Learning Resources

Lesson

Clients

Design is about meeting needs and wants.  Most design is done for a client (individual, group, organization).  The client is the one who initially identifies the scope of work, pays the costs, and determines if the requirements are met.  When design is conducted in a course of study like this one, or even an architecture program at a university, the teacher often fulfils the role of client.  Of course if the design is conducted for an outside client, the teacher will often be a parallel client to guide the process, particularly if the outside client has no experience working with designers.

Contracts

A contract is a legal document placing restrictions and obligations on the parties to the contract.  Typically is indicates the nature of the work to be delivered, timelines for delivery and penalties for non-delivery, the payment schedule, and additional obligations of the client and the designer.

In the world of design the contract is often referred to as a design brief, or just a brief. 

The design brief is an important document in design education as well.  It serves a slightly different purpose than a legal contract between a designer and paying customer.  In an education setting, it also defines the nature and scope of work.  But instead of the terms of payment, it defines the means and terms of assessment and evaluation of the students work.  It provides the 'contract' in reference to which the student engages in design and delivers a series of products, and the teacher supervises the various stages of the work, providing feedback to guide the process and assessment to evaluate the process and product.

Activity

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