Opportunity: Client wants to be presented with a design that fills the need of their shopping center that the landlord will approve and the city will permit.

 

Challenge: The customer has provided very little information on what they are hoping to see. You are basically designing without knowing what they really want.

 

Solution: Follow these six steps to designing a great monument that fills the need and is defendable to the customer.

 

Where do you start? 

Where do you begin the design process when the client won’t give you any guidance as to what they would like to see? Even when your salesperson asks all the right questions there are some customers that just won’t reveal their hole card. When this occurs, I follow some simple and logical steps that I would normally not force myself to take but have learned that it makes all the difference during the presentation.

 

For this example, I am using a monument project, similar to what would be placed at your everyday typical urban shopping mall with 10 tenants and one anchor store.

 

Some details about the project: The customer is the major tenant who has offered to split the cost of the sign with the landlord—who’s likely a grumpy old curmudgeon.

 

The landlord is the owner of the complex. The need of the shopping center is visibility from the highway and the city sign code is very restrictive.

 

Photo 1

Photo 2

Photo 3

Step One: Architectural relevance 

Look at the building photos and find some unique, ornate features that could be used as part of the sign’s structure: cornices, canopies, eves, gutters, trim, stone, brick, rock, doors, windows and existing tenant signs (See Photos 1, 2 and 3). Any or all of these can be incorporated into the design. Be creative! Step out of the box.

 

Step Two: The Buildings’ Colors 

Incorporate the buildings’ brick or stucco colors—or colors that closely compliment the building. You don’t have to use the exact colors necessarily, just be complimentary with your choices. 

 

Step Three: A) Customer wants B) Landlord wants C) Customer needs D) City code... balancing the four factors

This can be some of the most valuable information a sales person can give a designer. There can be a huge difference between the four factors that give parameters to the direction of your design. In this case, we’re clueless as to what (A) the customer wants (but in most cases the customer describes what they want to see in your design. (B) The landlord typically has some restrictions as to what the sign can or can’t have. (C) The shopping center and its tenants need visibility from the highway. Finally, (D) the city has its sign code that trumps everybody’s wants and needs. The sign code must be followed or a variance must be applied if the customer and landlord want something different than code allows. 

 

While you are designing your monument, it’s important to remember that each of these factors affect the design. Design only for the customers’ wants and you may not get a permit, design for the landlord and the customer may not be happy, etc. It’s all restricted by city code, so your job is to blend the three (A,B & C) so that the need is filled. In this way the customer and landlord are happy and the city will permit it.

 

Step Four: Start with basic sketches to determine the best design direction

I have found that it’s better to create sketches in grayscale to avoid aversions to certain colors. In this case, you have no ideas what colors the customer may want or not want; they may hate brown even though their building is brown. Showing a grayscale design will open up a dialogue on colors, which might be the first step in finding out what the customer wants. 

 

I usually create three different grayscale sketches in Corel X5. I show the sketches to the salesperson and see if he or she feels any of the concepts hit the mark. Here is where the two of you make the decision to move forward and finalize one of the designs or show the customer the initial sketches to get their feedback. This decision can make or break the profits on design fees so make sure you and the sales person are on the same page before moving forward. Without knowing what the customer wants, showing your sketches to the customer to help gain some direction will save you and your company time and money.

 

Step Five: Getting the customer’s feedback on your sketches

If you chose to let the customer see the initial sketches to get their feedback (which I like to do), be ready to defend your drawings (see Step Six). If the salesperson is keen at observing body language, they will know pretty quickly which design the customer favors. Let the customer tell you which design appeals to them most. Explain possibilities. If your salesperson is on board with the design, their job will be a lot easier and he or she will be able to defend it. This process also allows the salesperson to show the customer artwork a lot quicker than waiting for a finalized design. It provides one more opportunity for opening up a dialogue on the sign’s design qualities. 

 

Step Six: Defend your design with the facts

You have incorporated architectural features and building colors. You have listened to the needs of customer (their deafening roar of silence) and the landlord. You’ve addressed the needs of the tenants and your design fills that need. The design will be approved for a permit as it falls within the city guidelines and now the customer who would not tell you what they wanted asks the sales person, “What made you come you come up with this design idea?” Are you and your salesperson prepared to defend it? 

 

Why did you use brick on the base and not stone? Why did you use two columns instead of a solid base? Why did you put a rotating chicken on the top? Give your sales person all the ammo they need to defend your design to the customer. Once the customer understands why your design is perfect for their situation and it’s within budget, closing the sale will be easy.