{"id":3120,"date":"2019-05-13T19:54:32","date_gmt":"2019-05-13T23:54:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ceros.com\/inspire\/?p=3120"},"modified":"2021-03-10T11:48:15","modified_gmt":"2021-03-10T16:48:15","slug":"how-not-to-talk-to-a-designer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ceros.com\/inspire\/originals\/how-not-to-talk-to-a-designer\/","title":{"rendered":"How Not to Talk to a Designer"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading Time: <\/span> 3<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>\n

Whether it\u2019s a predilection for Superga sneakers<\/a> or an obsession with kerning, designers are united by a certain sensibility. And when a designer interacts with someone outside the tribe, things can get less than pixel-perfect, especially when that outsider happens to be a client or a chief content type. We surveyed a few designer friends and asked them about the infuriating, insensitive, just plain dumb things non-designers say to designers. Here is how not to talk to a designer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Can you make this [font\/image\/illustration] a little [bigger\/smaller\/prettier]?”<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf I go to see the doctor,\u201d Quentin Newark, cofounder of London\u2019s Atelier Works<\/a>, explained, \u201cI accept that the doctor has trained, has skill, has experience, is concentrating on one aspect of me. I\u2019ve asked them to do that. What I don\u2019t do is what bad graphic design clients do. I don\u2019t lean over the doctor\u2019s shoulder and say, \u2018Could we make that pill a bit larger?’\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Designer James Greig<\/a> has a quick fix for the issue of size. \u201cMake the logo a little smaller than you think it should be. Then when the client (almost inevitably) asks you to make it bigger, you’ll be able to do it without hesitation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We ended up not using the work.<\/strong>“<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In his now legendary CreativeMornings talk, \u201cFuck You, Pay Me<\/a>,\u201d Mule Design<\/a> co-founder Mike Monteiro runs through a laundry list of excuses clients provide in order to avoid cutting a check. His biggest piece of advice: get good at negotiating contracts, or find someone who is.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAll clients, I think, start the business relationship with the best of intentions,\u201d Monteiro said. \u201cAnd things go wrong. Things that you weren\u2019t expecting. The market changes, or the person who hired you leaves, or, y\u2019know, somebody has a bad mood day, but things change. And when those things change, you need to make sure that the relationship between you and the client is set in place in something like a contract.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We\u2019re not sure, do it 12 other ways.<\/strong>“<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In his own CreativeMornings<\/a> talk on clients, Pentagram<\/a> designer Michael Bierut<\/a> discussed the seemingly endless ways bad clients manage to waste your time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey\u2019re the ones who say, \u2018We\u2019re not sure, do it 12 other ways,\u2019\u201d he explained. \u201c\u2018That thing we decided last time, we changed our mind about\u2014come to a new meeting, and we\u2019ll tell you the new thing we decided, before we change our mind again.\u2019 \u2018That thing that I sent you that was complete, actually left out a lot of stuff and now here\u2019s new information that no one told you about that has to be incorporated that renders the previous solution we came up with obsolete.\u2019 These are things bad clients do\u2014and among other things, like driving you insane, they just take more time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Do your magic.\u201d<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The mysterious, though decidedly non-magical, Twitter account @vminbloom<\/a> explains, <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Source: <\/em>Twitter<\/em><\/a>
<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

“[silence]<\/strong>“<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Or as Jordan Brannon, President & COO of Coalition Technologies<\/a>, calls these clients, \u201cthe yo-yo.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBy yo-yo clients,\u201d he said<\/a>, \u201cI mean ones that alternate between being highly interested and engaged in their project and then extremely unavailable. They tend to start out a project by saying things like, ‘This project is our #1 priority,’ or ‘This site will make or break our business for the next year,’ and then midway through won\u2019t respond to calls, emails, or other communication. They tend to be their own worst enemy, undermining project timelines, scopes, and deliverables with their vanishing and reappearing act.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I need this by [yesterday\/today\/ASAP]<\/strong>“<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

From the endlessly entertaining, occasionally terrifying blog Clients from Hell<\/a> comes this gem of a client interaction. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Source: <\/em>Clients From Hell<\/em><\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

“Let me ask my [kids \/ husband \/ wife \/ dentist].<\/strong>“<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Bonnie Siegler writes in her excellent book, Dear Client: This Book Will Teach You How to Get What You Want From Creative People<\/em><\/a>, \u201cBecause decisions around design, copy, video, and the like are subjective, people with little expertise tend to feel more confident sharing an opinion. And because each person will naturally have unique preferences, any decision made by committee will necessitate compromise and therefore lack singular vision. Vision is not a group activity\u2026\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Or, as the old adage puts it, \u201cA camel is a horse designed by committee.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We surveyed a few designer friends and asked them about the infuriating, insensitive, just plain dumb things non-designers say to designers. <\/div>\n

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