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When it comes to website design, the obvious goal is to convert a lead into a sale. While this is an important aspect of website design for our clients, we believe that every design project begins with something a little bit deeper: We are interested in our client’s story first. Their story is the foundation of the website design project, and when we have questions along the way, we look back at that initial story for answers.
Keep It Conversational
Cultural theorists have talked about the isolation that arises from technological advances. In 2017, it was reported that millennials struggle with face-to-face conversation. And among millennials and Gen Z, nearly 75% would rather text than talk on the phone.
We begin every design project with a regular, old-fashioned phone call. This initial phone call establishes a great foundation for our relationship with the client. Our clients are predominantly health care professionals working in the field of audiology. They are committed to helping people improve their hearing abilities and reconnect to the sounds of their life. It is fitting, then, that we start our design projects with our clients by listening.
We approach the initial phone call the way the late, great Chicago journalist, Studs Terkel, would an interview: “They’ve got to believe you’re interested…I’ll ask him about his life and as he’s talking I’m listening. I don’t have written questions. It’s a conversation, not an interview…Out of that things are revealed.” Before we even begin to talk about web design or content, we get to know our clients in a light, casual conversation.
During a conversation with a Wisconsin-based client, we talked about the Midwest and how small towns have changed. Our client revealed that their hearing clinic had been in the family for some time and they were established members of the business community for several decades. In their final website design, we incorporated a photo gallery showcasing the different historic photos of the hearing clinic through the decades. This establishes the business as a local, family-owned clinic, setting them apart from the big box stores that were encroaching upon their territory as competition.
Start Big, Then Home In: Pinpointing The Region
Weather is a great icebreaker for an initial conversation. It may seem pedestrian, but trust us: It leads to something that is extremely useful in the website design process — a more thorough understanding of the client’s geographic region. This regional information becomes useful in terms of content that is created for the client, which in turn is used to boost search engine optimization for local searches.
Weather inevitably leads to a discussion about landscape, and our clients love talking about their hometowns, the landmarks in their region and the things that people in their community value and hold dear. With a client based in Arkansas, they were keen on featuring images from a local photographer who beautifully captured the Ozarks and the renowned covered bridges of the area.
Natural landmarks are a popular talking point: One client in Colorado mentioned that Pike’s Peak, a recognizable landmark of the Rocky Mountains, was visible through their window. Another client, based in New Orleans, wanted to feature images of famous Lake Pontchartrain. One client, who provides concierge hearing health services in the Tampa Bay area, wanted a luxe, “spa-like” vibe set against gorgeous seascapes of Florida’s shoreline. Manmade landmarks are equally memorable: A client in Brooklyn wanted a particular view of the Brooklyn Bridge (“from the Brooklyn side, not the Manhattan side!”) featured as their header image.
These small moments of conversation give our team important starting points for conceptualizing the design. Are they tucked in the woods of upstate New York or nestled among the pines of northern Washington? These regional cues and notable landmarks inspire the design process by providing a relevant color palette and a jumping point for stock images.
The Importance Of Self-Reflection
How do your clients see themselves? What is their personality, vibe, mission, image? What is the first impression they want to give to visitors? We tell our clients that the website can be considered the “facade” of their business.
Some of our clients want to project a comfortable, “homey” feel to put their potential patients at ease: “I treat all of my patients the way I would want my mom or dad treated.”
Other clients want to simply provide an educational resource, presenting facts and research in an unbiased and objective manner: “I want my patients to read the research and participate in decisions about their care.”
And there are clients who want to have the hottest new technological trend: “People in our area do their research and keep track of the latest in hearing technology. We always have the most innovative, newest releases, and we want the website to reflect that in a sleek, cutting-edge way.”
We listen as our clients talk freely about themselves and their experiences. We take these self-reflections into serious account when we put together an initial design. We imbue layout, color, font, images, and other design elements with our clients’ stories and vision of both themselves and their business.
A Unique Story Results In A Unique Design
Health care design and marketing can become “run of the mill” — but it doesn’t have to! When you take the time to hear your clients’ stories, you have rich material to thread through the design and content that you create for their new websites.
One client told us that in his small, southern Illinois town, his audiology practice had an incredible aquarium with rare fish. In a landlocked area, his aquarium was the talk of the town. As he tells it, people would call him up just to see if they could come view the fish in his aquarium. We thought, let’s feature the fish on their website — it could help with keyword searches!
Inasmuch as technology has alienated us, it has arguably brought us together in ways we never anticipated. The personal can be universal, and that’s why design projects should begin with a story.
