In this article, we’ll explain how delivering a design presentation to clients will:
- Position you as a professional
- Prove your confidence and skill as a designer to deliver a brief
- Show your client you are fully invested in them and their business
- Create a memorable experience between you and your client
- Reduce the number of revisions needed
Step 1: Use a strong presentation design
Presentations don’t have to be complicated. They act as a platform in which you share your work, the process, and the outcome digitally – whether you’re working remotely or presenting in person.
A well-designed presentation template will save you time and exhibit your professionalism.
Drop in your work (and the details we’ll go into), personalize it with the client’s brand colors and logo, and make sure to have your own logo and contact information visible on each slide.
Keep it simple, but it’s the attention to detail that will show your client that you mean business (and are worth a premium price tag).
Don’t have the time to design your presentation templates? We can help.
Step 2: Revisit the brief
At the start of your design presentation to a client, bring them right back to the initial brief.
This will show you’ve understood the assignment and delivered accordingly, guiding them to align with your creative direction.
Clients are busy, so your focus should be to present your work in the context of solving their problems.
You could include:
- The client’s goal – e.g. increase brand awareness, engagement, conversions
- The objective and use for the design – e.g. packaging for a new product launch
- The deliverables required – e.g. a set of shareable social media graphics
Step 3: Explain the research
When you tackle a new design project, you’ll undergo research before you begin.
This information informs your choices, so share these insights with your client to help them see the benefits for them, and that you’ve considered the end user.
Use simple data visualization to explain:
- The customer demographic
- Any S.W.O.T analysis of competitors
- A mood board
Keep it brief, 1-2 slides will do here. Build excitement, remove any fluff.
Step 4: Document the process
Experienced, high-level designers know that the decisions leading to the final design are just as important as the final design itself.
Each creative decision you make will have a reason behind it, and this is your chance to show that reasoning to the client.
In this section, showcase the color palette, font choices, shapes or graphics that you developed throughout the project, based on the research.
What led you to make these choices?
The goal is to address and answer any queries your client may have about the designs before they need to ask them.
You don’t need to share initial sketches, but it’s good practice to illustrate how the elements of your design link back to the initial brief.
This will help the client understand the logic and strategy behind your work, in the context of their wanted outcome.
Step 5: Showcase the final options
As a creative, you’ll likely end up with multiple iterations of any one design brief. But your client doesn’t need to see an overwhelming amount of choice.
If you have more than one design, reduce it to no more than 3 options.
Remember: you’re guiding the client from brief, to idea, to outcome. The final choices should flow from the previous slides to show continuity and expert creative direction.
Step 6: Bring your designs to life
Sharing your designs in real life scenarios is a highly effective way to let your client visualize the end product in action.
Use mockups to demonstrate how your design will fit into the lifestyle of the end user.
Social media graphics: a mockup to show social posts on a phone.
Packaging design: let it jump off the page by placing it directly onto a 3D product.
It’s all about creating a memorable experience.
Once a client sees the design work in the situation it’s intended for, they will have a better understanding of whether the design is right for them and their end goal.
Step 7: Listen to feedback
Design work is a two-way street. As you go through your presentation, invite feedback and be open to suggestions that your client may have.
Be confident in your decisions, but accept that the client may have additional ideas for improvement. Being open to feedback and reacting efficiently and professionally will show that you respect your client’s business, so listen to pain points they may have and share how your designs address them.
How to present design work to clients: recap
- Use presentation templates to save time and increase consistency
- Outline the client’s initial brief at the start
- Explain any research that directly informed your decisions
- Document the process: links between design choices, research and end goal
- Present no more than 3 final choices
- Bring designs to life with mockups
- Listen to feedback and document how you provide a solution to their problem
Excited to present showstopping design concepts to your clients?
Get your hands on quality designed presentation templates from Design Force’s vetted team today, so that you can focus on designing the work that’ll wow your client.
