34 Questions to Ask Graphic Design Clients in a Questionnaire [Template]
Now that you’ve landed the new client of your dreams, it’s time to start onboarding them. A big part of that is making sure that everyone is on the same page in terms of wants, needs, and expectations. You can determine all of the above with a graphic design client questionnaire.
To help avoid any issues, we’ve come up with a graphic design questionnaire that addresses all of the most important points of an upcoming project.
Graphic design questionnaire
Creating a graphic design questionnaire will save you time and a lot of headaches. When you and your client are clear about needs and expectations from the get-go you can’t go wrong. It also helps add a level of professionalism to your workflow, which is something that your new client will appreciate.
We’ve divided this questionnaire into different topics to give you an idea of the range of questions you should be asking.
General questions about the business
- Tell us a little bit more about your business.
- What services or products do you offer?
- What are the values of your company?
- Does your company have a mission statement? What is it?
- What’s your brand’s message?
- What sets your company apart from the rest? What do you hope to be known for?
- Who are your competitors?
- Who is your audience? Describe your customer avatar.
- What are your target demographics?
General questions about working together
- Have you worked with a graphic designer in the past? If yes, what was the experience like? If not, why not?
- Please share your preferred method of communication.
- Please share if you have any other graphic design needs outside of this project (logo redesign, color and font rebranding, etc.)
General questions about the brand
- How would you describe your brand in your own words?
- Choose 5 words that describe your brand.
- How do you think your customers see you?
- How do you want your customers to see you? Name three things you hope they feel after interacting with your brand.
- Are you happy with your current branding?
- What is a brand that you look up to or want to emulate?
General questions about design likes and dislikes
- Do you have a style guide, design guide, or anything else of the like that you’d like us to follow? This can include a logo, colors, and fonts.
- What kind of fonts and colors do you like? Is there anything you absolutely dislike?
- Please share any sources of inspiration that you’d like us to pull from.
Type of design project
- Please indicate your specific design needs. These can include:
- Web design
- Brochure
- Logo
- Ads (digital or print)
- Sales materials
- Physical products (t-shirts, mugs, stickers, etc.)
- Images for a blog
- Anything else (tell us!)
Tip: You can also ask follow up questions related to the design project. For example: "What style of illustration do you want? Is it isometric?"
Project summary
- Why do you want to do this project?
- Please tell us in detail what your needs are for this project.
- What is the ideal outcome for this project? (Attract new customers, rebranding, etc.)
- What is the project timeline? (When you hope to start and finish)
- What’s your budget?
Campaign messaging
- Please share a successful campaign that you’ve done in the past.
- What do you hope to say with this campaign?
- How do you want your audience to interact with the campaign?
- Is this campaign digital or physical? If both, do you want them to differ?
Campaign goals
- What’s the goal of this project? What are you trying to achieve?
Creative dimensions
- How creative would you like your designer to be?
- Follow brief closely
- Add a bit of creativity
- Complete creative freedom
- Do you require source files?
Download
To make using this questionnaire even easier, we’ve created this handy template that you can view, edit, and make your own.
Google Docs Template: Access it here.
How to create a graphic design questionnaire
We encourage you to get inspiration from the questions above and create your own questionnaire that your clients can access. You can use all of the questions above, or you can pick and choose which ones you like the best. You should also feel free to add anything else that you’re interested in knowing! Each creative agency is different and will likely need to add some additional questions related to what they specialize in.
There are two ways that you can create a graphic design questionnaire.
Option 1: ManyRequests
We offer many solutions for creative agencies, one of them being our customizable client intake forms.
You’ll be able to upload your branding (including your logo and colors) so that your questionnaire lives in a place that looks like your own app. Remember that one of the goals of having a questionnaire is to be more professional. Our intake forms take this idea to the next level.
Here are some key features of our request form builder:
- Conditional rules ("IF -> "THEN" type of rules)
- Let clients upload attachments
- Customize questions for each service
Create your questionnaire and then simply upload it into an intake form. The client will be able to fill it out at their leisure, and you’ll be able to see their answers within their particular client area. You can even add a payment option so that they can purchase your services in the same place.
Additionally, once your new client has filled out the questionnaire, you can easily upload their responses into their client portal. Here, you’re also able to customize your portal with your unique branding elements. Your clients will enjoy a streamlined experience from start to finish, and on the back end, you’ll have everything you need in one place. It’s a professional way to start your working relationship — and it’s a way to form one that is built to last.
Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Completely customizable
- All of your clients' information lives in the same place
- Looks professional to your clients (you can add your own logo and domain to the portal)
- Integrates with Stripe and manual payments
- Saves you time
- Integrations available such as Zapier
Cons:
- Created specifically for agencies but freelancers can use it too
If you want to create a graphic design questionnaire, you can do so with ManyRequests. Start your 14-day free trial.
Option 2: Google Forms
You can also use Google forms to create your questionnaire. It’s easy to use, and like all of the suite of Google apps, you can use it wherever you have an internet connection. You have the choice between several forms of questions, ranging from short and long answers to multiple-choice to drop-down lists. You can also customize the title and description of the questionnaire.
It’s a popular way of taking surveys as it’s free to use and is easy to share. You can send a link to your clients so that they can fill out your questionnaire on their own time. Once they’re finished, you’ll have access to their responses.
Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Easy to use
- Create as many questionnaires as you want
- Can invite collaborators
- Can share wherever via a link
- Completely free
Cons:
- Can’t customize everything
- You must have a Google account
- Limited features
- No integrations
Wrapping things up
As you now know, creating a graphic design project questionnaire can help you learn more about your clients’ needs and expectations. It’s also a great way to set your agency apart from others and helps to show how professional you are.
When you start with a questionnaire, you set yourself (and your clients!) up for success. There are a few different ways to go about creating your own and don’t be afraid to use the questions above as inspiration. If you’re interested in creating your questionnaire with ManyRequests, we’d be happy to help you along the way. Click here to learn more about us and try it for free.
