Comments on: Successfully Present Your Web Designs to Clients

By: Jono Alderson

Jono Alderson — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 18:46:21 +0000

@Phletch – Indeed. I love the idea of showing the client a living, breathing example of their finished product, but the more work invested in creating it in the browser (and indeed, where do you stop?), the more potential wasted time if you want any significant changes.

I’m convinced by the argument in principal, but I don’t think we’re quite at the point yet where it’s worth doing. When CSS3 is widely supported, and funky features and rounded corners are easy to implement and don’t require box model workarounds, etc, then perhaps it’ll be feasible to work this way. In the meantime, I think that a little client education and a mix of Photoshop and live examples is the Way To Go.

By: Phletch

Phletch — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 15:46:21 +0000

It seems to me that there’s a tradeoff here between the amount of work upfront and the amount of imagination required on behalf of the client. There was once a time when you could show clients ideas mocked up on paper with a big black marker. That’s no longer possible — they expect something a lot more finished. But I don’t think that means we need to keep pushing this line forward.

There’s another argument implicit in the one you’re making: you can’t really be sure of communicating any ideas to the client unless they are complete. What about the interactive elements? Websites are not brochures, after all — the design is as much about how it works as how it looks. So why stop at HTML/CSS? Why not code all the JS too?

If we continue in this way, it’s not long before you have to show a client a completely finished website first. What ever happened to good client education? Want to make it clear that the design might vary from browser to browser? Tell them. Or, if you must have a visual aid, show them an example. No need to dump piles of time into something only to learn you’ve been going in the wrong direction…

By: roguewavemedia

roguewavemedia — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 02:54:32 +0000

This makes perfect sense. Its an issue a lot of people have had but never really talk about. The difference especially sometimes in IE can be way off the map and you really do not want to try explaining this to clients after you show them the shiny static file. The comment about GD’s not having a clue sometimes is unfortunately true but of course not always the case.

I have found over the years if someone is first a graphic designer and takes a GOOD coding class (even basics) you will SSSOOO understand how to get around things and therefore understand what is what.

Many many discussions have taken place about the designer vs. coder debate but in the end what comes out on the code side to a client is reality vs. wanna be.

Again great post and looking forward to seeing more.

By: Milwaukee Website Design

Milwaukee Website Design — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 13:43:09 +0000

I’ve run into this problem many a time, when either working on the back-end as subcontracted by a graphic designer or in presenting my own designs. When working underneath a graphic designer (Many of whom I hate to say it have no concept of the web), it’s often difficult to explain to them why their amazing-on-print ad won’t be able to transpose to the web due to css restrictions, certain parts not being able to be fluid, etc. I’ve tried my best to present new designs in a browser however it does require a lot more work- and if the client doesn’t like the design it takes more time to code something else by hand. The benefits outweigh the drawbacks, however, and I feel that the browser approach is best. Good article, and a great observation.