Client
In building design, the client is the person or organisation commissioning the work, who sets the brief, makes the decisions and holds the budget.
The client relationship is the spine of a project. The designer's job is to interrogate what the client says they want, understand how they actually live, and reconcile that with the site, the budget and the planning controls.
In residential work the client is usually the owner and future occupant, which means the brief carries personal and practical requirements at once: how the family uses mornings, where the afternoon sun lands, whether the home needs to accommodate ageing parents or a home office in five years.
Clear client decision-making is one of the strongest predictors of a smooth project. Where decisions are deferred into construction, variations and delays follow.