Client vs Designer; The line.

My marketing message/tagline is "Your creative partner." I explain to new clients that -- if they want to avail themselves of it -- I have a deep background of marketing and print production experience that they can draw on to make the most cost-effective choices as we move forward in their design project. Sometimes it's very clear to me that the client is pretty savvy and I just give them what they ask for. Other times, I can see they're headed in an unjustifiably expensive direction, or their expectations are unrealistic (low-rez photos and hommade raster "logos" foremost among them). In that case, I offer some word of wisdom and they're usually happy to have it.

Most of the time, especially with start-ups, my clients welcome my input because they're feeling a little "out there" and need guidance they can trust. We wind up becoming very chatty about the progress of their new business and they go overboard thanking me for the role I played in helping them succeed. They become repeat customers, which is the only accurate gauge, I guess, for how well this "creative partner" thing works.

There are times, though, when I get over confident in how much input a client wants from me, and I step on toes. That's AWFUL! I lose sleep over those incidents. I'm thankful that they're few and far between.

I should mention that I work in a small market where word of mouth is valuable currency. I've never advertised, except for my website and business cards, and I'm routinely turning work away. I recently had to hire a freelancer to help me. The down side? I often spend a lot more time on a design project than I'm able to bill, because of all the education I do. I guess that's kind of an investment in repeat business, but still, it bothers me sometimes. Maybe I should have two different rates. Ha! That reminds me. One of my printers says he puts a line on his invoices for clients from hell: he calls it "DC markup" (DC=difficult client). Since we're about 50 miles west of Washington DC, most clients apparently think it has something to do with that, and they don't question it. Maybe he was pulling my leg, but I'm tempted to do something like that, too.

ps: Your menu story is horrid! That must have been a real nightmare for you. My sympathies.

pps: Where do I draw the line? I will not produce a printed piece that is so ugly I wouldn't want anyone to know I did it. It isn't always possible to know that in advance -- as you discovered with your menu project. It might be a good idea to have something in the contract about that -- a "fire the client" clause. But in a market like mine, that would get around fast and could have a chilling effect on new work. You've raised an intriguing dilemma.

i think mara pretty much nailed it from the perspective of any wise business person.
you just have to gauge where your client needs you to fit and then ask yourself "is the situation worth the added emotional and time investment?"

i have a term i use called "utility work" this a project where you more or less just do as youre asked. because either or all are true:
- the client clearly has no taste or appreciation of anything outside of word-art
- you know they dont have the budget to justify the involvement
- you sense that they are going to be a micro-managing asshole

utility work is great because its generally pretty fast turnaround and the clients are usually on a COD basis. so do four or five $200 projects in a month. and that goes a good way to covering the core bills. affording you to give added time on the projects that can truly shine.

but that doesnt mean that "utility work" is only the small cheap stuff. ive done a lot of larger more involved projects. some in the tens of thousands of dollars. you just divorce yourself from anything more than basic fundamentals and keep the machine moving.

the only danger as mara alluded to is you have to be careful how much of that you do and how visible it is. because you may find yourself stereotyped in the market as a less than creative resource just because you have a less than creative client history : (

as far as where on the org chart someone sits. i dont know that it matters. ive taken the same degree of design-input from receptionists all the way up to CEOs. the thing i try to keep in mind is that I'D HOPE that my clients would know their business at least slightly better than i do. i KNOW this IS often NOT the case. but i try to go into each new engagement with that mindset.

If I was personally to define the line for designers and clients, I'd say there isn't a 'clear' cut one.

It's almost like baking, you or I could bake, but only one of us is good at what we do. No matter how much one of us wants to shove rosemary into our chocolate chip cookies, it won't make it taste better; it won't stop us from doing so but it determines the quality of the end result. There isn't really a line because at the end of the day, the result of both parties is fresh baked cookies, just some of them will taste like crap because they weren't professionally handled.

Equally with design, we ultimately are monkey's with a mouse. If a client wants an ugly red square in the middle of their product, that's what they'll get because we need to pay the bills and cash in on their project. I believe however, as professional designers we should give valid reasons and recommendations in the interests of our clients for their own benefit. That's why they enlist a professional, because not everyone can do it right.

In short, aside from serious ethical issues (ie. requests put a priest touching a naked boy, whatever you want to include in here for "ethics"), as long as I feel I've tried to act in the best interest of the person I'm serving, they get what they want- no matter how stupid or heinous it is. I do agree with wgzn about an eventual stacking history of work output though. I'm not sure whether or not the "good" clients and a portfolio are enough to reverse that however. I'm not a veteran. I do emphasize with your restaurant story, however.

the other thing to keep in mind is that line can move significantly as you grow your business.

the more successful your business is, the easier it is to fire the client. even if what you do is finish the job in a "utility" fashion (to steal wgzn's phrase) and then just don't take any more work from them. a designer starting out or who isn't as successful will have a harder time turning down that job, they need to pay the bills. saatchi and saatchi (or pentagram or whoever you want to put up there) won't take it, they don't need the job or the aggravation that comes with it.

most of us fall somewhere in between and the line will vary depending upon what our personal desires + business situation + financial goals dictate.

being an inhouse guy who occasionally freelances, i would never take that job (or would fire them as soon as it was done). i don't need it. if i was just starting a new, full-time freelance business? i would probably put up with more of that, at least to start. but would look forward to the day i could tell the worst of them i was just too busy right now to take on their projects.

Best pitch ever: http://youtu.be/5y4b-DEkIps

I had a boss who used to say "You don't want the guy to just hand over his money... you want him to smile when he hands over his money." In my experience you rarely (if ever) win over a client by confronting him or challenging his viewpoint. And generally - there is no reason to confront. Like Mara says we're creative partners with the client. Make sure they understand that concept - say it out loud... "We're in this together - when you're successful, I'm successful." That lays the groundwork for honest conversation where the client understands you're not disagreeing with them just to get your way - or to satisfy your artistic sensibility - you're fighting to make the project more successful for them as well.

The menu problem is actually quite simple. Think it thru - WHY does the client want the photo? Because they want to honor their mother. Okay fine - wonderful sentiment - but is this the way to do it? Is this the way the client remembers his/her mother? Or do they remember her as a vibrant young woman taking on the world? Is this the photo the mother herself would want to show the world? Or would she pick out a photo of her and the kids, or her in the doorway of the new start-up restaurant, or dressed to the nines ready for a night on the town... ? Does the client want to go to a restaurant where the menu has a photo of an old woman in the rest home on the cover? Obviously the mother is important and needs to be remembered - so let's do it the RIGHT way. Let's clear our heads and solve the problem intelligently - not emotionally. Don't use a photo nobody is going to appreciate simply to force her memory on your diners. Let's see if we can find a photo that's worthy of her memory AND the cover of a menu - because the idea here is to sell food - not your mother. If we can't find a cover worthy photo, we'll find a nice photo for the inside and have a sidebar with the photo AND an explanation of why she's so important to the client... because she taught them how to cook, or they always wanted to be like her, or mom started the restaurant... Or we'll dedicate the entire back page to her. There are solutions that work for everyone. You might have to talk them down in stages - first alert them to the problem: Nobody wants to look at the walking dead. Then move from finding an appropriate photo to moving the photo inside or onto the back cover. Sometimes the real problem is nobody wants to deal with the person and the issue just slides thru the cracks - it's YOUR job to say "Hey - this is wrong. Nobody wants this - not even YOU."

Anyway... as always... jmho. :-)

Thanks. One correction I'd like to make though - it's not really "quite simple". It would take some patience and a little time to go thru all those steps I can write up in a few sentences. You might want to agree to the nursing home photo the first time they bring it up and then come back later and ask if that's the photo we should be using, etc... Try that all at once and you're really confronting - it would be a process over the period of creating the menu to change their mind. From the story it sounds like the client was emotional - so you would need to talk them down - one step at a time. Put the thought in their head - help them question their own feelings - then direct them to the proper ending. There's no need to rush it.

And I forgot to answer the question - for me? I never reject a job if the client wants something crazy. He'll just go find someone else to do it and I lose a paycheck. I won't put his job in my portfolio (or maybe I'll use my design there instead), and I won't use him for a recommendation - but turn him down? Nope. You'll get other jobs where you can be an artist and express yourself. You'll also find sometimes you were wrong - the client had a better idea and you just didn't see it at the time - but you do later. That's all a part of the business.

Great solutions, Art D.

Nice way to remind us all that if we step away from taking a project entirely personally that we can begin to form creative solutions that can work.

I've always been taught and believe it's my job to tell a client, "Hey, that's a great idea! Let's try it out..." and then from there start to steer things in a more favorable direction for all involved.

Not to say I haven't felt rankled at a client's desire to completely change a beautiful design I've put together. It just happens. I find if I pause for a bit, however, before reacting, better solutions can come about. Or, at the very least, I can detach myself from taking it personal and remind myself there are other things in life far more important for me to spend my energy on than getting bent out of shape over some menu design.