print works

Many Flash designers are surprised ”and more than a little resistant ”when they first hear that our client presentation is print, not screen-based . There's a very good, positive reason for this: Print works. Although it may seem quite literal, we've found that a large-format hard-copy presentation is far more impressive to the client than any comped animation. If you want to do great work, you have to be able to generate the great ideas, but, more importantly, be able to sell the great ideas. Many designers struggle with this issue and hope that their work will stand on its own two legs and sell itself. It is not difficult to sell your work if it truly is good and it meets the client's objectives; you just need the right tools. We have experimented with our clients and have tried different approaches, but the one approach that seems to work without fail, unlike all the others, is large-format presentation boards .

We have come to affectionately call Juxt Interactive's presentation method "the 2x4 approach." It is based on the old idiom "How do you get the attention of a donkey? Hit him over the head with a 2x4." This is not to say that we think of our clients as donkeys, but that we aim to make an impact. We prepare the presentation boards and a well-planned oral presentation, both focused on the goal of exceeding our client's expectations every time. These presentation boards work for us in many ways that screen comps can never achieve. They allow us to control the flow of the discussion as we describe the project that is strategically laid out in moments in time ”key pages or keyframes of an animation. This control allows us to do the following:

• Explain how the client's brand works across the site.

• Show how the site will communicate the client's message to visitors .

• Allow the client time to formulate relevant and intelligent questions.

• Communicate the vision of the piece.

• Clearly communicate what will be delivered.

• Eliminate costly revisions later on in the project.

Figure 09:01 represents a typical 30"x42" presentation board. This particular board was created for a recent project done for Macromedia: the ANDES Coffee storyboard.

Figure 09:01.