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Original Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CreativeBloq/~3/5viPRuctSck/tools-every-graphic-designer-should-have-6133208

In this guide, we've rounded up the hardware, software and other graphic design tools that will help creatives of all levels work more effectively. Whether you're starting from scratch or looking to upgrade a specific piece of equipment, our recommendations will help you pick the best option.

Reliably equipment doesn't have to be expensive (take a look at our guide to the best free graphic design software if your budget it particularly tight), but here we've hand-picked the very best kit that money can buy. We wouldn't hesitate to recommend each item to our own friends and colleagues. Some might be a big investment, but all will be worthwhile in the long run.

We've split the products here into four sections: hardware (covering everything from workstations to extra storage); creative software; creative tools (think sketchpads and Pantone books); and home office items. You'll find our list of essential graphic design books elsewhere on the site.

Here are 16 must-have graphic design tools for starters…

01. Laptop

Apple's most powerful laptop to date, the 16-inch MacBook Pro is the perfect tool for graphic designers, whether you're working on the move or at home.

When creating the new MacBook Pro, Apple's stated aim was to give fans "more of what they love", and it did exactly that. The most obvious feature is the new, larger screen, which is ideally suited to design work. It's also improved the keyboard; gone are the troublesome Butterfly switches that plagued earlier models, replaced with more responsive scissor switches, as found on the Magic Keyboard.

Battery life is exceptional too, which is particularly impressive considering this laptop's powerful components. It can be configured with up to 64GB RAM (a first for a MacBook) and up to 8TB storage so you don't need to rely on an external hard drive. 

Of course, all this doesn't come cheap, and the highest specifications command particularly high prices, but if you're looking for a laptop that'll keep performing flawlessly for years and will never hold you back, this is an excellent investment.

Also read: The best laptops for graphic design

02. Desktop

A desktop powerhouse created with professionals in mind, the iMac Pro remains the gold standard for graphic designers. It features a true 5K Retina display, and can be configured with an astonishing 256GB RAM, an 18-core Intel Xeon W processor and Radeon Pro Vega 64X graphics with 16GB of HBM2 memory.

As with the MacBook Pro above, this kind of power comes at a price, but for resource-intensive work like rendering 3D models, video editing and animation, the cost will be well worth the time saved.

Despite some serious upgrades under the hood, Apple has maintained the iMac Pro's signature look, with a chassis that's just 5mm thick and weighs a mere 700G, keeping your desk clear and clutter-free.

We've yet to get our hands on the new (and even more powerful) Mac Pro, but until then, this is the best desktop machine a graphic designer can buy.

Also read: The best desktops for graphic design

03. Monitor calibrator

A properly calibrated monitor is essential for making sure your screen displays colours as accurately as possible. Windows and macOS both include their own calibration tools, but for the best results you can't beat a hardware calibrator like the superb Datacolor Spyder5ELITE.

This calibrator is a particularly choice if you need to calibrate several displays to a single target configuration, whether they're laptops, desktop monitors or a mix. It features both wizard and expert settings for different levels of experience.

You also get a 90-day trial of the Adobe Creative Cloud Photography Plan thrown in, so you can put your newly calibrated screens to work.

Also read: The best monitor calibrators for creatives

04. Reliable hard drive

The Western Digital My Passport Ultra is a neat external drive that gives you up to 5TB for your most important files. The optional WD SmartWare Pro software (available for Windows and macOS) lets you easily configure automatic backups, so you never need to worry about losing a client's work.

The My Passport Ultra is fast too, with impressive read and write speeds for quick transfers (essential for large image and video files). This is made possible by its USB-C connectivity, though it comes with a USB 3.1 adaptor for older devices too (albeit at slower rates).

At just 231g, it's ideal for carrying on the move, and fits neatly into a backpack, satchel or pocket in its own cloth carry bag.

Also read: The best external hard drives

05. Graphics tablet and stylus

Only a couple of years ago, the name Wacom was synonymous with graphics tablets for professionals, but the iPad Pro and Apple Pencil have now stolen the crown – particularly for designers who struggle to justify a tool that's tied to their desk. The iPad Pro is a superb device for digital drawing, but does far more besides.

Whether you opt for the 11-inch or 12.9-inch model, the latest iPad Pro borrows the nearly bezel-free design of recent iPhones, giving you an expanse of smooth glass to work on. Apple's Smart Keyboard transforms it into a powerful laptop, and the new Apple Pencil makes it even more versatile. 

Apple has dropped the Lightning connector in favour a magnetic function, so the Pencil now snaps smartly onto the top of a new iPad Pro for pairing, charging and storage. What's more, gesture support has also been added, allowing you to switch between app tools with a quick double tap, for example. 

We're likely to see a new iPad Pro later in 2020, with even more impressive specifications, but either of the current models is an excellent choice for digital drawing, wherever you happen to be.

Of course, some designers and artists will prefer the precise pressure sensitivity and control you can only get with a dedicated graphics tablet. If you're among them, the Wacom Cintiq 22 is our tablet of choice, providing a great balance of screen, size, ergonomics and value. If your budget will stretch a little further, the Wacom Intuos Pro is an even more powerful option, and is available in a choice of sizes (with prices to match).

Also read: The best drawing and graphics tablets

06. Top-end smartphone

The iPhone 11 Pro Max might be the most sought-after flagship phone of 2020, but our handset of choice is the Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus. The Snapdragon 855 processor makes it one of the fastest Android phones around, but there's a lot more here for designers to take note of.

The S10 Plus is slightly larger than the regular S10, giving you a full 6.4 inches of Super AMOLED screen to work with. Colour reproduction is excellent, and there's impressive dynamic range.

The trio of rear-facing cameras (for normal, telephoto and wide-angle photos) are superb, too. The main camera's dual-aperture lens captures sharp images, even in low light, and the wide-angle lens captures a 123-degree field of view. Even Google can't match that. Videos benefit from image stabilisation, and this is the first Samsung phone able to record video in HDR.

The battery will last a whole day in typical conditions, and you can even use the S10 Plus to charge other devices wirelessly.

Also read: The best smartphones for designers

07. Studio camera

The Nikon D5300 is an ideal DSLR if you're looking for something that will perform well and provide many years of reliable service. Together with a versatile lens kit, it'll help you achieve great shots without breaking the bank.

This is definitely an entry-level DSLR, and can't record video in 4K, but its still images are super crisp (partly due to the absence of an anti-aliasing filter) and the new EXPEED 4 processing engine means noise is well controlled, even in dark images.

The camera's chassis is made from a single piece of polycarbonate, meaning there are fewer joints, seams and potential weak points. It's also unusually light, making it easier to carry when you need to leave the studio. It's a shame there's no touchscreen, so you'll have to navigate the camera's many menus using physical buttons, but the interface is pretty straightforward and shouldn't present much of a barrier to you achieving professional quality images.

Also read: The best cameras for creatives

08. High-res monitor

Unlike many ultra-wide monitors, the Asus Designo Curve MX38VC is designed with creatives rather than gamers in mind and eschews flashy design for a smart frameless look and practical features. Of course, the main attraction here is the huge 38-inch panel, which gives you masses of workspace without the need for multiple monitors. 

It's designed to be kind to your eyes, too, minimising glare and flicker to help avoid strain and discomfort when you're putting in long hours. It doesn't offer the fastest refresh rates around, but the viewing angles are excellent and its unusual height means it doesn't feel as compressed as some ultra-wide monitors.

Its connectivity is excellent, with DisplayPort, USB-C and two HDMI connections at your disposal, plus Bluetooth. It even features a built-in Qi wireless charger, so you can simply set your phone down underneath your screen and pick it up later, fully powered up.

Also read: The best monitors right now

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09. Creative software

Adobe’s Creative Cloud is the industry standard for design professionals

Adobe Creative Cloud is the industry standard for design professionals – the range and depth in its suite of tools is unrivalled by any other company. But it comes at a cost, and even if you can snap it up during one of Adobe's occasional sales, an all-apps subscription represents a big investment.

Still, you get Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, After Effects and loads more. If you’re looking to be truly multi-disciplined and regularly share a workflow with other designers, go for it. But if your work revolves purely around vector design and photo-editing/manipulation, it's not the only choice.

Affinity Designer and Affinity Photo are both excellent tools from Serif – even topping Photoshop and Illustrator in some areas – and cost around £50 each, outright, with free updates. Superb file compatibility means you can collaborate with Photoshop and Illustrator users too. You could also check out these 6 amazing free Adobe CC alternatives.

If you own an iPad, the newly released Adobe Fresco is well worth considering, It aims to recreate the feeling of drawing and painting with traditional media on a tablet, and has been created with professional designers and artists in mind (though it's also accessible enough to pick up quickly).

10. Antivirus software

It's all too easy to fall victim to a virus or malware. You don't even need to be doing anything particularly risky; simply opening a PDF that appears to be a client invoice could be enough to infect your computer, encrypting or deleting your extremely valuable work. If you've made regular backups, this could be extremely frustrating; if you haven't, it could be catastrophic.

Bitdefender Antivirus Plus 2020 is a full security suite that can protect up to 10 devices, including Windows PCs, Macs and Android phones. It provides real-time protection from viruses and malware, plus phishing attempts (when a person tries to trick you into entering usernames, passwords and financial details into a fake website). Even if it hasn't come across a particular threat before, the software can identify suspicious programs based on their behaviour and quarantine them before they have the chance to cause harm.

Bitdefender Antivirus Plus 2020 also comes with a super-secure browser specifically for online banking and shopping, to help keep your card and account details secure. There's also a file shredder if you need to delete any confidential information from a client so it can't be recovered.

Bitdefender often runs special offers, so if you're lucky you'll be able to save a considerable amount off the regular asking price, which is great value already.

Also read: The best antivirus software for designers

11. VPN software

A VPN can be essential if you're travelling, and not just for countries like China where tools like Google Docs are blocked by a national firewall. ExpressVPN will also protect you when you're using public Wi-Fi hotspots in cafes and shared workspaces, preventing any would-be crooks from snooping on your online activity.

It does this by using an encrypted connection to redirect your web traffic through one of 160 servers, spread throughout 94 countries. If that sounds intimidating, don't worry; ExpressVPN's interface makes it all easy to use and understand, and if you do happen to get stuck there's live support available 24/7.

It doesn't just work with laptop and desktop computers, either; there are mobile apps for your smartphone and tablet too, and you can even install ExpressVPN on many routers to secure every device on your home Wi-Fi network.

Unlike many VPN services, ExpressVPN also gives a 30-day money-back guarantee, so you won't be left out of pocked if you discover it's not the right service for you.

Also read: The best VPN deals

12. Productivity software

In 2020, Google Docs is much more than a web-based version of classic productivity suites like Microsoft Office, and has come along in bounds and strides since it first appeared as a free service.

Apart from making your documents, spreadsheets and slides accessible from any browser (as well as supremely easy to collaborate on with other users), the online suite employs an intuitive interface that even integrates Google's vast search features when you need them.

There's a range of quality templates ready for you to use, plus third-party add-ins available that offer features you'd normally find in Microsoft Office, like mail merge and a more advanced equation editor. You can also use Google Translate to convert one of your documents into another language. And if you want more collaboration features, you can always plump for the subscription-based version of Google Docs, now called G Suite.

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13. Quality sketchbook or notebook

MOO is a brand best known for its made-to-order business cards, but it also produces some of the best notebooks for designers. It might sound unlikely but the MOO Hardcover Notebook was created by the company's in-house designers, and their expertise really shows. It features non-glare ruled paper, plus 16 sheets of shaded paper in the middle for sketches, and can be laid completely flat on your desk for easier working.

If you need an unruled notebook, a Moleskine Classic is still impossible to beat. It comes in a huge variety of shapes, styles and paper types, but whichever one you opt for, the quality is consistently excellent. The company also makes some of the world's best sketchbooks, including the Moleskine Art Collection Sketchbook. Its paper has enough tooth for most dry media while still being pleasantly smooth, and its price is very reasonable for 240-page pad.

14. Pantone swatch book

When you're working in print, you need to know exactly how spot colours are going to look. The only way to do that is to invest in a Pantone swatch book, and while they aren't cheap, they are invaluable. 

Before making a purchase, consider exactly which swatches you actually need. Neons and metallics are particularly hard to simulate on-screen, so dedicated swatch books for these are a good choice. Alternatively, a five-part Pantone Plus Solid Guide Set will cost you £288/$329, and will cover both.

For more versatile day-to-day use, the Pantone Plus Color Bridge Set presents the spectrum of spot-colours alongside their closest CMYK match – ideal where your client’s budget doesn’t stretch to a fifth colour for a certain job. Books of Pantone 'chips' are also available, which are great to pin to printers' proofs to ensure everyone's on the same page, colour-wise.

If you specialise in quality print and packaging work, and spot colours are a significant part of your daily workflow, it may be worth investing in the full-blown Pantone Reference Library for your studio to have the entire range at your fingertips, complete with fetching display stand. But you'll be paying £1,179/$1,620 for the privilege, so make sure you really need it.

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15. Variable desk

A standing desk can encourage you to be less sedentary, help reduce back pain and even decrease your risk of illness. With the Flytta 2 you have the option to switch between sitting and standing whenever you want, and adjust the level of the work surface to suit your height.

There's no need to fiddle with crank handles; the desk is raised and lowered smoothly by a pair of powerful motors, and can store your preferred height settings for quick access in future. Collision detection helps you avoid bumped knees, and the 120kg lift capacity means even heavy desktop computers won't be a problem.

16. Ergonomic chair

If there's one item that's really worth investing in, it's a high quality chair, and the Herman Miller Mirra 2 is our number one choice for keeping you comfortably supported all day. It's a little more affordable than the iconic Aeron chair, and features 10 different adjustment systems so you can customise it for the perfect sitting position.

The posture support is superb, helping you avoid back problems down the line, and alleviating any issues you may already have. The mesh design also helps regulate temperature, so there's no risk of getting hot and sweaty while working at your desk all day.

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Read more:

The best computer for graphic design10 productivity tools you can't be withoutThe best travel laptops right now

Original Source: https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2020/01/mobile-pwa-sticky-bars-elements/

How To Decide Which PWA Elements Should Stick

How To Decide Which PWA Elements Should Stick

Suzanne Scacca

2020-01-02T12:30:00+00:00
2020-01-02T22:08:46+00:00

As the number of website visitors and shoppers grows on mobile, it’s important to consider how small additions to your design will encourage them to do more than just research and browse. One of the elements I think mobile designers — for PWAs and mobile websites — need to do more with is the sticky bar.

What exactly do I mean by “more”? Well, I mean using the fixed navigation bar at the top or bottom of a mobile site for more than just navigation or branding.

Today, I’m going to show you some creative uses for sticky elements in mobile design, so you can help more of your visitors to take action.

Sticky Element Inspiration For Mobile Design

Think about the main challenge we face when it comes to mobile. While users are more than willing to take their first steps on a website or PWA from their mobile devices, conversion often happens on desktop (if they remember to do it at all).

When used properly, fixed elements can encourage more mobile visitors to take action right where they are. And this works for all kinds of websites.

1. Make the Top Sticky Bar Useful

The sticky bar at the top of your mobile site shouldn’t just be there for branding.

That said, I get that it can be tricky using that space when the logo may end up comprising a good chunk of that space. But if you design it thin enough, you can stack another banner beside it. Just make sure it’s useful.

The Lancome PWA is an interesting example because it simultaneously does this well and poorly:

Lancome has three sticky bars at the top of its PWA. (Source: Lancome) (Large preview)

There are three sticky bars at the top of the PWA:

A banner promoting a special offer,
A standard navigation bar,
A secondary navigation bar with shop categories.

The two navigation bars are great. Together, they don’t take up too much space and they make it much easier for users to find what they’re looking for and to complete their purchases. However, that promotional banner is not very well executed.

For starters, it’s too big and demands too much attention. Secondly, there’s no way to dismiss the message. It just stays there, stuck to the top of the PWA, no matter where the visitor goes.

If you’re going to use a sticky bar to promote an offer — no matter its size — give your users the option to move it out of the way if it’s irrelevant or if they’ve already collected the pertinent details from it.

George.com is another e-commerce web app that takes advantage of the top sticky bar. This one, however, doesn’t waste the space with distracting elements.

George.com uses a standard navigation bar and sticky search bar on its PWA. (Source: George.com) (Large preview)

On the home page, George.com attaches a sticky and voice-enabled search bar to the top of the page. This is great as it caters to a number of visitor types:

Visitors that prefer to use the standard navigation from the menu.
Visitors that prefer to type a quick search to the exact item they need.
Visitors that want to use their voice to search for something.

It checks off all the boxes.

In addition to providing a great search experience for its store, George.com also customizes this sticky element as visitors go deeper into the site:

George.com provides shoppers with a sticky Sort and Filter bar. (Source: George.com) (Large preview)

As shoppers peruse product pages, the sticky search bar becomes a Sort and Filter bar that follows them down the page. For big online stores, this is a useful tool so mobile users don’t have to scroll all the way to the top to adjust their search results.

The top sticky bar isn’t just useful for e-commerce stores as you’ll see in the rest of the examples in this article. However, when it comes to mobile, there’s a greater opportunity for e-commerce sites to pack extra value into this space, so take advantage of it.

2. Add a Bottom Navigation Bar with Quick-Tap Actions

Okay, so we’ve established what makes for a good sticky top bar. But what about a bottom bar? Is it even necessary?

One of the benefits of designing a PWA instead of a mobile site is that we can give it the top and bottom wrapper. But it’s not always needed. I’d say as a general rule of thumb to include a bottom bar when there are commonly used actions you want users to have easy access to.

Let’s start with an example that’s a mix of the good and the eh: Twitter.

Twitter places its sticky navigation bar on the bottom of the PWA. (Source: Twitter) (Large preview)

Twitter has chosen a different placement for its navigation bar. While the sticky bar at the top provides a place to access user settings, the bottom is for:

Visiting one’s news feed;
Searching for posts, people, hashtags, etc.;
Checking on notifications and direct messages.

For a social media app, this design makes a lot of sense. It’s not as though users are going to spend much time updating their settings, so why not put it out of the thumb zone and keep the regularly used elements within reach?

The issue I take with Twitter’s sticky elements is the click-to-tweet button (the big blue button in the bottom-left). While it’s not high enough to cover content being read at the top of the page, it does cover part of it down below.

It’s awfully reminiscent of those floating social icons that used to cover content on mobile. You don’t really see that anymore and I think it was for that exact reason.

If you’re thinking about adding a free-standing sticky element of your own to your site, make sure it doesn’t cover any content. Twitter may be able to get away with it, but your brand might not.

As for other examples of bottom bars, let’s turn our attention to the Weather Channel PWA:

The Weather Channel PWA uses both a sticky top and bottom bar. (Source: Weather Channel) (Large preview)

What’s nice about the top bar, in particular, is that it prioritizes the user experience instead of its own branding. Once a visitor enters their location, the rest of the site’s content is personalized, which is great.

As for the bottom navigation, Weather Channel has done a really nice job with this. Similar to how Twitter places commonly used buttons in its bottom bar, the same idea is present here. After all, it’s not as though Weather Channel visitors are coming to the site to read about Dover Federal Credit Union. They want to get precise predictions for upcoming weather.

Now, the two examples above show you how to use the bottom navigation bar as a permanent fixture on a mobile site. But you can also use it as a custom feature on your internal pages as job search site The Muse does:

The Muse uses a sticky bar to shortcut various actions visitors might want to take. (Source: The Muse) (Large preview)

This bottom sticky bar appears only on job listings pages. Notice how it doesn’t just say “Apply”.

I’m willing to bet The Muse designer spent time studying its user journey and how frequently job seekers actually apply for a position the first time they see it. By including “Email Myself” and “Save” buttons in this action bar, it addresses the fact that job seekers might need time to mull the decision over or to prepare the application before filling it out.

So, while you can certainly use a sticky bottom bar as a type of secondary navigation for commonly-clicked pages, I’d also suggest looking at it the way The Muse has: by designing a sticky bar that’s tailor-made for your own user’s journey.

3. Simplify Order Customization with Sticky Elements

Remember the days when you’d have to call up your local restaurant to place an order for delivery or when, gulp, you had to actually visit a store to buy something? Online ordering is an amazing thing — but it could be even better if we set up our mobile sites and PWAs the right way for it.

Again, I want to start with an example that kinda gets it right.

This is the PWA for MINI USA:

Users customize their Mini Cooper on a page with an oversized sticky element. (Source: MINI USA) (Large preview)

This is what users go through when they want to customize their car before purchasing. Looking at it from this screenshot, it looks nice. You can see the car in its customized state along with the updated price.

However, that entire section — down to the “Review” and “Save” buttons — is fixed. That means that all customization takes place on about a third to a quarter of the screen down below. It’s not an easy customization experience, to say the least.

While the customization screen needs some work, it’s the final Review screen that is done nicely:

The MINI USA Review page adds a sticky action bar to the bottom. (Source: MINI USA) (Large preview)

Here the top bar has gone back to a normal size while a new action bar has been added to the bottom. This is similar to what The Muse does to streamline the next steps with job applicants. In this case, MINI gives potential customers the ability to choose one of a number of options, even if they don’t lead to an immediate sale.

There are other types of PWAs and mobile sites that can and should simplify the online ordering process. Like MINI, Uber Eats uses custom sticky elements to help users put together their orders.

Uber Eats includes a top menu navigation bar in its PWA. (Source: Uber Eats) (Large preview)

When a user has selected a restaurant to order from, a sticky menu bar appears at the top of the page. This is especially useful for lengthy menus as well as to help users quickly navigate to the kind of food they’re jonesing for.

Assuming the user has found an item they want, the next page removes the top sticky bar and adds an “Add to Order” button/bar instead.

Uber Eats places an “Add to Order” button at the bottom of its web app. (Source: Uber Eats) (Large preview)

This way, the distraction of other menu categories is gone and now the user only has to focus on customizing the selected item before placing it in the cart.

Again, what this comes down to is being able to predict your users’ steps before they even get there. You can use either the top or bottom navigation to aid in this process, but it’s best to place initial steps in a sticky top bar and later steps at the bottom as they near conversion.

4. Display “Sidebar” Widgets On Digital Publications

Without a sidebar on mobile, you might try to tuck the widgets that would otherwise be there at the bottom of your content. But unless you know that your content is going to be read all the way through and that visitors will keep scrolling for more, there’s no guarantee they’ll see anything you put down there.

So, when it makes sense to do so, use sticky bars to add only the most essential sidebar-esque content.

Let’s take Inc., for example.

Inc.’s PWA comes with a sticky subscription bar, banner ad and secondary hamburger menu. (Source: Inc.) (Large preview)

There are three sticky elements that appear around Inc.’s articles:

A subscription form (which can be dismissed),
A banner ad (which cannot),
A floating hamburger menu.

The first two elements are fine since at least one of them is dismissible. However, the floating hamburger menu is problematic since it covers part of the content. Considering this is a content-centric site, it’s probably not a good idea to cover any part of the page.

The only way we might be able to excuse the placement of this fixed element is if it were to add extra value to the content. However, all it does is give readers more articles to read:

Inc.’s floating hamburger menu contains more articles to read. (Source: Inc.) (Large preview)

The goal on any content website is to get visitors to actually read the content. But if you’re presenting them with other options straight away, you’re only giving them more content to get distracted by.

The concept of this floating menu is a good one, but the execution isn’t great. I’d recommend displaying it as visitors get at least 75% of the way down the page. That way, it only comes into view when they should be looking for related content to read.

As for publications that get the sticky elements right, look for ones that keep it simple.

The New Yorker, for instance, does a nice job of using the sticky navigation bar and a darker, less distracting bottom bar to promote its subscriptions:

The New Yorker uses sticky bars to promote its paid subscriptions. (Source: The New Yorker) (Large preview)

If it’s important to you to get subscribers for your publication — especially paid ones — this is a good way to make use of the fixed bars on mobile.

If, instead, you’re more focused on getting the word out about your content, then a sticky bar like the one The Billings Gazette uses would be better:

The Billings Gazette prioritizes sharing over subscribing of its content. (Source: The Billings Gazette) (Large preview)

This is really well done. Social media sharing options are limited to the ones that make the most sense for mobile users. The same goes for the other share options here: WhatsApp, text, and email. When clicked, the corresponding app opens, so readers don’t have to use their browser sharing options or copy-and-paste the link.

In all honesty, I’m not sure it should be an either/or. I think you could use the top bar to promote your subscription so long as it’s easy to dismiss. Then, the bottom bar could be used for sharing links. Just make sure one of the bars moves out of the way so you can maximize the reading space.

Wrapping Up

Bottom line? It’s time to start using your sticky mobile elements for more than just storage of a logo, hamburger menu or search bar.

As we’ve seen here today, the key is to figure out what your users need most from you. Then, use your sticky elements to build a shortcut that makes a difference in their experience.

(ra, yk, il)

Original Source: https://www.sitepoint.com/ip2location-next-js-divert-traffic/?utm_source=rss

This article was created in partnership with IP2Location. Thank you for supporting the partners who make SitePoint possible.

In a world where online commerce has become the norm, we need to build websites that are faster, user friendly and more secure than ever. In this article, you’ll learn how to set up a Node.js powered website that’s capable of directing traffic to relevant landing pages based on a visitor’s country. You’ll also learn how to block anonymous traffic (e.g. Tor) in order to eliminate risks coming from such networks.

In order to implement these features, we’ll be using the IP2Proxy web service provided by IP2Location, a Geo IP solutions provider. The web service is a REST API that accepts an IP address and responds with geolocation data in JSON format.

Here are some of the fields that we’ll receive:

countryName
cityName
isProxy
proxyType
etc.

We’ll use Next.js to build a website containing the following landing pages:

Home Page: API fetching and redirection will trigger from this page
Landing Page: supported countries will see the product page in their local currency
Unavailable Page: other countries will see this page with an option to join a waiting list
Abuse Page: visitors using Tor networks will be taken to this page

Now that you’re aware of the project plan, let’s see what you need to get started.

Prerequisites

On your machine, I would highly recommend the following:

Latest LTS version of Node.js (v12)
Yarn

An older version of Node.js will do, but the most recent LTS (long-term support) version contains performance and debugging improvements in the area of async code, which we’ll be dealing with. Yarn isn’t necessary, but you’ll benefit from its faster performance if you use it.

I’m also going to assume you have a good foundation in:

React
React Hooks

As mentioned earlier, we’ll be using Next.js to build our website. If you’re new to it, you can follow their official interactive tutorial to quickly get up to speed.

IP2Location + Next.js Project Walkthrough
Project Setup

To set up the project, simply launch the terminal and navigate to your workspace. Execute the following command:

npx create-next-app

Feel free to give your app any name. I’ve called mine next-ip2location-example. After installation is complete, navigate to the project’s root and execute yarn dev. This will launch the Node.js dev server. If you open your browser and navigate to localhost:3000, you should see a page with the header “Welcome to Next.js”. This should confirm that we have a working app that runs without errors. Stop the app and install the following dependencies:

yarn add yarn add next-compose-plugins dotenv-load next-env @zeit/next-css bulma isomorphic-unfetch

We’ll be using Bulma CSS framework to add out-of-the-box styling for our site. Since we’ll be connecting to an API service, we’ll set up an .env file to store our API key. Do note that this file should not be stored in a repository. Next create the file next.config.js. at the root of the project and add the following code:

const withPlugins = require(‘next-compose-plugins’)
const css = require(‘@zeit/next-css’)
const nextEnv = require(‘next-env’)
const dotenvLoad = require(‘dotenv-load’)

dotenvLoad()

module.exports = withPlugins([
nextEnv(),
[css]
])

The above configuration allows our application to read the .env file and load values. Do note that the keys will need to have the prefix NEXT_SERVER_ in order to be loaded in the server environment. Visit the next-env package page for more information. We’ll set the API key in the next section. The above configuration also gives our Next.js app the capability to pre-process CSS code via the zeit/next-css package. This will allow us to use Bulma CSS framework in our application. Do note we’ll need import Bulma CSS code into our Next.js application. I’ll soon show you where to do this.

Obtaining API Key for the I2Proxy Web Service

As mentioned earlier, we’ll need to convert a visitor’s IP address into information we can use to redirect or block traffic. Simply head to the following link and sign up for a free trial key:

IP2Proxy Detection Web Service

Once you sign up, you’ll receive the free API key via email. Create an .env file and place it at the root of your project folder. Copy your API key to the file as follows:

NEXT_SERVER_IP2PROXY_API=<place API key here>

This free key will give you 1,000 free credits. At a minimum, we’ll need the following fields for our application to function:

countryName
proxyType

If you look at the pricing section on the IP2Proxy page, you’ll note that the PX2 package will give us the required response. This means each query will costs us two credits. Below is a sample of how the URL should be constructed:

http://api.ip2proxy.com/?ip=8.8.8.8&key=demo&package=PX2

You can also submit the URL query without the IP. The service will use the IP address of the machine that sent the request. We can also use the PX8 package to get all the available fields such as isp and domain in the top-most package of the IP2Proxy Detection Web Service.

http://api.ip2proxy.com/?key=demo&package=PX8

In the next section, we’ll build a simple state management system for storing the proxy data which will be shared among all site pages.

Building Context API in Next.js

Create the file context/proxy-context and insert the following code:

import React, {
useState,
useEffect,
useRef,
createContext
} from ‘react’

export const ProxyContext = createContext()

export const ProxyContextProvider = (props) => {
const initialState = {
ipAddress: ‘0.0.0.0’,
countryName: ‘Nowhere’,
isProxy: false,
proxyType: ”
}

// Declare shareable proxy state
const [proxy, setProxy] = useState(initialState)
const prev = useRef()

// Read and Write Proxy State to Local Storage
useEffect(() => {
if (proxy.countryName == ‘Nowhere’) {
const localState = JSON.parse(localStorage.getItem(‘ip2proxy’))
if (localState) {
console.info(‘reading local storage’)
prev.current = localState.ipAddress
setProxy(localState)
}
} else if (prev.current !== proxy.ipAddress) {
console.info(‘writing local storage’)
localStorage.setItem(‘ip2proxy’, JSON.stringify(proxy))
}
}, [proxy])

return(
<ProxyContext.Provider value={[ipLocation, setProxy]}>
{props.children}
</ProxyContext.Provider>
)
}

Basically, we’re declaring a sharable state called proxy that will store data retrieved from the IP2Proxy web service. The API fetch query will be implemented in pages/index.js. The information will be used to redirect visitors to the relevant pages. If the visitor tries to refresh the page, the saved state will be lost. To prevent this from happening, we’re going to use the useEffect() hook to persist state in the browser’s local storage. When a user refreshes a particular landing page, the proxy state will be retrieved from the local storage, so there’s no need to perform the query again. Here’s a quick sneak peek of Chrome’s local storage in action:

Tip: In case you run into problems further down this tutorial, clearing local storage can help resolve some issues.

Displaying Proxy Information

Create the file components/proxy-view.js and add the following code:

import React, { useContext } from ‘react’
import { ProxyContext } from ‘../context/proxy-context’

const style = {
padding: 12
}

const ProxyView = () => {
const [proxy] = useContext(ProxyContext)
const { ipAddress, countryName, isProxy, proxyType } = proxy

return (
<div className=”box center” style={style}>
<div className=”content”>
<ul>
<li>IP Address : {ipAddress} </li>
<li>Country : {countryName} </li>
<li>Proxy : {isProxy} </li>
<li>Proxy Type: {proxyType} </li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
)
}

export default ProxyView

This is simply a display component that we’ll place at the end of each page. We’re only creating this to confirm that our fetch logic and application’s state is working as expected. You should note that the line const [proxy] = useContext(ProxyContext) won’t run until we’ve declared our Context Provider at the root of our application. Let’s do that now in the next section.

Implementing Context API Provider in Next.js App

Create the file pages/_app.js and add the following code:

import React from ‘react’
import App from ‘next/app’
import ‘bulma/css/bulma.css’
import { ProxyContextProvider } from ‘../context/proxy-context’

export default class MyApp extends App {
render() {
const { Component, pageProps } = this.props

return (
<ProxyContextProvider>
<Component {…pageProps} />
</ProxyContextProvider>
)
}
}

The _app.js file is the root component of our Next.js application where we can share global state with the rest of the site pages and child components. Note that this is also where we’re importing CSS for the Bulma framework we installed earlier. With that set up, let’s now build a layout that we’ll use for all our site pages.

The post How to Divert Traffic Using IP2Location in a Next.js Website appeared first on SitePoint.

Original Source: https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2019/12/a-smashing-year-2019/

2019: A Smashing Year In Review

2019: A Smashing Year In Review

Rachel Andrew

2019-12-31T13:30:00+00:00
2019-12-31T21:06:19+00:00

2019 has been quite a productive (sometimes challenging, but ultimately very successful) year for the Smashing team. In this annual round-up, I’d like to share some of my thoughts and those of some of the Smashing team, as we look back on the past year as well as look forward to 2020.

Travel And Friendships

As always, my 2019 has involved a lot of travel. In addition to my conference speaking engagements and travel to W3C meetings, I attended all four of our Smashing conferences; I ran CSS Layout workshops in Toronto, New York and San Francisco. The conferences are a time when most of the team is together in person.

The home of Smashing is in Freiburg, Germany, and before SmashingConf Freiburg, we held a big team meeting, with almost everyone who is involved with Smashing able to take part. There have been many changes in the Smashing Team this year, and that meeting in Freiburg was a chance for us all to come together; I believe that it was one of the most valuable things we have done this year.

There are many challenges in doing all of the things we do as a small (mainly part-time and remote) team. However, if we keep talking and keep the Smashing community at the heart of everything we do, the past year demonstrates that we can achieve amazing things!

The Conferences

The SmashingConf team of Amanda Annandale, Charis Rooda and Mariona Jones are a force of nature. They seem to achieve the impossible and (as Charis told me) still have time to enjoy the surroundings of the places they visit.

The SmashingConf team in Toronto

I’m always blown away when I walk into the venue and see what has been achieved — even before the event starts. Artwork created by the very talented Ricardo Gimenes is everywhere — such as the movie posters from Toronto, and the artwork in the theater we use as a venue in New York.

Our movie posters in Toronto (Photo credit Marc Thiele)

The signage in the theater in New York (Photo credit Drew McLellan)

One of my favorite things to do at the conferences is to lead the Smashing Run which we normally manage to do on both conference days. This is becoming quite a fixture, with several attendees and speakers running and chatting for half an hour before breakfast. I’m already looking forward to our inaugural run in Austin in 2020, although it may be a bit of a warm one!

I sometimes help the conference team out when words need writing or editing, and sometimes when the legality of balloons is called into question. As Amanda Annandale (Senior Event Manager) remembers:

“September marked my third year at Smashing, and while it provided a whole new set of challenges, it also provided a huge sense of accomplishments. The conference team sat down at the end of 2018 and was able to make some big plans for the future.

“It’s been amazing to see these plans (from organization to side-events to new locations), and our team, come together. But, new tasks can bring about some hilarious roadblocks. Smashing is on a long and necessary quest to reduce our carbon footprint. BUT, Vitaly is rather partial to balloons.

“For those who may not know (because Rachel Andrew and I were shocked to learn), foil balloons are heavily regulated in the state of California. This (we discovered while spending a disproportionate time researching eco-balloons over plastic balloons) is obviously bad for the environment. We’ve never been so happy to find a company making fully eco-friendly balloons, that are fully biodegradable in a very short amount of time! This experience definitely strengthened our resolve.

“We are now working with a company out of Austin to improve our printing processes to be more eco-friendly, and working with each of our caterers to reduce our waste. We still have a way to go, but we’re aiming for a Smashing impact in 2020!”

The (eco-friendly) balloons are deployed in San Francisco (Photo credit Marc Thiele)

Conferences are expensive to produce and we are fortunate to have some wonderful partners who help us to create these events. They are looked after by our partnerships manager, Mariona Jones, who has been joined this year by Esther Fernández. Between them, they are working to bring together all of the Smashing properties in order to create new partnership opportunities. Mariona told me,

“The most exciting moment this year has been to be able to create together with the whole team the Smashing Media platform bringing together events, magazine, publishing house, membership and Smashing TV. The highlight of the year is undoubtedly the birth of the partnerships and data office and the addition to the Smashing Family of my dear colleague Esther.”

Esther adds,

“Joining the Smashing team has been one of the highlights of the year. It’s been a pleasure to enter this community and to make the Smashing conferences happen.”

I’m looking forward to working together with Mariona and Esther this year as we open up new opportunities for partnerships that cross the boundaries of the different parts of the platform!

Smashing Magazine

The heart of what I do at Smashing is the online magazine; as Editor in Chief, my role here is to try to bring you web design and development content that will inform you, help with your day-to-day work, and also make you think. We publish almost every weekday, so always have a large list of articles moving through the writing, editing and publishing process.

Looking through our analytics, I pulled up a list of the most popular articles published in the last year. The range of topics making it to the top may surprise you, and demonstrate the wide range of subjects we cover here. We have the Front-End Performance Checklist, an article comparing Sketch, Figma, and Adobe XD, and two articles about designing tables: Table Design Patterns On The Web and How To Architect A Complex Web Table. HTML and CSS are always popular with How To Align Things In CSS, How To Learn CSS and HTML5 Input Types: Where Are They Now? —all getting a top spot. They are joined by Styling An Angular Application With Bootstrap and Using Vue.js To Create An Interactive Weather Dashboard. That’s quite the range of subject matter!

Covering such a broad spectrum of web design and development is certainly a challenge and one I couldn’t do alone. My subject editors Alma Hoffmann, Chui Chui Tan, Drew McLellan and Michel Bozgounov bring their expertise to the topics they help curate. Copy editors Andrew Lobo and Owen Gregory help preserve the tone of voice of our authors while ensuring the content is easy to understand for an international audience. Cosima Mielke ensures that the newsletter is well researched along with many other roles (including eBook production), and Yana Kirilenko does a great job of getting articles from Google Docs, Dropbox Paper and various Markdown apps into the CMS. Senior editor Iris Lješnjanin does an amazing job of keeping everything on track, fielding the email, hitting publish on most of the pieces, and making sure that we are all using smashingly correct punctuation! I am very grateful for all of their work.

Vitaly and I are well-known faces in the web community, however, there is a whole cast of folk working behind the scenes to keep the magazine running successfully. I don’t say thank you enough, but I sincerely appreciate all the work that goes into the magazine across the team.

Smashing Magazine turned 13 this year to which I shared personal stories from the team — you can read more about the people behind the Smashing scenes over here.

This year, I’ve tried to bring the various facets of the business into the magazine. For example, each conference results in a set of high-quality videos of the presentations which was hidden away on Vimeo. This year, I’ve published a write-up of each event, listing all of the videos. I hope that this means more people can benefit from the wisdom of our speakers and also shows the brilliant work the conference team does in curating and putting on these events.

SmashingConf San Francisco 2019 (videos & photos)
SmashingConf Toronto 2019 (videos & photos)
SmashingConf Freiburg 2019 (videos & photos)
SmashingConf New York 2019 (videos & photos)

Something that I really enjoy is to publish articles by folks who have never written for a large publication before and to help their articles go through the process. Earlier this year, I wrote an article on Pitching Your Writing To Publications. If your 2020 goals include writing for Smashing Magazine, drop us a line with an outline of your idea. We would love to work with you!

Smashing Books And Our First Print Magazine

In 2019, we published two printed books, plus our very first print magazine. Art Direction For The Web was published in the spring, and at the end of the year, we began shipping Inclusive Components.

In the middle of the launch of Inclusive Components, we welcomed a new team member, Ari Stiles. She told me,

“It was challenging and fun to start working on the Smashing Library right after Heydon’s book was released, when promotion was already in full swing. A bit like stepping in front of a firehose — but in a good way! It helps that Inclusive Components is a well-written, timely book. I love helping people discover new and helpful resources like this one, and I’m excited about all of our new books for 2020.”

Selecting a topic for our first print magazine was tricky. We wanted these magazines to be a snapshot of the industry at a certain time, but also to have a longer shelf life than tutorials on topics that will be out of date in a few months. Ultimately, for issue one, we chose a subject that was at the forefront of many minds in 2019 — that of ethics and privacy. The collection of essays I commissioned is designed to make you think, and we still have a few print copies and the digital version, if you would like to read them.

? We’re currently in the planning stage for issue 2 — watch this space!

All of our books come with an eBook version, and one of Cosima Mielke’s many roles is to produce this version from the final manuscript. Memories of working on these projects were her response when I asked her about her 2019:

“As an eBook Producer, the moment when you’re being handed over the proofread manuscript to get started with eBook production is always a special moment. So many people — reviewers, proofreaders, and most importantly, the authors themselves, have already invested so much time and efforts into the manuscript, and now it’s your turn to put it into its final shape: the eBook that people are going to download and read.

“My personal highlight (and biggest challenge) this year was to turn the monumental opus that Andy provided with “Art Direction for the Web” into an eBook. The assets included almost 600 images — most of the designs created by Andy from scratch — and turning these into an eBook that does justice to the author’s meticulous work, provides a pleasant reading experience (given the rather limited possibilities that eBook reading devices usually offer), and has a reasonable file size at the same time, was quite a balancing act. Looking back, it was the most challenging eBook I have worked on to date — and, naturally, these kinds of projects make you feel proudest once you’ve accomplished them. I’m already curious to find out what 2020 will bring.”

The Smashing Podcast

For the first time this year, Smashing Magazine has a podcast. Hosted by Drew McLellan, this bi-weekly show interviews someone from the world of web design and development. We hope to bring you some well-known names, but also speak to folks doing interesting things across the industry.

In addition to having a very broad base of subject matter, Smashing has a global audience; we’d like to reflect that and bring you interviews from people all over the world. I asked Drew for his thoughts on these first few episodes:

“I was really pleased to be able to launch the Smashing Podcast this year. We spent quite a bit of time in development with it, trying to work out what the best format and tone to take would be. We tried to make it sound like Smashing and embody the same values; a good place to learn and stay informed, but with a sense of fun.

Our early guests have included experts such as Jina Ann, Liz Elcoate, and Jason Pamental. And we’ve spoken to authors of Smashing books Andy Clarke and Heydon Pickering.

The reception so far has been great, and you can always let us know what you think via the contact page. I’m looking forward to releasing episodes with the guests we have lined up for 2020!”

If you haven’t listened to an episode yet, you can catch up by subscribing here, or check out the individual episodes and full transcripts.

Smashing Membership

We love our Smashing Members! This year you have continued to sign up and support the publication of independent content. We’ve been running webinars (with the help of Scott Whitehead and Bethany Andrew where members get to chat with one another in our Membership Slack, while enjoying free copies of our eBooks, plus a copy of the print magazine! We’re really keen to build on and evolve membership over the next years, and we sincerely thank our members for their support.

We have been running a membership table at our event, where members and prospective members can chat with the team. Our partnership manager, Mariona Jones remembers,

“While running the membership table at SmashingConf, I met a group of attendees who shared their passion for many things, among them open-source, stickers, code, and caffeine while browsing together through the first-ever Smashing print magazine on ethics and privacy and conversing about the relevance of this important topic.”

That’s enough from me! Still, we can’t wrap up 2019 without some thoughts from Vitaly, without who Smashing would not exist at all.

Vitaly opens a SmashingConf (Photo credit Marc Thiele)

“It’s common to think that it’s all about the achievements or goals that make a year special, but for me, this year was full of meeting wonderful people. So, so many people. I’ve had a chance to speak with hundreds of people all around the globe, learning from their experiences and sharing mine. I was lucky to travel to over 40 places this year, from Albania, Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina to Kyiv, Sweden and Budapest. I vividly remember some of the stories and experiences I shared over a fire in the evening, in cars on the way somewhere, and in buses talking to strangers I’ll never see again. These were extremely rewarding, valuable and precious moments for me. They are the ones that I’ll be looking back to years from now. In essence, it’s all about people in the end.

“It was wonderful to connect with some of our readers at New Adventures in Nottingham, InfoShare in Gdansk, Poland, BTConf in Dusseldorf, FrontEndUnited in Utrecht, Netherlands, YGLF in Vilnius, Lithuania, perf.now in Amsterdam, Netherlands, and so many others! That said, travel is not without drama. When I was on a short vacation in Albania, I ended up getting lost in the woods in the middle of nowhere at midnight. That was quite scary, but thanks to 6% on my phone and a hardly visible, remote McDonalds sign, I was able to get out in a few hours, returning to the hotel around 5 AM.

“I think that this year at Smashing we’ve learned what it really means to be a team. We had tough and difficult situations, but we pulled together in a respectful, kind and very supportive way, and we kept strong and we made it. It was a year full of challenges and adventures, but in the end, we’ve grown even closer together, and I’m very proud of our team for getting there. I’m also very proud of the fact that we have been exploring topics that are often not seen as particularly interesting nor trendy — accessibility, ethical design, privacy. At our conferences, for example, we’ve looked into common problems and issues that developers and designers struggle with, and tried to find solutions and common techniques to tackle them. It’s something that I strongly believe is important for the health of our industry, and I’m happy to see more discussions around these topics this year.

“My sincere hope is that we’ll establish an even stronger team filling in the gaps we currently have, and we’ll manage to create a very strong alignment within the company. I hope we’ll be able to reach out to more people — especially the new generation of designers and developers — and connect with them. I can’t wait for the books that we’ll be releasing next year as well! I have a number of ideas in mind of things I think we could do, but before jumping there, I want to make sure we are stable, healthy and strong. No rush — I’ve been patient my entire life.”

Onwards To 2020!

The whole team is looking forward to seeing what 2020 brings, and to sharing that with the Smashing Community — wherever you are in the world. Thank you for being part of our journey!

The Smashing team on stage in New York (Photo credit: Drew McLellan)

(il)

Original Source: https://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2019/12/the-art-of-persuasion-how-to-handle-clients-with-mad-ideas/

We’ve all been there. It’s 4pm on a Friday afternoon, you’re already in your “weekend outfit” (underwear and hoody combo) and you get an email. It’s Client X: Hey, erm, I’ve just had a couple of thoughts, can we talk?

Wearily, you reach for the phone.

Sure enough, the “couple of thoughts” become a rambling monologue on the virtues of asymmetric grid layout, mouse-controllable content and parallax scrolling (“that shouldn’t be too hard, right?”) which lasts for 90 minutes. They basically want this, on their budget of $1200.

If that wasn’t bad enough, of course you also know that what they’re asking for — even if you could deliver it on time and in budget — will make no sense at all to their users.

Don’t panic, here’s what you can do.

1. Make a Connection

Believe it or not, from a certain angle, there’s probably method to their madness. By discovering it, you’ll not only unlock ways to solve the problem, but develop your working relationship in a positive direction too.

Have you ever wondered why Client X wants their app to auto-play “We are the Champions” every time it loads? Maybe they’re trying to send a positive message about their company or looking for a lighthearted feel. Have they seen something similar that actually works? Are they trying to express their personality through the work they’re asking you to do?

In his book Nonviolent Communication, psychologist Marshall Rosenberg argues we can find resolution to any conflict by addressing the needs that underlie it, and urges us to start by acknowledging the other person’s reality.

Here’s how it works: don’t argue. At least not yet. Let them talk. Ask questions. Acknowledge what they’re saying. Listen. At the same time, try to build up a picture of what’s important to them at the emotional level. When you do talk, reflect back what you’ve understood. You’ll probably find the situation calms right down.

Maybe this seems time consuming. It is. But then again, so are those rambling “wouldn’t it be great if we…” phone-calls. You may as well put them to some use…

2. Sell Your Vision

From another perspective, in trying to persuade someone out of their mad idea, you’re really trying to sell them your own. As such, the psychology of selling has a lot to offer you, if that’s your cup of tea. Just remember: Your ability to sell is only as good as your understanding of the client. If you try to use a one-size-fits-all approach, it will sound naff. Invest time and effort in understanding what they really want, then find ways to link your sane ideas to it.

Be honest. Don’t try to sell something that isn’t going to satisfy. Most people will see through it, and the ones that don’t will leave the interaction feeling bitter.

Appeal to Emotion

Client X isn’t going to change their mind because of logical arguments. They’ve made their decision on a whim, a feeling. You can only really address it at the same level. Maybe they want people to respect their business: If so, use words and examples that evoke respect for your preferred idea: “Have you seen the Armani website? They’ve used more of a symmetric grid and it looks pretty strong don’t you think?”.

Pain, Problem, Solution

As any good salesperson will tell you, Client X’s unhinged desire for parallax scrolling arises first and foremost from pain, as in: “Jeez, this design is boring!”. They formulate this as a problem: “There’s not enough movement”. A (naive) solution follows: “We need more animation”.

You can use your understanding of the deeper need (more movement) to highlight the advantages of something simpler: “Yeah I see your point. We can also look at the colors and typefaces. Do any of these look more dynamic?”

Offer Choices

Sometimes, clients are challenging because they “want to be involved”. You can help them scratch that itch by offering choices, like the example above.

Tell a Story

Story is the difference between the value of my autograph, and the value of Neil Armstrong’s. You can dramatically increase the appeal of your vision by finding preferred brands that use it, or examples of work which went really well because of, say, grid layout.

3. Full Charm Offensive

Although you might feel like throwing your phone (or possibly them) out of the window, by giving Client X short shrift, you’ll probably dent their ego and leave them plotting ways to get revenge.

The more you nourish and protect your relationship with clients, the more they’ll respect and respond to you, and the easier your life will be. Here are some suggestions:

Put Your Effort in Early

By getting it right at the briefing stage, when the train-smash moment arrives, you can steer it towards a reasonable outcome.

Don’t be a Prima Donna

The days of the genius designer toiling away in secret are over: Clients want to be involved in the creative process and probably have a right to be. Co-creation in the planning stage will give the client ownership, and a warm feeling about you for letting them experience it. Once they’ve seen how complex the work is, they’ll probably be less inclined to chuck it, or haggle over the price as well.

Compromise

If the client insists on something that really won’t work, and won’t listen to your carefully crafted vision, you know what? That’s on them. You don’t need to fight it. If it involves extra work that wasn’t in your brief then say so, explain, and suggest alternatives. Work with the client. Find ways to identify what their real needs are, and work towards those. Keep track of decisions that are made, and who made them in case of blowback.

Over Deliver

Use your knowledge of the underlying (often unconscious) desires of the client to completely wow them. Go the extra mile in areas which will likely have big impact, even if these aren’t core priorities from a pure design perspective. Try to understand the client’s expectations and exceed them in any way you can.

Be Confident, not Abrasive

In most situations with clients, you genuinely are the expert. Share stories about your experiences in a lighthearted way, explain why you think that something will or won’t work. Smile, relax. Don’t be like Sheldon.

4. Be a Proper Professional

Painful as it may be, challenging clients, like plagues of fire-breathing locusts, are an unfortunate part of life as a web designer. Get prepared up front.

Nail the Brief

As well as specifying the finished product, do yourself a favor by going beyond it: discuss brand strategy. Get the client talking about their target market, and where this project fits into their global vision. Use mood-boards, even a design principles framework, to nail down hard evidence of what you’ve both agreed are the priorities. This will be important later on!

Establish a Point of Contact

Find out who will be the decision maker(s), and who will be communicating with you. Then you know who to contact when the project starts to drift towards fantasy land. If you’ve ever found yourself on a call to client X’s great Aunt Lilly who “went to design school once” and “knows all about UX”, you haven’t done this right!

Be Organised

If you’re not using a project or client management tool, you’re probably making it hard for yourself to keep track of things. With challenging clients, you’ll often need to quickly find that email where “he literally said the exact opposite of what he’s saying he said”, even if just for your own sanity.

Be Firm

Be flexible, but set limits. Use the evidence you’ve collected to make your points. Negotiate a budget increase if the work is out of spec, or politely say no if you need to. Give reasons and alternatives.

The Real Secret: Know Your Customer

It’s a cliché, but an important one: The better you understand the mad behaviour you’re seeing, the better you can influence it.

The fact is, everyone, even Client X, is coming from somewhere. Sure they’ve got a bit lost, but at the end of the day, just like you, they’re trying to reach their goals.

If you can bring yourself to find out where they’re coming from and where they’re going, you might be able to help. At the very least, you’ll keep your phone, and also yourself, the right side of the window.

 

Featured image via Unsplash.

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