Designer smart – Client stupid. It’s a fairly common complaint in our industry. Granted, I hear it far less now that I work at a place that focuses on professionalism, but nonetheless the sentiment still finds a way to creep in around the edges. It’s easy to fall in to: “I worked REAL hard. They obviously don’t get it.” The problem is, the client paid for “it”, so you are kinda obligated to help them understand what “it” is and how “it” meets the agreed upon goals of the project, right?
Yes, a client can fail you. They may not be forthcoming with the right information, or they could throw it at you at the wrong time. I have found in my experience that this is not a matter of insufficient brain-stuffs. Clients don’t come with built in knowledge of how the creative process works, and this is an opportunity for you – the designer – to flex your expertise and bring your client up to speed. Advise, educate, and be unapologetic about getting the information you need to make the project a success.
My approach – well before writing off clients as imbeciles – is to evaluate if I have failed. Design chops aside, a healthy portion of this business is communication. If there is a breakdown in understanding during discovery, I may wind up on the wrong track and choose the wrong strategy. If everything runs smoothly, but the client repeatedly makes bad choices, then I am failing to adequately communicate the reason why those choices are wrong. Basically, if I find myself frustrated by my client’s position, I am probably neglecting some aspect of the conversation.
No matter how hard we work to understand our client’s business and motivations, we cannot be them. We will never understand their intent fully, so we do our best and every now and then, the client disagrees. It is how we handle this disagreement that makes us both better designers and true professionals. Take a breather and realize we all worked hard to get where we are. Business can’t suffer fools for long. Yes, a client may not be familiar with the nuance of typography or social media, etc., but that lack of experience is why they hired you. A client needs to focus on the myriad aspects of their business; you need to be the design expert and in most cases, a bit of an educator as well.
To even suggest that a client’s intellect is inferior because they disagree is just plain childish. Suck up your creative angst and try to see where they are coming from. Understand their motivations, or risk looking stupid yourself.
