The old saying, "The Devil is in the detail", means that something which is worth doing is done best by paying attention to the details. Whilst this may also still apply, to the user-interface of a website it isn't totally accurate. In contrast, there is also the saying, "can't see the wood for the trees", which means you are being too closely involved and can't see the big picture.
It's important to have a high level view and of what you are trying to achieve and what the problem is you are creating a solution for. Getting bogged down in the fine detail is a recipe for disaster. Some of my clients like the detail. They want to move a heading left by a pixel or want to change the colour of something by one only just perceptible shade (just to confound matters, web pages will look slightly different from screen to screen).
Sometimes a client will want to break the established way that we understand how to use a website. Over years we've learned how to interact with a link (we expect the link to change in some way when we hover over it) but there are also new designs especially as mobile is now a much more commonly used medium.
Sure, innovation is good and if you have a new idea, test it out and get feedback but don't, whatever you do, force me to implement it if it is only you who thinks it's a good idea. Don't lose sight of the big picture i.e. your goal.
This may make me sound like I'm difficult to work with. I'm not. As a consultant I've always provided advice to my clients, sometimes these being well known international brands. I take pride in what I produce and I always have an interest in the success of the clients I work for.
Business discovery phase
When I work with clients, I always try to find out what the business does, what its goals are, and what is expected from me. I'm the designer. I'm the builder. I'm the analyst and scrum master. You are your business expert and product owner. I need you to be fully involved in decision making and to help generate ideas. My job is turn those ideas into reality.
