Scoping for a project is one of the most important things you can do for your own business and for a smooth client experience.
It seriously only takes one project to make you realize how important thorough scoping is. Learning more about your client’s needs helps create a thorough proposal, gives your clients a clear understanding of the costs involved and helps you effectively predict how long a project will take.
I use the below questions to guide most of my initial discovery calls. From there, they help open the conversation and often lead to many more in-depth questions that prospective clients and I work through together.
General design project questions
- Who is your business’s audience?
- Do you have any holidays or time away planned while we’re working together?
- Are you able to supply feedback within 3 business days? Do you think you need more or less? Why?
- Are you comfortable with running the majority of communications through emails?
- Do you have all the details of the project finalised? Is your copy/images/illustrations/print details confirmed?
- Are there any other stakeholders involved in the project? What is their role in relation to this project?
- Do you have an ideal launch date?
Website specific questions
- Do you have a full brand style guide for your business?
- How many pages will your site need (and what are these pages)
- What pages does the new site need? Please list them.
- What’s your current website?
- What is driving you to update the existing site? What are your frustrations? What do you like about it?
- Will the navigational structure remain the same?
- Have you used Squarespace or Webflow before?
- How often are you anticipating updating the website? What will those updates look like?
- Are you working with a copywriter and SEO specialist for the copy?
- Are you working with a photographer for the images?
- Are you selling anything on your site? Do you need an ecommerce setup?
- Do you have an existing newsletter campaign set up? Does this need to be integrated in the new site?
- What accessibility requirements are needed for the site?
- Do you have an ideal launch date?
Branding specific questions
- Do you have your target audience identified? Are you able to tell me the personas you’re targeting?
- Is your business name and tagline confirmed and final?
- Do you have a mission statement, and a clear concise summary of your business’s purpose?
- Do you know who your competitors are?
- Do you need any printed or digital assets to go with your new branding? That could be social templates, postcards, letterheads or stickers
Print specific questions
- If you’re printing something that needs to be cut, do you have the dieline details?
- Do you have a printer you’d like to work with?
- Do you need the print-ready design also ready to be used digitally?
- Clearly list all elements that need to be designed and printed.
- Do you need an editable file as well as a print-ready PDF?
- Do you have the full dimensions and page sizes?
- Do you have all the content ready to go?
- Is there any speciality printing needed? That includes embossing, foil or large area spot colours.
