Stop 4 of 8 · Weekly
Presenting the round
Three directions, a rationale a restaurant owner can repeat to his brother, and a presentation email that does not quietly widen the scope.
Three directions, one decision
A concept round fails for one of two reasons. Either the three directions are really one direction in three colours, so the owner has nothing to choose between. Or they are genuinely different and the rationale is written in designer, so the owner picks the one with the photo of a burger in it.
Rami's job at this point is not to design. It is to make one decision easy for a man who runs a gym and has fifteen minutes between classes.
What a direction has to carry
| Piece | Written for |
|---|---|
| A name | So he can say "the Floor Work one" on the phone |
| One sentence of intent | So he can repeat it to his business partner |
| What it costs him | Existing photos, a new shoot, a font licence |
The third row is the one that decides. A direction that needs a shoot he has not budgeted is a direction he will love and not buy, and he will not tell you that is why. He will say it feels a bit cold.
Rami builds all three rows inside the client Project, so the rationale comes back already knowing that Marco reads on a phone, distrusts anything that looks expensive, and once killed a layout for having too much going on.
Here are my three directions for Ironhouse Gym: [paste your three names and a sentence of your own on each]. For each one, write the version I put in front of Marco. A short name, one sentence on what it is going for in plain English with no design vocabulary, one line on what it uses that he already has, and one line on what it would need him to pay for or arrange. Nothing longer than four lines per direction. Do not invent a price.
The two questions
Given these three directions and what you know about Marco, what are the two questions he is most likely to come back with. Then draft the two sentences I add to the email so the answers are already there. Keep the two rounds in the agreement intact in the wording.
A useful check on your own round: if Claude can write a convincing rationale for all three directions in the owner's language, they are genuinely different. If two of them come back sounding the same, you built one direction twice and the round is weaker than you think. That is worth knowing on Tuesday rather than after he picks.
The email
Write the email that goes with the three directions. Warm, six sentences maximum, written for a gym owner. Name each direction, one line each on intent, the two pre-answered questions, and a close that asks him to pick one by a date I will fill in. State that two rounds of revisions are included on the chosen direction. Do not promise anything beyond that.
After he picks
The reply to "we like number two" is not just relief. Confirm the direction by name, restate what the chosen direction includes, say the two rounds start now, and give the delivery date. Four sentences, sent within the hour, and the project has a shape both of you can point at for the next three weeks.