Abdul Auwal
November 30, 2022.
10 min. read
Earlier this year, my friend found himself with some free time and decided to pursue freelance design gigs. Through Twitter, he discovered a potential client in need of a product designer for a quick redesign project. Eager to seize the opportunity, he reached out to the client via direct message, sharing his impressive portfolio.
To his delight, the client not only responded but also took the time to thoroughly review his portfolio, expressing particular satisfaction with his work. Impressed, the client decided to collaborate with my friend on the project. They continued their discussions on Facebook Messenger, where the client provided a detailed project brief and shared various documents, mockups, and whiteboards for my friend to examine.
Recognizing the importance of this project and seeking additional support, my friend reached out to me for assistance. As a fellow designer, I was thrilled to lend a helping hand. Together, we reviewed the client's materials and brainstormed potential design ideas.
Throughout the collaboration, my friend found the client's communication style to be professional and effective, as they conveyed their project expectations clearly. The client's commitment to providing necessary resources and information allowed my friend and me to fully immerse ourselves in the project.
The opportunity to work closely with the client and showcase his design skills was an invaluable experience for my friend. He was grateful for the chance to expand his portfolio and enhance his design abilities through this project. Moreover, our joint efforts in tackling the project together strengthened our professional bond and allowed us to leverage each other's expertise for optimal results.
The client was Japanese, and interestingly, the initial set of users for the project was also Japanese. This thrilled me because it marked my first cross-cultural design project. Thankfully, the client was considerate enough to provide me with resources to translate the Japanese Kanji into English. I relied on tools like Yandex Translate and Deepl to ensure I could fully understand and work with the materials.
Additionally, I was fortunate enough to gain the assistance of some other colleagues who generously volunteered their expertise on various aspects of the project. Their contributions proved invaluable, allowing us to approach the project with a collaborative and diverse perspective. Working together, we were able to leverage our collective skills and perspectives to deliver an exceptional design solution for the client.
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Before our team began any work on the product, we made sure to ask the client a series of essential questions. These inquiries aimed to determine the extent of our responsibilities and ensure a smooth and cohesive process for the entire team.