Communicating Design

You know the effort that you’ve put into the creation of your design. You know how all the different elements are connected, and you’ve been intimately involved in every aspect of the design. You know how the materials used relate to the concept and to one another. You know and understand how your proposed design solution works. You know all the clever, innovative, and exciting ideas that you have included in the space. But your client doesn’t. Having lavished a great deal of effort and time on the design of a space, including research, planning, and sourcing, among other things, the next stage of the process is to share the fruits of those efforts with the client.

This section looks at the different means of presenting work so that it can be easily understood by the client. This is more than a nicety; it is crucial if you are going to engage the client and, ultimately, sell your scheme. If the work that you present is easy to understand and attractively presented, the client will instantly be on your side. If, on the other hand, the work is not clear or the presentation work is not as neat as it could be, doubt is set up in the mind of the client. It may be somewhat irrational and unjustified, but if anything prevents the client from easily understanding the proposal, then it will be harder to sell the work.

Telling the story

The client needs to be educated about the ideas and concepts incorporated in the design. The client needs to be excited and beguiled by your proposals, and as we are dealing with something physical, three-dimensional, and visual, the easiest way to present it is with drawings or models. One of the elements of the design process that has already been heavily stressed during the discussion of design development is the need for drawings, and lots of them, so hasn’t the production of drawings and other visuals already been taken care of? Not completely.

The drawings that are fit for presentation are likely to have been taken on a stage further than those that have been used for design development, which would have been accurately drawn but not necessarily finished to a high standard. The drawings used for presentation will be carefully refined and executed in a manner that makes them sympathetic to the style of the project. Which drawings should you use? Those that show the scheme at its best and explain the scheme most fully. How many drawings will be needed to do this? As many drawings as necessary. This is another important point: there is no magic number of drawings that will make the design come alive. Instead, each project will need to be considered carefully to see what drawings need to be made. You will also need to show samples of the materials that are being proposed (real samples if these are available), so that it will be possible to see and feel the actual colors and textures that will feature in the scheme.

Verbal presentation

The idea of talking a client through the design in a one-to-one session is something that can make even experienced designers nervous. It is unlike almost any other business meeting. The reason for this is that the designer is so involved with the design that there will be an incredible personal attachment to the work. No one likes to see their work disparaged, particularly when each aspect has been thought through in relation to the brief. However, the truth is that if the drawings and other materials do not provide a strong supporting role to the presentation, then it may be hard for the client to understand the design and see the benefits that the designer is talking about. This personal connection can be used to advantage. It will mean that the designer can be passionate about the work, making for a convincing and compelling argument for its adoption. The presentation will, however, need to be carefully judged as not all clients would appreciate an overly enthusiastic or flamboyant approach to presentation.

The sales pitch

Every presentation is essentially a sales pitch, and the person who is presenting should try to adopt every technique, however subtle and apparently unimportant, to close the sale and put forward a convincing proposal. This applies whether the person (or persons) being presented to is (or are) the client, or the designer’s superior who is deciding which proposal to develop for later presentation to the client. These techniques could be summarized as making a good impression and will include anything from being punctual to being appropriately dressed. An appropriate style of delivery can also be important. Should it be formal or informal? This can be difficult to judge in advance but should still be considered; it is a decision made on best judgment.

All of these points matter, and they matter even more if the presentation is part of a design competition. Companies and organizations with a need for a designer may hold a competition to try to generate a number of design proposals from which they can choose. These can be “open” competitions, where an advert is placed in the media calling for entries from interested parties; or they can be closed, where a number of selected designers are invited to submit proposals. Competitions are often undertaken at the designers’ own expense, so with no guaranteed payback, it is vital that efforts are focused on the brief in order to produce a design solution that meets the needs of the client; careful note must be made of any constraints made upon the format of the entry.

It will be vital to maintain the interest of those who are watching the presentation. To this end, it is important to rehearse the presentation and to seek feedback from friends or colleagues on how effective it is. When time for presentation is limited, it might be appropriate to verbally deliver only an overview of the project and rely on the presentation boards to deliver the detail during subsequent viewing by the client. If this is the case, then it is even more important that the boards do their job of explaining the scheme in a clear and unambiguous way.

Verbal presentations may follow a fairly rigid format, with the presenter progressing through each part of the design proposal step by step, or they could be more informal, being more of a conversation between designer and client. Although the designer must aim to create as complete a picture as possible with presentation boards, there may be situations that require further explanation. In such instances, it is useful for the designer to be able to sketch out ideas as they are talked through.

Presentation drawings

Chapter 3 looked at the use of technical drawings as aids to the understanding of space and the development of a design solution. In particular, plans, elevations, and sections were introduced as the primary methods for depicting the horizontal and vertical planes of an interior. Other drawing types exist that can be used to see the space as if from different, and in varying degrees more realistic, viewpoints. When deciding which drawings are needed to explain the scheme, careful note must be made of the important points that need to be explained. Existing drawings used to aid the planning of the space may be used as presentation drawings, or it may be necessary to create completely new drawings.

Three-dimensional drawings

There are two other basic types of drawing that show spaces and objects in three dimensions; the first type uses geometric drawing techniques to create a pseudo 3D effect. However, because they ignore the foreshortening effects that we see in real life, they can look somewhat distorted. They are usually drawn to represent the space as viewed from outside its boundaries. Vertical lines on the drawing represent heights, while widths and depths are represented by lines at other fixed angles. The family name for these drawings is “axonometric,” and the two most common are “plan oblique” (where widths and depths are represented by lines drawn at 45° to the horizontal) and “isometric” (in which width and depth are shown by lines drawn at 30° to the horizontal). Perhaps, slightly confusingly, in interior design parlance, plan oblique drawings are often referred to as axonometric, while isometric drawings retain the name isometric.

In the plan oblique or axonometric drawing, the plan shape of any item remains unchanged as it is elevated to its correct height in the drawing. Thus, a circular table, for example, will be drawn with a circular top, which is contrary to our experience of seeing such a table in real life, and so to some extent the drawing looks unnatural. However, it can be a useful drawing because it allows us to produce a basic three-dimensional interpretation of a space or an object relatively quickly. The drawing creates a feeling of viewing the subject from a high viewpoint, and so is helpful when drawing views of relatively small spaces, typically bathrooms or kitchens. The fact that the plan view remains unchanged makes the initial set up of this drawing relatively fast.

Isometric drawings

Isometric drawings depict widths and depths with lines at 30° to the horizontal, therefore, they cannot be based directly upon an existing plan drawing. A new isometric plan must be drawn, though in reality this isn’t such a big task. The angles involved also give the drawings a more natural appearance than the plan oblique, though there is still no use of perspective in the drawing.

The second type of drawing is the perspective drawing. There are formal geometric techniques for creating perspective drawings by hand on the drawing board, and although the results of these drawings can be spectacular they can be very time-consuming to produce. Consequently, many designers will use sketch-perspective techniques to create less formal perspective drawings more quickly, or they might base a perspective drawing on a photo taken of a model of the space, or on a 3D model generated on the computer with programs such as SketchUp.

Drawing treatments

The techniques employed dictate the basic format of the drawing, and the appropriate drawing method will be chosen because a particular result is required. However, much of the look and feel of any of the drawing types depend upon the tools used for mark-making and the personal style of the author of the drawing. Different media and techniques should be tried and practiced so that a good knowledge of the possibilities is built up.

Careful rendering (application of color) of the finished drawing will add further possibilities that can add to the effectiveness of the drawings in terms of selling the scheme. Any technique may be appropriate and ultimately, one of the tasks of the designer is to make a judgment as to which style will best fit the presentation. Some of the options are covered below.

Non-rendered line drawings

These drawings focus on the quality and style of the line to communicate their message. Copies of the pencil drawings straight from the drawing board are quick to produce. They suggest a work in progress that could form the basis of a discussion between designer and client about the direction the design proposal is taking. These drawings will probably have quite a cold and unsympathetic but businesslike feeling about them.

Drawings that have been traced in ink using technical pens will feel considerably more finished, but the stark contrast of black on white can make them seem quite empty. This can be addressed by copying the inked drawing onto colored or textured paper stock, by tracing the line work freehand without the use of technical drawing instruments, or by using negative photocopying techniques that turn black on white into white on black—all of which can be very effective. Tracing the drawing freehand provides satisfying results. It generates a visual that is “softer” than one produced using the drawing instruments, and in presentation the effect is much less dictatorial and much more conversational. When using CAD software to create technical drawings, take time to vary the line widths used to represent different parts of the drawing, as would happen if penning manually with technical pens. This avoids the barren look that would otherwise result.

Rendered drawings

There are many ways in which shading and color can be added to a drawing. Commonly used media for rendering include: pencil crayons, marker pens, collage, mixed media, and watercolors. Each medium has its own unique feel, and though it is unlikely that an individual will feel equally comfortable using all of these techniques, most designers will comfortably employ two or three as appropriate. Drawings can be fully or partially rendered. Partial rendering naturally takes less time to complete and can be used to focus attention on form rather than finish while still giving an indication of the materials used. The areas rendered could be clearly defined and are of regular shape and size, or they can be more random in nature and can blend seamlessly from rendered to unrendered.

Image-editing software is another means of adding color and texture to line drawings that have been created by CAD software or scanned from manually produced drawings. Several software applications are available that are intended for rendering three-dimensional models produced with CAD packages.

Shaded drawings

A halfway house between line drawings and fully rendered drawings are those that have been worked up to show form through shading only, without the use of color. Pencils or technical pens can be used to add stippling or hatching, and this can produce a very attractive result. This technique can require practice to produce convincing results, but it does allow form to be conveyed without the need for additional media. An even simpler option is to add nothing but drop shadows to a line drawing. With this technique, no effort is made to create realistic shadow effects. Instead, a position is assumed for an imaginary light source (for example, at the top left of the drawing), and shading of even depth and width is added adjacent to the edges of any of the three-dimensional objects that face away from the light source.

CAD drawing

At least for some of the time, most designers now eschew the use of manual drawing methods in favor of the computer. This makes sense for several reasons; people are used to working digitally in other areas of their lives, so the production of drawings by digital means is a natural extension of their skills. It also allows changes to drawings to be made quickly and easily, and the exchange of drawings is reasonably trouble free. However, as discussed in Chapter 3 , there are those who feel that the quality of the design can suffer when the human connection with the work (through pencil and paper) is lost. Clearly, this is a very personal opinion, but both sides would do well to listen to the views of the other if they are to be the best that they can be. Whichever way you end up working, it is generally accepted that manual drawing is the best way to learn the procedures, standards, and conventions of technical drawing.

CAD software does not automatically produce beautiful-looking drawings that will be an asset to a presentation. In fact, the opposite can be true. The consistent uniformity of a CAD drawing (particularly two-dimensional drawings) can lead to sterile and unsatisfying drawings that are accurate but difficult to read and interpret

Although it is standard practice to differentiate the line weights of a manual drawing by inking with technical pens of various nib sizes, the same effect is often not recreated when drawing with CAD. This is unfortunate as it makes CAD drawings less legible than their manual counterparts, but it is quite straightforward to set the line weights of different elements of the drawing to various values, so recreating the variety of a manual drawing.

CAD programs can be helpful aids to the production of perspective drawings without necessarily being used to create the final visual. The ease with which viewpoints can be moved by dragging a mouse allows the composition of a drawing to be quickly refined. Rough, unrendered visuals can be printed and traced over by hand to allow a varied approach to the preparation of drawings.

Presentation boards

All the presentation material that has been carefully generated needs to be organized and delivered to the viewer in the sequence intended by the designer. There needs to be a ready system for ordering and organizing the visuals, text, plans, and other material such that it tells a coherent and easily understandable story. This is usually accomplished through the use of presentation boards or panels. It may be that all relevant information can be presented legibly on a single board, or it might be appropriate to use multiple boards to tell the story (in the context of this book, the term “board” is used to describe any composite of drawings, images, and text that is displayed in either printed format on rigid or flexible media, or digitally as part of a slideshow).

While you may give a verbal presentation to the client in addition to showing a set of boards, it is likely that the presentation boards will be left for the client to review; the client and others who may not have been at the presentation will need to be able to easily assimilate all the material that forms the submission. Once again, clarity is the key as any discrepancies, inconsistencies, or breaks in the narrative of the presentation will create doubts in the mind of the client. Even when the designer has made a verbal presentation, the boards need to be able to stand on their own to explain the design.

Constructing presentation boards

Boards can be constructed by traditional paste-up methods, whereby individual images, blocks of text, photographs, and so on are trimmed and mounted onto the presentation board itself; or digital versions of paste-ups can be created in any of a number of software packages. CAD software, word-processing software, presentation programs (such as PowerPoint), photo editing, page layout, and desktop publishing applications can all be used to create digital composites of your technical drawings, illustrations, textual explanations, and product images from suppliers. The digital image can be output to paper for final finishing and mounting or used as an image within a slideshow.

Which is the best route to follow? As ever, there isn’t a simple answer; it will depend upon circumstance. Digital imagery can be transmitted anywhere easily, and it has a slick, contemporary feel that can be very seductive. However, traditional methods allow the integration of real material samples within the presentation. Sometimes, there is no substitute for being able to see and touch the real material. Samples of fabric and finishes show depth and character—they allow the play of light to become a dynamic part of the presentation as materials catch the light, and the depth of color or sheen of a surface can never quite be replicated in a photograph. However, they are potentially more expensive to transport and are more susceptible to damage during transit.

Drawings always represent interpretations rather than the empirical truth, but it is important to be aware of the implications of the information that is communicated on the boards. As clients have nothing other than the presentation material to go on, their understanding of the scheme will be derived solely from what is included on the presentation boards. When these are shown in a presentation, they can take on the status of a contract document: what is seen on these boards in miniature is what will be provided on a larger scale when the project is realized. Any deviations or changes should therefore be carefully documented and communicated in writing to the client, and the client will need to be made aware that while every effort will be made to match the appearance of samples of natural materials, it cannot be guaranteed that they will appear exactly as they do on the presentation boards.

The boards themselves are unique, bespoke, creations in their own right. Every project will suggest a different approach to their use and construction, and if they are to do the job of selling the scheme they need to be compiled to a very high standard. When creating physical boards, all the cutting and mounting needs to be of the highest standard, and when working digitally care must still be taken to ensure neatness and consistency of layout. The time spent preparing the boards should reflect the value of the project. Clients will not have confidence in designers who supply dirty, damaged, or carelessly constructed presentation material, and they could decline to take the project further.

Graphics

The careful use and application of graphics—logos and company colors, for example—can further enhance presentation material and lift it above the mundane. It is another opportunity to strengthen the visual appeal and impact of the work and to also enhance its credibility.

It is important that logos are of the highest visual quality, and it may be a wise investment to use the services of a graphic designer when establishing the look of a company. It is sensible to establish not just a logo but a complete corporate identity. This can be applied to any presentation material and the need for a consistent house style will drive the creation of templates for word-processed documents, which in turn will speed up the production of project documentation where it is necessary.

Thinking point: Presentation boards

If you are to produce compelling presentation material that spans more than one presentation board, there are several aspects that will need careful planning. Before committing to any one method or format, mock-ups will help to identify any problems that could arise.

Construction: As described elsewhere, the construction of the boards can use traditional “paste-up” techniques, or it could involve mounting a single digitally printed composite image onto a presentation board.

Size: When working with physical boards, their size will be dictated largely by the amount of information to be communicated, but the needs of transportation and display should also be considered. Typically, boards may range from the large A1 size (23.4in x 33.1in), to the smaller A2 (16.5in x 23.4in) or even A3 (11.7in x 16.5in) format. Some design competitions require initial submissions to be in A4 format (8.3in x 11.7in).

Orientation: Landscape format is generally more appropriate than portrait, but breaking from the norm can add impact. When using multiple boards, a more effective approach is to maintain the same board orientation throughout. If either the orientation or overall size of any board needs to be changed, a strong visual connection can be maintained by ensuring that one common dimension is consistent, for example, within a series of A2 boards (16.5in x 23.4in) displayed in landscape format, a smaller A3 board (11.7in x 16.5in) shown in portrait format will maintain the flow of the presentation.

Color: The background color of the board needs careful thought so that it supports the other material displayed without overpowering it. Neutral colors can work well, but stronger colors are likely to need strong visuals to justify and balance a strong board color.

Layout: The way that the separate parts of the composition relate to one another is of prime importance. A good layout will allow the eye to move around the board without missing vital information and without stumbling over cluttered composition. Layout is often as much about what is left off the board as about what is put on. Most compositions benefit from careful use of negative space (the space between images, text, and so on). The size of border, if any, has an impact upon the feel of the board. Very generous borders can actually make the content of the board look more precious.

Grids: These are allied to layout and help the designer to visually order and arrange the content of the board. Print designers use grids, and an examination of magazine layout will show that grids do not need to be regular, symmetrical arrangements but instead can be used to create visual rhythm and interest.

Type

Type has a major effect on the graphic feel of presentation work, and its use can profoundly change the effectiveness of the boards. The subject of type is complex and worthy of detailed study in its own right, but an appreciation of the possibilities will help when preparing work for presentation. When choosing which typeface is appropriate for a project, reference to the concept should once again provide guidance. While unusual display typefaces can be used for titles or headlines, larger blocks of text will need typefaces that are simpler and clearer if they are to be legible. Type can arouse strong passions in some people, and appropriateness is always the key in its use. Personal likes and dislikes will sometimes have to give way to a considered appraisal of the visual qualities of a particular typeface.

When used on a computer, a particular typeface will only appear as intended if it is actually installed on that computer. Therefore, when transferring data digitally between computers, it is vital that checks are made to ensure that any typefaces used on the source computer are also installed on the destination computer. If this is not the case, a default typeface will be substituted and it is likely that the layout of typographical elements will change, perhaps radically, thus destroying the careful work that has gone into creating a successful layout. This is not, however, the case when layouts are converted into image files, so this could be one course of action to take before transferring files from one computer to another. The downside to this course of action is that some, if not all, flexibility in the layout will be lost in the conversion to an image file.

Models

Simple models that help the understanding of a space were explored in Chapter 3 . For presentation purposes, models that have been more carefully constructed can be used to explain the space to the client. Unrendered white models will help to focus attention on the three-dimensional qualities of the space, and rendered models can be used to communicate the impact of the decorative scheme. Models can be physical or digital.

Multimedia presentations

Digital technology gives us new ways to present our work and multimedia presentations allow us to create presentations that can be viewed without the designer being present to give a conventional verbal explanation of the design. The usual definition of multimedia is “a software application that can combine text, images, graphics, video, and sound into an integrated package for presentation.” In practice, this usually means using software, such as PowerPoint (Microsoft ), Keynote (Apple), or Impress (OpenOffice) to create some form of slideshow, though other options do exist (Flash presentations, for example). All three main packages are broadly similar, each with its own strengths and idiosyncrasies.

This type of presentation will still use many of the same drawings as a standard presentation, albeit they will be scanned versions or drawings exported directly from CAD packages. Video can be added in the form of a “fly-through” generated from three-dimensional modeling packages, or from within CAD programs, though care should be taken to check the reliability and compatibility of the selected software before deadlines become pressing.

Soundtracks, such as music and narration, can be added to slideshows, and while this is reasonably straightforward, practice is again important as it can take time to learn the process. The sound-handling capabilities of the presentation software can be rather limited, and the editing of sound files is not generally possible within the software. Capable freeware sound-editing software can be found on the Internet, which will allow the recording and editing of a narration or music track before inclusion in the slideshow.

Before preparing a slideshow, take time to observe professionally made product videos or other slideshows. The most effective use the full capabilities of the software but do so with subtlety. Animations, slide changes, and effects are kept relatively simple and discreet. A restricted tool kit of simple slide changes and animations gives continuity and choice without allowing the presentation to descend into clichéd chaos as distracting animations cheapen the effect that should be created.

Advances in technology

Designers are frequently “early adopters” of technology; it’s often in their nature to be curious about the capabilities of digital equipment, including technology that provides new ways to get their message across to clients. While laptops will continue to provide versatile platforms for developing, transporting, and showing presentations for some time, the drive to sleeker, lighter, and more stylish equipment on which to display a previously prepared presentation means that tablet devices have quickly proved popular for this job.

What is important to remember is that you will be trying to communicate some important and potentially complex concepts to your client. When presenting to a client, it is important to ask yourself the question: “Am I making myself clear?” If the legibility and clarity of a presentation is compromised by a small screen size, for example, then you will not be doing your work justice, no matter how contemporary the equipment on which you choose to display your work.

There is no doubt that the simplicity of tablet devices can be an effective aid to presentation, but it only works when the content is not compromised. Be ready to change the way you present in order to capitalize on the benefits of new technologies; don’t assume that changing the way you work with clients can be done without a significant investment of time and effort on your part. And as has always been the case, when you have an important presentation, there is no substitute for practice, more practice, and still more practice beforehand.