Presented by Mike Monteiro.

  • Use our expertise to show empathy toward a client to help them understand what we do. Basically, empower the client through education.
  • “How much does a website cost?” is no different a question than, “How much does a bike cost?”
  • Clients buy design very infrequently and aren’t immersed in the design process. They don’t deal in it every day and aren’t trained in it. Like Mike going into a bike store to buy his first bike: clients know little of our world.
  • Helping clients through this process is part of our job.

Your job is to figure out if something should be made, to figure out how it’s made, and to convince someone that you’ve made the right choices. That’s what design is.

  • Annoyance is easy; empathy is hard.
  • Assert yourself: stop waiting for an invitation to do your job.
  • Your portfolio is a visual aid for telling stories. Tell the project story, but look for the thing the client can identify with.
  • You are the sum of your problem-solving skills, not the sum of the sites in your portfolio.
  • Never work for someone you can’t argue with. Clients need to know that you’re comfortable enough to let them know you won’t let them ruin a project. Never work for someone you can’t say “no” to.