The primary objective of any design process is some form of communication – i.e. an outward projection of ideas that are meant to influence the decisions of the target audience. But what gets often overlooked is the process of inward projection of ideas, or to put it more simply – listening. To the client, to oneself (in this case the designer) and the audience. Listening carefully and paying attention is usually the most effective way of first filtering out information that is neither necessary nor relevant to the design solution.
And a huge part of this process is asking a LOT of questions. In my experience, a client usually has a fairly fuzzy idea of what they want; and this process of questioning helps them clarify their thinking, leading to more innovative and effective solutions.
