Just as we need to understand the culture of the organization, we also must understand the culture of the clients they serve. To accomplish this we gather information in three main areas: people, culture, and proximity.
The client's people demographics of gender, marital status, and income affect not only the physical design but the delivery methods we will utilize.
As for culture, we know that an organization's culture may be quite different from their customer so it's imperative that we (and they) know to whom they are communicating.
Proximity is important both physically and virtually. Is their client (physically) local, regional, or national? Or are they (virtually) near via television or the internet?
All these considerations are necessary for a design that communicates properly and has lasting impact.
