This was a forum question I recently saw on a graphic design forum the graphic designer had a client had rejected his design and who was asking him to do something which he knew would look awful.
I think it is a dilema as graphic designers that we face quite often. I will always try to persuade the client away from their awful idea, sometimes I will do what they want but also present my preferred alternative. Sometimes they will go for your idea but in the end its them that is paying the bill so you have to grit your teeth, do what they want and move on. You can always keep the good options for your portfolio, that’s what I do anyway.
You know you have met the nightmare client when you go for a briefing and they have been using Word and cutting up photographs to show you what they want – I have been there a few times. After speaking to one potential client a couple of times (while I was employed for a company) I went to the briefing in the car with the sales guy and said to him that when we got there the client would have done exactly that (a brochure he had tried to design in word) – sure enough he had. In my opinion what they want is a Mac operator not a designer. Someone who can put together exactly what they want thats printready but does not mind not getting oo involved with design.
Its strange because I was talking to a friend who has a daughter who is an art director for a high profile ad agency in London and she had told him the best people to work for are big companies like Nike. They come to you because they know you are good at what you do – thats what they pay you for – so they are happy to leave you alone and let you do what you do best. If only some of those nightmare clients would think like that.
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15 Comments
Our professors have said to do it anyways if the client asks for crap. Give them what THEY want to make them happy, whether you know it’s bad or not.
My husband just went through the same thing with a client. First, it took the client 6 months to respond to a request for text and photos (contract had already been signed and some payment had been given up front so we couldn’t turn away). Then it took another 2 months to respond to the comps. Then he decided he just wanted something simple so he designed it in Word and wanted, like you said, someone to make it print ready. Then, as if it’s not enough already, he seemed to hire another designer because he started asking for high res PDFs, bleed and the like. I guess if the client is going to be difficult, just remember that s/he is paying you for your knowledge not only of design, but also of the programs need to produce the work. Hopefully the client actually comes through with your payment…
Sounds a complete nightmare, the only blessing was you had been given some payment up front. I hope he paid the rest of the bill. If a client knows what they want – ie. someone just to artwork their word file – they could save themselves a lot of money and the designer a lot of hassle.
what about the thought of taking the clients “bad” idea and turing in into a great idea with your design skill.
Thats how I approach those difficult clients.
When we are face with this problem we show the client what they want and then produce an alternative logo design. If they still go for the bad design I just smile and think of the money!
This is a nightmare situation and one which unfortuantly happens a lot.
Makes you appreciate your good clients even more!
I believe that skill in graphic design is taking those crazy ideas from the client and making work. I won’t give my client a bad design, “even if they are paying for it”. Just focus on 1 aspect of their crazy idea and use that as a jumping point to improve the idea. I hate seeing designers giving clients exactly what they ask for and using it as an excuse to give about poor design. The client has come to you to use your talent.
- my humble but strong opinion.
I agree, but the question is what is good and what is not. What one person likes another one does not.
As a marketeer my thoughts are – it is good if someone buys as a result of a designer making it look outstanding!
I just can’t not say that: please, dear clients!
When you chose a graphic designer for you like him, for his reputation, his works etc. please, don’t then doubt when something is explained why it is so, why this is better than…, once you have addressed to him, this means he will bring in the solution, he will give the advices, the results, not you, don’t make his job…Just be open about your requests, your wishes, as this will help to understand all and real aims you have, and eventually everybody will succeed!
Interesting subject, this. Providing a set of superior samples is one way to educate clients; arguing and/or explaining things in detail is another.
But in general I think it’s best to screen new clients prior to getting too involved so that this kind of situation never arises.
Im afraid you just have to grin and bear it, at the end of the day they are paying for what they want, you can offer your suggestions, but the client is always right.
As a designer I am faced with this problem often. In the past, I would always just do what the client wanted because as so many people have said, “they pay the bills”.
Today I find that answer less and less acceptable. As a designer, your reputation is on the line every time you design something, to me that is more important then the paycheck. I think as designer’s we have a certain amount of responsibility to both the client and ourselves to provide quality work regardless of who “pays the bills”.
Now I will just turn down the job/project, there are thousands of sub par agency’s that are happy to dish out garbage, I prefer not to join that list.
Yes, it is hard to convince small businesses of your ideas, probably because many times, the manager is also the owner of the business and they really want to keep on top of everything that is happening. Once you grow, you learn to delegate tasks and rely on other people to achieve the bigger picture.
I can definately empathise with you, although i’m not technically a designer myself. Being in the promotional products industry (we print logos on everything from t-shirts to golf balls) we see a lot of horrible logos clearly designed by amateurs, or maybe they are examples of what you are talking about here. One product that is a bit more “design” related we do is pull up banners. The amount of times a client sends something done in word or publisher and says this is what they want is a lot. Usually we attempt to make it a lot more attractive and “designed”, 50% of the time, they come back and say, it doesn’t look right, check the word file again as you have made a mistake and haven’t matched it properly! Arrrrrrr
As graphic designers I think we have some responsibility to know the English language. For example, it is not correct to form plurals by adding “apostrophe s.” For some reason, everyone has recently lost their way and errant apostrophes are everywhere! What happened?