Your design team and the client clash over color choices. How do you find common ground?

Here's how to smooth things out: 🍗Mood board showdown: Host a visual throwdown. Team & client each create mood boards. Mix+match elements to find a middle ground. We once blended a client's bold red w/ our team's sleek grays - instant hit! 🍗Color psychology workshop: Bring in an expert for a mini-session. Learn together how colors impact emotions & brand perception. Our team & a tech client found common ground in energetic oranges after this eye-opener. 🍗A/B testing adventure: Create 2 versions - one for each preference. Run social media tests to see what the audience likes. We did this for a fashion brand, & surprise! A wild card color combo won. Remember, it's not about winning, it's about finding what works best for the brand.😉

To bridge the color choice gap, focus on understanding the client's perspective. Ask clarifying questions about their color preferences, explore brand guidelines, and discuss the target audience's emotional response they desire. Then, present a curated palette that blends their vision with your design expertise, explaining how your choices align with project goals. Open communication paves the way for a solution that satisfies both creative and strategic needs.

Coming at this from an interior design perspective. The client always has final choice when it comes down to it but the design team is there to help guide the final decisions. It is best to use active listening skills to understand what the client wants and ask the right questions to help further the team's understanding. When it comes to showing clients your design choices, it is always best to explain your reasoning for what you are choosing and provide research if possible, as you may bring a unique perspective the client has not thought about. Usually this will work to curb a halt in the decision making.

As a designer, navigate color clashes with clients by acknowledging their concerns. Briefly explain your choices, tying them to project goals. Present a curated selection that blends your vision with their preferences. Discuss incorporating elements of their preferred colors while maintaining design integrity. Frame the decision as a collaboration to achieve the best possible outcome. This educates them while finding common ground.

To find common ground on color choices with your team and the client, explore a middle ground! Start by identifying any colors both sides favor. Use those as a base to create new palettes that incorporate both the client's preferences and your team's design ideas. This bridges the gap between aesthetics and functionality.

In our experience communication is key. Unless it is set in stone a color must be used then it's up to the designer and design team to communicate and educate the client on why the designers choice was selected. We encounter this quite often and many times after a conversation or two the client understands the reasons why. It is also a great time to reinforce why instructions and briefings are important and agreed upon prior to doing the work.