How would you approach a project with a ticket simply stating “design the brand’s visual identity”?

Green Cricket

Understanding Ambiguous Design Requests: Navigating Vague Project Instructions

In the world of web development and design, clear communication is essential to deliver successful projects. Recently, I encountered a situation that highlighted how vague directives can lead to confusion and unintended consequences. Iโ€™d like to share this experience and seek your insights on managing similar challenges.

The scenario involved a task labeled simply as โ€œcreate the brandโ€™s look and feel.โ€ There were no accompanying assets such as Figma files, screenshots, or visual referencesโ€”only the company logo. Interpreting this, I presumed the request was to establish the company’s visual identityโ€”covering colors, typography, and overall design consistency. To approach this efficiently, I developed a theming system that allowed for easy adjustments through a centralized configuration. This setup enabled color and font updates across the entire application with minimal effort, aiming for a scalable and reusable solution.

However, the outcome was unexpected. After presenting my work, I was informed that the actual requirement was to make the login page aesthetically pleasing using the brand colors. I suggested extending the existing theming logic to the login screen, but received no response. A few hours later, I was notified via email that I was being removed from the projectโ€”an abrupt and surprising development.

This experience was further complicated by the tone of communication. Up to that point, feedback had been sparse and non-specific, aside from a dismissive comment during a daily meeting from the project manager, which felt unprofessional and unnecessary.

This situation raises important questions about expectations and workflow in project management:
– How should one interpret vague directives like โ€œcreate the look and feelโ€?
– Was my focus on a global, scalable solution misplaced given the information provided?
– How can clarity be established early in the process to prevent misunderstandings?

Iโ€™d love to hear your thoughts. In cases where project instructions are unclear, what strategies do you employ to ensure alignment and avoid similar issues? Have you faced comparable situations, and how did you handle them?

Thanks for engaging and sharing your insights.


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