From sketch to sold: Presenting design concepts to clients

Crafting a design is only half the battle. The other half? Presenting it in a way that gets your idea across. We spoke with four creatives who’ve pitched their work—visual identities, posters, websites, and UX flows—across formats and industries. They shared how they tailor presentations, build trust, guide client feedback, navigate tricky moments, and handle rejection. Read on to sharpen your process and make sure your concepts land well.

Meet the speakers:

Serge Soskowiec, a full-stack designer with over 10 years in the profession, helps startups launch products from the ground up by leading the end-to-end design process. Currently, founding designer at Truckbase.

Victoria Chek, a designer and art director, worked on brand media and digital campaigns, but after a few years in companies, took on freelancing.

Yulya Schastnaya, a freelance designer with 12+ years of experience, frequently works on brand identities for the HoReCa sector.

Varya Zelenina, an account manager and creative director working in agencies and mentoring design students. Leads projects from brief to delivery, presenting concepts and handling client communication.

Preparing and presenting ideas

Yulya Schastnaya: Almost all of my presentations happen online, since it’s more convenient for everyone. After a presentation, clients usually need time to think things over or discuss with colleagues. There’s this unspoken pressure to respond immediately when you present in person.

Presenting online gives clients space to reflect, gather feedback internally, and get back to you with more thoughtful input.

I prepare many visual mockups to show how the brand will work in real life. It’s hard for a non-designer to evaluate a logo in isolation, so I show how the identity plays out across different materials—menus, coasters, merch, uniforms, stickers—whatever the venue might need. Each concept comes with my commentary. I used to write lengthy explanations, but now I stick to bullet points. It’s easier for clients to digest and avoids the risk of misinterpreting my lyrical descriptions.

I always explain my approach at the start of each presentation. The goal is to stand out, and that’s more important than ever today. That way, they’re prepared for ideas that might be a bit unexpected. At the end, I recap the key points and restate our goal of differentiation. I also tell them which concept I prefer, but clarify that the final decision is theirs.

Serge Soskowiec: The type of demo I present to clients varies depending on the project and its objectives. It can range from a quick walkthrough of raw wireframes to high-fidelity prototypes that illustrate complete user flows. Two key factors to consider are who the stakeholders are and how much time is available for the demo. These factors shape everything, from the language used to the structure and focus of the presentation.

I typically start by outlining the goals, objectives, and context. From there, I walk through the concept and explain its rationale, justify key decisions, and share my thought process. This helps clients understand why specific design choices were made. Storytelling is essential—an effective structure often begins with the problem or goal and its significance, then moves through research insights, the design concept, and supporting elements. This approach makes it easier to identify gaps in logic and gather valuable feedback. I always reserve time at the end for Q&A and to align with the next steps.

Varya Zelenina: My presentations are immersive experiences. They always start with the brief: “Here’s what you told us, here’s what we heard.” I go over the brand context, the competitive landscape, and the specific preferences the client mentioned—like a color, a typeface, or a mood. I walk the client through the process step by step and check in regularly—“Does this match what you asked for?” This approach helps me shift the conversation from “I like it” or “I don’t” to more objective criteria.

When we get to the actual concepts, the client already feels seen and heard. They’ve agreed with the brief, confirmed the key points, and are more ready to receive the work. I explain each concept in their language: which is more conservative, which feels more modern, and what kind of audience it could attract. People love it when I describe visuals in a close bond with their ideas. Even if they’re unsure about design, they’re confident in the story behind it.

Victoria Chek: Usually, I send a structured message before I even begin designing. It outlines the project goals, any early thoughts, and next steps. This early alignment helps avoid miscommunication later on.

When I worked at an agency, we often presented two visual directions up front, especially for new clients. That habit stuck with me — I still build a strong foundation before diving into visuals. I’m very into structure, so I start by breaking down the brief—goals, audience, references—and highlighting the key priorities. This helps guide my process and shows the client I’ve done my preparation work.

Explaining concepts to non-designers

Yulya Schastnaya: Since my work mainly revolves around the hospitality industry, clients of mine aren’t designers. I always explain things in plain language without professional jargon. If I mention something like “a high-contrast font,” I’ll briefly explain what I mean, like varying line thickness. I also usually focus on practical benefits. For example, if the client wants a neon sign, I’ll show how the font choice will work with neon tubing or box lighting.

At the same time, I think it’s important to talk about aesthetics too. I might draw simple parallels to art styles or emotional impressions, if that helps get the point across. I try to translate the stylistic idea into how it will feel to their audience. After all, how the identity resonates emotionally is one of the most important outcomes of the whole process.

Victoria Chek: I present things pretty much the same way to designers and non-designers. The biggest difference is language—I avoid design jargon if it might confuse my clients. Overall, I aim to make the logic behind my choices intuitive.

If the groundwork is clear, the design tends to speak for itself.

Varya Zelenina: The trick is to always think in terms of your audience. The target audience of my presentations is never designers. Most of the time, I present to people from PR business development, or even finance. They don’t speak “design,” and often appear anxious or skeptical. That’s why I begin with establishing a connection. I ask everyone to turn on their cameras so that I can see their reactions, make a few jokes, and keep the tone friendly and conversational. I want them to feel that I’m on their side.

At the beginning of the presentation, I get them used to talking to me, so they start asking questions by the end.

A question means the client doesn’t understand something. And the most important thing is to figure out precisely what they don’t understand and are afraid of.

You also need to offer the client some hypotheses. If we’re talking about like or dislike, I say, “Okay, why exactly don’t you like it? Is it the traditional look? Would you prefer something trendier? Let’s discuss what ‘trendier’ means for you.” A good, positive client reaction after a presentation is when they’ve understood everything.

Serge Soskowiec: Most of my clients aren’t designers, so understanding the stakeholders is essential. The presentation’s focus shifts accordingly—C-level teams care about business impact and KPIs, engineers prioritize factors like ease of implementation, system performance, scalability, and technical feasibility. In contrast, others may be more concerned with how it affects their specific workflows. I aim to speak in terms of value. Rather than diving into typography or illustration styles, I focus on how the design helps users achieve their goals efficiently or addresses a key business challenge.

Responding to vague client feedback

Varya Zelenina: I never hand over designs without a call. When left alone, a client will stare at them and might come to an ungrounded decision. That’s not productive. We need a conversation. If the client says, ‘This is all wrong’—I don’t panic. I ask if they can walk us through their thoughts and observations. I had a case when a client told us that everything was too pink, and he was scared of it. He was hoping for something in rural traditional aesthetics. We offered him to revisit the brief, where he approved a direction targeting a young, queer audience. So, according to the brief, we made something colorful, playful, and cheeky. Then we asked him, “Could it be so that you’re not your target audience, and that’s why you don’t like the design you’ve asked for”? That was the case, and that’s okay—designers should be patient, helping clients avoid confusing commercial needs and private preferences. After all, they’re not buying art for their wall but creating a product with a business purpose.

Yulya Schastnaya: Before we start, I explain that I’ll need clear and specific feedback. I ask clients to avoid abstract statements like “it’s nice” or “it doesn’t grab me.” That kind of language is subjective and unhelpful. Instead, I ask them to refer to what they see, like “these lines feel too thick” or “this part looks too busy.”

I rarely get vague feedback because I set up the expectations in advance. But if I do, I use the “from the opposite” method: I ask what doesn’t work and what causes discomfort or negative reactions, and that helps pinpoint the issue. Sometimes, I’ll explain that removing a specific element would weaken the whole concept, and through that dialogue, we often find common ground.

Serge Soskowiec: Giving clear feedback is a skill in itself, and not every client has it. The key to mutual understanding is to avoid starting a new iteration until everything is clarified. I begin by making sure all feedback is documented. If the input is given verbally and seems unclear or contradictory, I ask the client to put it in writing. This makes both of us sure nothing is lost and helps the client identify inconsistencies in their thinking.

Next, depending on the project, I break the feedback into relevant categories—such as content, design, structure, or functionality. This makes it easier to review each area, spot contradictions, and discuss them one by one. Once everything is clarified, I document the agreed-upon changes so everyone is aligned before I begin the next work round.

Victoria Chek: I don’t rush into changes. Instead, I write down what I understood from their feedback and where things don’t add up. Then, I send a short, focused message: “Here’s what I took from your feedback, here’s what I still need, and here’s what I suggest next.” If I see that something contradicts the original brief, I ask if priorities have changed — that happens. But I believe documenting communication is the key here. It clears up confusion and sets a better foundation for moving forward.

Dealing with rejections

Varya Zelenina: I’ve had many cases where a client said, “This is all crap,” but once we jumped on a call and asked the right questions, they realized the design made sense. They just needed someone to walk them through it. And that’s fine—clients aren’t supposed to be design experts. Design, on its own, means nothing. It’s a commercial tool that only works when built around context—market, audience, goals, competitors. So we sit down, lay it out, and ask if, given all this, the logo works. Often, the answer is yes.

Victoria Chek: Aside from volunteer design work, almost every project I work on goes through a lot of feedback and revisions. When I was just starting out, negative comments hit harder. With experience, it gets easier. First, you learn to separate yourself as a person from yourself as a professional. Second, you realize that harsh feedback is often just poor phrasing. Dig a little deeper, and it turns out they actually like the work — they just have concerns about specific details. It always helps when the client shares the full context and real goals before we start. If I’m deep into a project and realize we’re not aligned, I don’t walk away. I ask direct questions like: What are we hoping to achieve here?

Serge Soskowiec: The design process always involves iterations, but sometimes, it doesn’t end with approval. Once, we presented a design concept to the head of a department at a large company. The presentation went well—the client’s team responded positively, and we were ready to move forward. But the following week, we learned that the project was suddenly shut down. As it turned out, the department head wasn’t the actual decision-maker, and their head had decided to cancel the whole thing.

I learned how crucial it is to find out who the real decision-maker is and to make sure they’re in the room.

Yulya Schastnaya: I’m a happy designer—about 80% of my ideas get approved with only minor tweaks. The remaining 20% usually comes down to the concept being too unfamiliar: sometimes an idea feels too bold, and they’re afraid the audience won’t get it. Sure, it’s frustrating—because I’m not interested in doing what everyone else does. But I get it: sometimes a project isn’t ready for a more daring visual language. All I can do is accept that and keep moving forward. In the end, there are always clients who resonate with my approach, and with them, it’s a perfect match.