Slides from my presentation at UX Alive on 11th May 2016, about how we can foster better empathy, trust and communication with our client, through our design approach.

1. HELLOI’m Matt
@duckymatt

2. CLIENTS
Image credit: Hughes Entertainment, Twentieth Century Fox (Home Alone, 1990) @duckymatt

3. CLIENTS
WORKING WITH
BETTER
Image credit: Paramount Pictures (Top Gun, 1986) @duckymatt

4. UX?
SO, HOW DOES THAT RELATE TO
@duckymatt

5. Spent days putting this awesome design together
and just got client feedback. Looks like I'll be
spending the next few days ruining it!!
Gah. Working w/ a client who doesn't get this.
Making my head explode. They don't care about UX.
When you push forward a client design request
that you both know is a terrible idea.
Image credit: Talkback Thames and Channel 4 TV (The IT Crowd, 2006) @duckymatt

6. Image credit: Capella International, Eric’s Boy, KC Medien, Moving Pictures and New Line Cinema (Austin Powers, 1997) @duckymatt

7. http://clientsfromhell.net/ @duckymatt

8. @duckymatthttp://www.sharpsuits.net/

9. @duckymatthttp://www.sharpsuits.net/

10. http://www.sharpsuits.net/ @duckymatt

11. CAN YOU MAKE IT SO
PLAYS EVERY TIME SOMEONE
RECEIVES AN EMAIL FROM US?
@duckymatt

12. A MONSTER OF OUR
OWN MAKING
Image credit: Universal Pictures (Frankenstein, 1931) @duckymatt

13. How much of the shit
we complain about all
day has our fingerprints
all over it?
MIKE MONTEIRO
Photo credit: Amber Gregory: https://www.flickr.com/photos/fontshop/7091584773/
Recommended read: http://www.abookapart.com/products/design-is-a-job
@duckymatt

14. I CLIENT WORK
@duckymatt

15. Image credit:Chartoff-Winkler Productions and United Artists (Rocky, 1976) @duckymatt

16. Image credit: Bold Films, Blumhouse and Right of Way (Whiplash, 2014) @duckymatt

17. The design process is
weird and complicated
because it involves
people…
…who are weird and
complicated.
MARK BOULTON
Photo credit: Anton Peck: http://www.flickr.com/photos/26545827@N00/5691825327/
Source: http://bradfrostweb.com/blog/post/where-theres-muck-theres-brass-mark-boulton-at-smashing-conference/
@duckymatt

18. CLIENT WORK IS ALL
ABOUT RELATIONSHIPS
Image credit: Touchstone Pictures (Turner & Hooch, 1989) @duckymatt

19. THREE KEY INGREDIENTS
Image credit:L.A. Films and HBO (¡Three Amigos!, 1986) @duckymatt

20. EMPATHY
TRUST
COMMUNICATION
@duckymatt

21. EMPATHY
TRUST
COMMUNICATION
@duckymatt

22. PUT THE SHOE ON THE OTHER FOOT
THEY HIRED YOU TO SOLVE A PROBLEM THAT THEY CANNOT ALONE
Image credit:Cinema Group Ventures and Paramount Pictures (Trading Places, 1983) @duckymatt

23. CLIENTS WANT TO BE GUIDED
CLEARLY DEFINE THE ROLES OF
THE CLIENT RELATIONSHIP
Image credit:Paramount Pictures (Forrest Gump, 1994) @duckymatt

24. Image credit: Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation and Cubicle Inc. (Office Space, 1999) @duckymatt

25. ONE ON ONE
INTERVIEWS
Image credit:Village Roadshow Pictures, NPV Entertainment, Baltimore Pictures, Spring Creek Productions, Face Productions, Tribeca Productions (Analyse This, 1999)
http://goodkickoffmeetings.com/2010/04/stakeholder-frontloading/
@duckymatt

26. The turning point in
many interviews is when
the interviewee gets up
and closes the office door
and lowers their voice.
PAUL BOAG
Photo credit: Andreas Øverland: http://www.flickr.com/photos/andreasoverland/4954194732/
Source: http://boagworld.com/business-strategy/how-to-improve-your-site-using-stakeholder-interviews/
@duckymatt

27. http://dilbert.com/strips/comic/2000-11-05/ @duckymatt
SETTING GOALS

28. EMPATHY
TRUST
COMMUNICATION
@duckymatt

29. INTEGRITY
RELIABILITY
TRANSPARENCY
RESPECT @duckymatt

30. HONESTY
DON’T OVER-PROMISE
AND UNDER-DELIVER
Image credit:RKO Radio Pictures and Walt Disney Productions (Pinocchio, 1940) @duckymatt

31. GIVE UPDATES
EVEN IF THERE ISN’T
MUCH TO REPORT
Image credit: Columbia Pictures Corporation and Hawk Films (Dr Strangelove, 1964) @duckymatt

32. TRANSPARENCY
FOSTER TRUST BY INVOLVING YOUR CLIENT
THROUGHOUT THE DESIGN PROCESS
Image credit:Universal Pictures, Amblin Entertainment, U-Drive Productions (Back to the Future, 1985)
@duckymatt

33. TAKE THE CLIENT ON THE
JOURNEY WITH YOUImage credit: MGM and Loew’s (The Wizard of Oz, 1939) @duckymatt

34. SURPRISES
SUCK
Image credit: Lucasfilm (Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back, 1980) @duckymatt

35. COLLABORATE
THROUGH
WORKSHOPS
AND STUDIOS
@duckymatt

36. EXPOSE YOUR
CLIENTS
TO RESEARCH
DIRECTLY
@duckymatt

37. There is a direct
correlation between
this exposure and the
improvements we see
in the designs that
team produces.
JARED SPOOL
Photo credit: Jeffrey Zeldman: http://www.flickr.com/photos/zeldman/8614173005/
http://www.uie.com/articles/user_exposure_hours/
@duckymatt

38. RESPECT
NOT
REVERENCE
Image credit: Paramount Pictures, Alfran Productions (The Godfather, 1972) @duckymatt

39. THE NO PERSON
Image credit: Carolco Pictures, Pacific Western, Lightstorm Entertainment, Canal+ & T2 Productions (Terimator 2: Judgment Day, 1991)
@duckymatt

40. Image credit: Paramount Pictures and Lucasfilm (The Raiders of the Lost Ark, 1981) @duckymatt

41. Your ego is a
bad designer
CHRISTOPHER BUTLER
http://www.newfangled.com/your_ego_is_a_bad_designer
@duckymatt

42. UNCOVER THE
UNDERLYING
PROBLEM
GET THE CLIENT TO
FOCUS ON PROBLEMS
RATHER THAN SOLUTIONS
Image credit: NBC Universal Television (Columbo, 1971) @duckymatt

43. STAY POSITIVE MEANS YOU CAN SAY NO
WITHOUT BEING THE ‘NO’
PERSON
Image credit: Walt Disney and Pixar Studios. (Up, 2009) @duckymatt

44. People will forget what you said.
People will forget what you did.
But people will never forget how
you made them feel.
MAYA ANGELOU
Photo credit: York College ISLGP http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Maya_Angelou_visits_YCP!_2413.jpg
@duckymatt

45. Not only were we satisfied with the quality of work carried
out for us, but we also really enjoyed working closely with
the team in both a professional and personal capacity.
It was very dynamic and creative. I always felt they
really cared about the project.
Great team to work with, everyone was
enthusiastic from the first day to the final delivery.
Image credit: Broadway Video, Little Stranger, NBC Universal Television (30 Rock, 2006) @duckymatt

46. EMPATHY
TRUST
COMMUNICATION
@duckymatt

47. ACTIVELY AVOID
MISINTERPRETATION
FORK HANDLES
OR FOUR CANDLES?
Image credit: BBC. (The Two Ronnies, 1976) @duckymatt

48. When you're struggling
to write a sensitive email,
stop trying. Pick up the
phone and call instead.
CARL SMITH
http://devianthippie.com/
Source: https://twitter.com/carlsmith/status/430505161765974017
@duckymatt

49. PRESENT DESIGNS,
DON’T JUST EMAIL THEM
Image credit: Dreamworks SKG, Universal Pictures, Scott Free Productions, Mill Film, C&L, Dawliz and Red Wagon Entertainment (Gladiator, 2000) @duckymatt

50. @duckymatt

51. YOUR DESIGNS WON’T
SELL THEMSELVES
Image credit: Gracie Films and 20th Century Fox Television (The Simpsons, 1997)
@duckymatt

52. “WHAT DO YOU THINK?”
IS THE ENEMY OF
CONSTRUCTIVE FEEDBACK
Image credit: Warner Bros, Hawk Films, Peregrine and The Producer Circle Company (The Shining, 1980)
@duckymatt

53. The client didn’t hire
you to make something
they liked, and
something they like may
not be the thing that
leads to their success.
MIKE MONTEIRO
Photo credit: Amber Gregory: https://www.flickr.com/photos/fontshop/7091584773/
Source: https://medium.com/@monteiro/13-ways-designers-screw-up-client-presentations-51aaee11e28c
@duckymatt

54. BE CONSISTENT
IN YOUR USE
OF LANGUAGE
Available on iOS or Android: http://uxcompanion.com/ @duckymatt

55. SOME OF THE WAYS
WE FOSTER BETTER
COMMUNICATION
@duckymatt

56. SKETCHING
Image credit: Twentieth Century Fox Films, Paramount Pictures and Lightstorm Entertainment (Titanic, 1997) @duckymatt

57. PROTOTYPING
Image credit: Paramount Pictures, Marvel Studios, Fairview Entertainment and Dark Blades Films (Iron Man, 2008) @duckymatt

58. STYLE TILES
http://styletil.es/ @duckymatt

59. http://boagworld.com/design/pattern-library/
PATTERN LIBRARIES
@duckymatt

60. Image credit: The Ladd Company, Shaw Brothers and Warner Bros. (Blade Runner, 1982) @duckymatt
TESTING, DUH

61. SO NEXT TIME
Image credit: Michael White Productions, National Film Trustee Company and Monty Python Pictures (Monty Python and the Holy Grail, 1975) @duckymatt

62. WHAT COULD YOU HAVE
DONE DIFFERENTLY?
@duckymatt

63. DID YOU SET AND MANAGE
THEIR EXPECTATIONS?
@duckymatt

64. DID YOU COLLABORATE AND
INVOLVE THEM AS AN EQUAL?
@duckymatt

65. DID YOU STRUCTURE
FEEDBACK APPROPRIATELY?
@duckymatt

66. SOMETIMES…
@duckymatt

67. No matter how much you try,
you can’t stop people from
sticking beans up their nose.
JARED SPOOL
Source: http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2011/07/08/beans-and-noses/
Photo credit: Brandon Dilbeck (http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:JellyBellyBeans.jpg) @duckymatt

68. MORE OFTEN…
@duckymatt

69. LEARN
Image credit: Lucasfilm (Star Wars: Episode I, 1999) @duckymatt

70. MAKE TRULY
EXCELLENT EXPERIENCES
Image credit: Warner Bros, Village Roadshow Pictures, Groucho II Partnership & Silver Pictures (The Matrix, 1999) @duckymatt

71. Image credit: Am Psycho Productions, Edward R Pressman Film, Lions Gate Films, Muse Productions, PPS Films, Quadra Entertainment, Universal Pictures (American Psycho, 2000)
THAT WE
@duckymatt

72. Image credit: Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, Gordon Company, & Silver Pictures (Die Hard, 1988)
OUR CLIENTS
@duckymatt

73. Image credit: Chartoff-Winkler Productions and United Artists (Rocky, 1976)
AND OUR USERS
@duckymatt

74. Image credit: Warner Bros, Village Roadshow Pictures, A&E Television Network, Bazmark Films, Red Wagon Entertainment and Spectrum Films (The Great Gatsby, 2013)
WILL
@duckymatt

75. THANK YOU
@duckymatt
Copyright: Studio 37 & La Petite Reine & La Classe Américaine
& JD Prod & France 3 Cinéma & Jouror Productions & uFilm (The Artist, 2011)
@cyberduck_uk