What I know
What the message tells me
- Subject
- A car
- When
- Next month; no date agreed
What I don’t know yet
- Location
- How the photos will be used
- The mood they have in mind
- An exact date
Personal design · interactive concept
Before the first photograph.
Someone wants photographs of their car. A good place to start, but what kind of photographs do they have in mind?
I worked through two fictional car-photography enquiries. Compare the details, the open questions and the draft reply: what changes when someone tells me more about their plans?
Explore the example
Try the design
From a message to a first reply.
What does this message tell me, and what would I still want to know? Here is how I would work through it.
What I’d ask
Where would you like the car photographed?
The location shapes the background, the light and the space around the car.
What would you like to use the photographs for?
A personal collection and a car listing might call for different images.
What kind of mood do you like?
A reference photograph gives us a way to talk about light, setting and editing.
Which days would suit you next month?
I can check my availability before we agree a date.
My draft reply
Hi!
It’s good to hear you’d like your car photographed. Do you have a location in mind, and what would you like to use the photographs for?
Feel free to send an example of the mood you like. Which days would suit you next month? Then I can check what’s possible.
Zoë
Before I would send this
I would read the reply myself and check my availability. We would agree a date and price once we know what the shoot involves.
What I know
What the message tells me
- Subject
- A car
- When
- Next month; no date agreed
- Preferred area
- Near Amersfoort
- Use
- Personal Instagram
What I don’t know yet
- The exact spot
- The mood they have in mind
- An exact date
What I’d ask
Do you have a particular spot near Amersfoort in mind?
We know the preferred area. The exact location is still open.
What kind of mood do you like?
A reference photograph gives us a way to talk about light, setting and editing.
Which days would suit you next month?
I can check my availability before we agree a date.
My draft reply
Hi!
Photographs of your car for your Instagram sound good. Do you have a particular spot near Amersfoort in mind, or would you like us to look for one together?
Feel free to send an example of the mood you like. Which days would suit you next month? Then I can check what’s possible.
Zoë
Before I would send this
I would read the reply myself and check my availability. We would agree a date and price once we know what the shoot involves.
Why I designed it this way
The question behind the enquiry.
Inspections taught me to look past what is immediately visible. Asking why often brings you closer to the cause. I bring that thinking here, too: “I’d like some photos” says very little about what someone wants to do with them.
That is why this design leaves missing information open. It can organise the preparation, but I want to discuss the photographs and agree the details with the person asking.
More about my backgroundFrom this example to your idea
An idea that becomes clearer when you can try it?
This example shows how I can explain a process on a website. Do you have a service or way of working that visitors need to understand? Tell me what you want to show, and we can discuss whether an interactive explanation would help.
Tell me your idea