Clients, you'll be familiar with this: a designer listens to what you say and comes up with a draft design which maybe isn't quite there, or isn't at all there.

Designers  -you'll be familiar with this too: you work damn hard with very little information and come up with something amazing, only for the client to 'not quite like it' or want to 'tweak it here and there'.

Here then, are some tips to avoid this situation, and avoid the inevitable project delays, annoyance and extra cost.

1. Agree upfront how many design-comments-redesign cycles you're going to do. With good preparation, two such iterations should be enough.
2. Complete a basic engagement questionnaire as a start. Click here for ours - (by all means fill it in if you want our services)
3. Make sure that you as a client give the designer as many photos/pictures/graphics/logos for your company as you have - this will help ensure your designer dovetails in with what you've already got.
4. Discuss preferred colous. Maybe 5,  Maybe 10, Maybe 100. Whatever fits for your project.
5. Agree a review team prior to starting. Don't bring in your neighbour, his dog, your uncle and the shopkeeper. If you know you want a team members input then say so upfront. If there are a large number of peoples opinions to take into account, the overall duration, cost and complexity of the project could go up.
6. Iterate. Realise that working together over time is more important than a 'do it and leave' relationship. If you're not sure about a particular page, why not go with it, see how it goes and redesign that one in future?

There's no doubt more to think about, but these are some of the things WebProductive does to ensure we don't waste our clients time and money, and also we don't get too frustrated designing stuff no one wants!