Communicating Design to Stakeholders
The importance of communicating design
Design and communication go hand in hand — you can’t separate them. As designers, it’s our job to communicate our work to stakeholders (anyone with a stake in the project) in a way that they understand.
While it’s natural to obsess over pixel-perfect visuals, it’s often less common to put as much emphasis on how we plan to communicate those visuals — the story that strings them together and makes them mean something. If we can’t articulate our design so stakeholders understand, we run the risk of:
- Stakeholders disapproving our designs because they don’t understand them
- Stakeholders approving our designs but not fully realizing what they are approving
- Stakeholders making decisions themselves because they don’t understand ours
Tenets for communicating design to stakeholders
I’ve compiled an initial list of tenets for presenting design to stakeholders. The more we practice, the more we can influence decisions and improve the way our work is perceived by others and acted upon.
1. Set the stage. Give your audience context and explain what you need from them upfront.
Remind stakeholders why you invited them, what you are going to talk to them about and what you need from them. Tell them exactly what kind of feedback you need and if you need design approval – be explicit.
2. Never expect design to speak for itself.
As designers, we don’t just get to make design, we have to sell it. Explain why you did what you did to avoid having to make hasty changes that won’t benefit anyone.
3. Make sure your design solves a problem.
Design is about solving problems, not creating problems. While there are aspects of design that are subjective, if it doesn’t solve a problem and make things easier for customers, it will be a hard sell.
4. Focus on communicating the work you have done and not on the work you wish you could have done.
It’s important to think of constraints as a natural part of problem solving. Communicate what you did with what you had. Don’t focus on what you would have done if only you had more time, more data or more resources.
5. Continual progress is better than delayed perfection.
While it is important to not waste stakeholder’s time by having meetings you’re not ready for — it’s equally important to bring stakeholder’s along early in the design process. This avoids waiting until a project is “perfect” (an unachievable goal) before giving stakeholders a chance to weigh in.
6. If the goal of the meeting has been achieved, conclude the meeting.
If you got what you needed, stop talking about the design. Time is our greatest resource, so consider giving some of it back.
7. Present your work as a story, highlighting along the way how it meets both customer and business needs.
Make sure you have the data you need to tell a compelling story. People are more likely to listen to stories. Connect the ‘therefore’s, not the ‘then’s.
8. Acknowledge all feedback and resist the urge to instantly accept all feedback.
Don’t forget the importance of taking time to consider feedback before agreeing to it. It’s often more important that the person giving feedback feels heard than that the design changes on the fly.
9. Follow up.
Even if you think everyone is aligned, it’s important to remember how quickly we forget decisions we have made. Following up fast conveys to others that you listened and you’re putting words into action.
What are your tenets?
If you have insights or related experiences to share, please leave a comment!
