A Designer’s Guide to More Effective Client MeetingsA Designer’s Guide to More Effective Client Meetings
The network for creativity
Join 1.25M professional creatives like you
Connect with clients, get discovered, and run your business 100% commission-free
Creatives on Contra have earned over $150M and we are just getting started
Back to feedPost
Nirooz's avatar
Nirooz Vp
• 2d
Here's how I approach client meetings as a designer.
1. Shut up and listen.
Seriously. Let the client talk.
Most of the time, they'll give you the context you need — what they're trying to achieve, what isn't working, and what they expect from the project.
Don't rush to suggest solutions before you understand the problem.
2. Ask questions when something is unclear.
A few questions I always want answers to:
- Who are your competitors?
- What makes you different from them?
- What do you want people to notice or remember about your product?
These answers give you a starting point for research and help you understand what the design needs to communicate.
3. Ask for design references.
Show me products or websites you like. Ask the client what they like about them.
Is it the layout? The typography? The overall feel?
You don't have to copy those references. You use them to understand the client's taste and align expectations before you start designing.
This alone can save you a lot of unnecessary revisions.
The goal of a client meeting isn't to impress them with your ideas. It's to understand the problem well enough to come up with the right ones.
Web Design
Post image
Back to feed
The network for creativity
Join 1.25M professional creatives like you
Connect with clients, get discovered, and run your business 100% commission-free
Creatives on Contra have earned over $150M and we are just getting started