5 Comebacks to Client Questions
Written by Tara: Freelance Designer on Wednesday, 2 of April , 2008 at 9:40 am
A guest post by Danny Outlaw
Client “I was looking at your portfolio and really liked design X. Can you do something like that for me?”
Designer Thanks for the compliments on my work. Im glad you like that project and I promise yours will be up to the same standards. As for designing something like that for you, I think a fresh approach might be a better idea. Why do what others have already done when we can create something new and unique to maximize your project?
Rather than base your design on others that are already out there, lets make yours unique and design it from the ground up. By building and designing from the ground up, we can create a design that serves your clients well and by default will become unique and distinctly yours. This approach may seem scary at first, but as the project progresses, I assure you that you will be presently surprised with the outcome.
Client “I think I changed my mind about the revision, can you try something else?”
Designer Im sorry you no longer feel that the design you chose is what you are looking for. Per our contract, we agreed on X amount of concepts and revisions. This additional revision is out of the scope of the initial project. However, i will be willing to modify one of the prior revisions for you at a rate of $$$ or create a new concept from scratch for $$$.
Please understand the initial design process is one of the most lengthy parts of the design process. To spend more time on your project would mean I would have to take away time from my other clients. Surely you can understand this, as you would certainly not want to be the client I had to take away time from.
Client “I really like this color scheme and want to incorporate an eagle into the design.”
Designer The color scheme to shared with me is certainly very well put together. However, Im not sure it will really fit your needs. Can I ask why you choose these colors? I’d like to point out that in your creative brief you said that your target market was males that were into extreme sports. Do you think that these types of consumers will be draw to earthy pastel colors like that of the color scheme you shared with me?
As for the eagle, you never mentioned it in the initial create brief. Can I ask where this is coming from? If it serves a purpose to your business Im sure we can tie it into the design. The fact that you failed to mention it in the creative brief would lead me to believe its not that important to the over all design. My suggest would be to continue on our original path and see if the finished design feels like its missing something. If so, we can conquer that task then.
Client “Can we add this, this, and one of these?”
Designer Those are all great ideas on their own, but might overpower your desired outcome. At this stage in the process it can be hard to grasp and visualize the bigger picture. In my experience, it is best to focus on the key points and concepts of the business. Adding too much early on can have an unwanted effect. May I suggest finishing our original project and give it some time to be digested by your customers? If, later on, you feel like these items would better serve you and your customers, we can talk that over then.
Client “I dont like where this is going. Can I get my deposit back?”
Designer Im sorry we dont seem to be seeing eye to eye on this project. Perhaps we can suggest another designer that might better fit your needs. Unfortunately, as stated in our contract, the deposit is non-refundable. We have spent a considerable amount of time on your project and can not justify refunding your money. If you feel this is a breech of contract or in anyway unfair, we will be happy to provide you with the contact information for our lawyer who will handle this conflict.
Please remember that the ideas and concepts that we have shared with you are protected under copyright laws. We are sure you wouldn’t think of stealing our ideas, but must bring this to your attention. If you decide to go with another designer, you are not allowed to share or use these designs with them. If we see that you end up with a deign similar to the one we created for you, we will have bill you the full amount of the project or have our lawyer contact you.
Danny is the brains behind the Outlaw Design Blog. He is a Jack of all traits who works as a freelancer, travel writer, photographer, whitewater raft guide, and a dog musher. He currently left the rat race and is living it up on the Caribbean Coast of Costa Rica. At any given point in the day he may be asleep in a hammock or on the computer in a hammock. Danny’s blog can be found at www.outlawdesignblog.com
Category: Freelance Graphic Design, General Graphic Design, Guest Blogger
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Comment by Frucomerci
Made Wednesday, 2 of April , 2008 at 10:50 am
an Eagle? hahaha!
Thank you very much for this post, very useful, bookmarked 
Comment by RickNunn
Made Wednesday, 2 of April , 2008 at 11:20 am
I think I remember saying pretty much every single one of those things and one stage or another in my design life…
Comment by FireOrchid
Made Wednesday, 2 of April , 2008 at 2:20 pm
Some really useful points here, i liked it.
fyi you might just want to have a read through there are a couple of minor errors. e.g. jack of all traits should be jack of all trades (unless thats not what you intended of course).
Comment by caleb
Made Thursday, 3 of April , 2008 at 4:49 am
I enjoyed reading this whole thing! I imagined my self, ( a people pleaser by nature) in this situation, and it would be pretty uncomfortable, but man… business is business!
Comment by Szabi
Made Thursday, 3 of April , 2008 at 11:26 am
Very useful and scary comment. And probably all of these things will happen to me once. So thank you for reminding me to prepare for these moments.
Comment by logomania
Made Thursday, 3 of April , 2008 at 2:22 pm
Those are good defense for abusive clients. Atleast the artist will get what is due to his hardwork.
Comment by Federal Watch
Made Friday, 4 of April , 2008 at 11:06 pm
These are very witty and direct to the point response from an agent to his clients..this could really help those freelance agents that are dealing with abusive clients.
Comment by Web design
Made Sunday, 6 of April , 2008 at 7:16 am
Those are some smooth skills, nice post!
Nice questions to some difficult questions.
Comment by David Airey
Made Monday, 7 of April , 2008 at 12:47 pm
Just a quick note to say well done to Danny for having a guest post here. I enjoyed the read too.
Comment by Brian Yerkes - Logo Design Case Study
Made Monday, 7 of April , 2008 at 11:07 pm
The first question about the client asking for something similar to what is in your portfolio already….we have all been there!
And I agree with Danny, the best immediate response is “I can assure you that the same high standards will be applied to your project”
Nice post
Comment by Brian Yerkes
Made Monday, 7 of April , 2008 at 11:08 pm
sorry, wasnt supposed to have the name like that! Guess my cookies thru it in! sorry!
Comment by LaurenMarie - Creative Curio
Made Tuesday, 8 of April , 2008 at 5:56 pm
Oh ouch! Question 2 about the revisions… every designer’s headache! Sometimes it’s not so cut and dry about changes, though. The client only vaguely says something like “it doesn’t quite match this other design we did.” How do you respond to something like that?
Comment by Land Projects UK
Made Wednesday, 9 of April , 2008 at 4:12 am
I enjoy reading the conversations. I understand the side of the designer, he put all his effort and hardwork in his project.
Comment by WhizKidz
Made Thursday, 10 of April , 2008 at 2:51 am
Thank you……These are very useful responses to customer questions.
Comment by Virtual Assistant08
Made Thursday, 10 of April , 2008 at 8:50 am
Amazing… while reading the post, it seems like I’m reading a short story or something.. the dialogs are useful especially if one is confronted with clients who wants to get the hell out of you…… And lastly, the responses of the designer are very professional and polite…. Guess I’ll have to note those words for future usage,, thank you for this post
Comment by Chris @ CH Web Design
Made Friday, 11 of April , 2008 at 7:14 am
I’ll Make sure i memorise these ASAP! Great work and nice site, i’ll be coming back again!
Comment by Polina
Made Wednesday, 16 of April , 2008 at 7:14 pm
You know, saying what may sound like “no” to the client (regarding client’s suggestions and wishes), is the most difficult part of any discussion for me. Actually, it is quite painful… but it got even more painful if I agreed to things as “I like the overall design, but i would wish some red here and some orange there, and could you please add such a curly thing I have seen before on a site X and loved it”. Thanks for such useful examples on how to avoid such situations:)
really helpful.
Comment by Jennifer
Made Friday, 18 of April , 2008 at 6:45 am
Great post Danny. You’re very diplomatic! Sometimes it’s hard to bite your tongue and say the right thing. It can be very tempting to cover your ears with your hands and scream “la la la la la” , or say “Yeah, AS IF !!” when clients start asking for some dodgy stuff.
Comment by Phyllis V
Made Tuesday, 22 of April , 2008 at 5:14 pm
Excellent posting with good information. I hate confrontations, but this gave good ’speeches’ as to how to appropriately word things!
Comment by R Regier
Made Friday, 9 of May , 2008 at 2:24 am
So helpful. I’m glad to know that my clients aren’t the only ones asking some of these questions. Thanks for some ideas of how to redirect back to the main focus of the project.