Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

This by far was the worst part of being a designer; "backseat driver`s."  I didn`t understand why some companies (mostly m&p`s) can  tell you that your design  isn`t right. How do they know?  When I first started out in design and I was told my design wasn`t right then I`d go back to the drawing board 50 million times and present my work again.

Finally one day I got to my senses and became confident in my work and really questioned the reason why  backseat  driver`s  existed. They are scared that you`re going to crash the car and are not confident in your driving ability. Well if you don`t jerk the car and reassure them along the way that you`ll stay within the lines, later on when they feel more comfortable you can be a little more risky.

Design works the same way, you have to show your client that you aren`t a wild west creature, that your designs actually mean something. It`s all about selling your design strategy. 9 times out of 10 if you effectively pitch your design to the client and tell them every aspect of why you chose this color, this shape, this font, etc., you will notice they will have more confidence that this design will work for them. It`s also important to tell clients why this won`t work and that won`t work and the solutions you`ve found to work around any problems.

Truthfully, if I get a client that has me alter my designs too much I will return the negotiated portion of their deposit and excuse myself from the project. In my experiences keeping this client will only lead to headaches and wasted time. In the time you spend with this client you could have completed five more projects. It`s just not worth it.  Futhermore, this  client will probably do this to every designer they encounter. I know this is speculation but it gives me a headache!!!!

As a non-design professional, I wanted to pipe in and say I totally agree.  I`m currently in the process of being educated and served by my designer and I`m loving it.  The way I handle things is if I, with my creative juices flowing, think "you know - this would be great!", I ask her what she thinks about it, what her past experience has been and then I take her advice.  She`s the one who has the design degree and the experience....and isn`t that the biggest portion of what I`m paying for? 

Just this morning, I nixed having a watermark on my website (I saw others and they looked neat) because she told me it lessened readability on some people`s screens and in general was not recommended according to her education and experience.  My word-for-word response was "Good point on the watermark and so we`ll avoid it..." 

I do like having the ability to ask such things, though...it makes me feel like I own my design when I`ve had even the smallest bit of input regarding placement of something, a color, or what have you..  :) 

Lord knows I find it frustrating when someone without a finance background tries to tell me how to do my job.  Do unto others as you woudl have done to you...it works in business, too!

I`m really enjoying and learning from this thread.

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MeLissa
Independent Chocolatier for Dove Chocolate Discoveries http://www.ChocoRocco.com Facebook: http://www.Facebook.com/ChocoRocco

CharLee -

Excellent comments in your post.  I do agree that the confidence level of a designer plays has a huge impact on the success of a designer/client relationship.  On occasion I have flat out told clients "Hey, you hired me to be the expert in this arena..."

There`s even a greater opportunity for "backseat drivers" for designers working in in-house employment situations.  It`s a huge challenge for in-house designers to get over the roadblocks and speed bumps set up by others within a business or organizations large enough to have a design staff.  An article I wrote, The proper care and feeding of the in-house graphic designer, has ended up on the desk of many design staff supervisors.

I`ve been working professionally as a designer for over 30 years now and the client education process never ends with some clients.  I have other client relationships of 15-20 years where the clients trust me completely and realize I will always do what is best for their business.

- J.





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Jeff Fisher | Jeff Fisher LogoMotives | Tweet! Tweet!