What does a high-end design service feel like?
How can architects and designers give their clients a white-glove experience from Day 1?
After years of dealing with clients as an experiential architect, and then later as a creative studio owner, I realized that communicating with non-technical or non-design clients is extremely challenging.
None of our training helps us communicate the value of design to others that lets us charge premium prices, or really show how what we do helps them solve a problem.
But what if there was a way to find out everything you need to know about your client, their communication style, how they like to solve problems, their appetite for design experimentation, how much they’re willing to invest, all without having to schedule an intro call?
Getting their preferred name is important, that sets the tone makes things more personal
Communication preference let's us know how to best stay in touch.
Then we learn their decision making style, how their brain works
What to they value in design?
How do they spend their money?
What's their risk appetite when it comes to design?
Inspired by the old Facebook quizzes and Astrology, we give people a personality type, something they can identify with
And people love sharing personality quizzes, so we integrate it with LinkedIn
And we let people email the results back to the design firm as well for collection
Design Deconstructed
Using Claude and Cursor I was able to generate the list of questions to ask in the design personality survey that would elicit answers from clients without appearing pushy or overtly asking for information. I deconstructed Typeform’s UX to make the cognitive load low, and make the survey easy to fill out.
For the art direction of the background I sought to create an abstract but dynamic setting that would evoke feelings of “thinking” and “emotion” letting the user ponder each question and not be pressured to fill it out too quickly. I generated a video background in Midjourney that I felt was perfect for this quiz, subtle amounts of noise and film grain remove the digital sheen and ground the user in a more raw atmosphere that feels warm and inviting but not childish or amateur.
This survey heightens the impression of the designer giving it and also establishes them as an authority, armed with the information they need to give their client an amazing experience throughout their work together, or qualify the client out as someone who doesn’t meet their work style or budget.