One of the most important aspects of effectively being able to design specific projects is helping clients easily see your vision—this much we know. Being able to design a home effectively within your client’s specifications can be just as much about getting what they want as it is getting what you think will work, but finding a middle ground to talk about these issues can be tricky. When the sky is the limit in terms of imagination, being able to make a practical realization of what is possible is essential. Building a home is not just about what you want, but what is affordable and practical, so these discussions are important to have. This is where many designers have trouble, though, as translating ideas to a client’s understanding is central to getting across methods and concepts.
That might appear to be an impossible task, but there is hope. At Rendersmart 3D Architectural Melbourne, we understand this and want to help you find solutions to talk more directly to your clients and hopefully improve communication overall. To aid you in this, we’ve compiled a list of 7 Methods to Help Your Clients Accurately See Your Vision When Building a Home.
So, without further ado, let’s get right into it:
Know Who You’re Contacting
A lot of the time, communicating with clients often means communicating with multiple people, whether it be various people at a company or simply a husband and wife. This is where miscommunication can often be present, though, as a good deal of miscommunication that occurs is through relaying information to another member of a party that might have a different understanding. To avoid this, try speaking to just one client at a time to ensure that any information you pass on is received by just them. This way, you can ensure that the person responding to all of your questions have seen all of the information, keeping the communication more balanced.
Meet in Person
When working with clients, it can be very tempting to work exclusively through email or over-the-phone, but you’d be surprised at how effective meeting in person is. In this technological age, it can feel burdensome to go outside and meet someone when you can do it within the comfort of your home or business, but being able to directly clarify and approach problems in real-time with someone can be an effective key to productivity. Through meeting in person, many designers find that their relationships with clients are more stable, reliable, and efficient.
Have A List Of Needs
Outside of the models, you’ll be making to communicate your vision to your client, it’s also important to have the client prepare a list of things they want in their new home. Having a simple bullet point list separate from the model itself can be a good way for your client to make their needs known so there is no miscommunication about what the goals of the project are.
List What is Practical
In a similar respect, sometimes what the client wants isn’t always what is exactly possible. To prevent any miscommunication arising from assumed possibilities, it can be useful to make a separate list that addresses the wishes of the client, highlighting what is possible and what is perhaps too idealistic. Through having a list like this, you can effectively communicate your goals and come to a compromise on certain aspects of the home.
Have A Set Communication Method
When beginning a project, establishing how frequently you will communicate with the client and which method you will use (phone call, email, in-person discussion, etc.) is incredibly important to discuss. This is because everybody has their own preferences, making it essential to lay down these beforehand if you want to have a successful collaboration. If you don’t clarify these in time, you risk the client feeling like they’re not kept in the loop, which can make it more difficult to keep them satisfied. For example, meeting once a week but having 4 phone call updates can be a great way to sort things out with your client in person, but also keep them posted on developments.
Stay Organized and Copy Every Communication
One of the parts of communicating with clients that are most susceptible to the confusion is organization. Designing and building homes are complicated, meaning that you should make sure to keep track of every addition or change along the way. Communicating frequently is important, but one of the downsides of this is having too much to update if you are even behind on one phone call. To prevent this, make sure to make notes and update documents immediately after meetings or phone calls, also sending the updated versions to your client so everybody is on the same page. Not doing this can be eventually damaging to your strategies, as the communication will be obscured overall.
Rendering A 3D Model
Using 2D blueprints can be very helpful in getting across your ideas, but the limitations of the format can present more issues than solutions. Even if you’re able to provide multiple 2D blueprints that depict different angles and sides, it’s more efficient to consolidate these different blueprints into a single 3D model. 3D models can also be adjusted and viewed from any angle, making them more practical than switching between and comparing various 2D models of buildings. Another benefit to having a 3D model rendered is that you can send a single file to another person without having to worry about attaching multiple blueprints of different angles, materials, and consistencies.
What do you think of our 7 tips? Do you have any of your own you adhere to when communicating with clients? Want to get started on rendering your 3D models today? Let us know what you think!
