. Don’t talk grid, colours, white space, etc. You will have to talk selling points,