Design Clients' Bad Wrap

Through the internet, you find a plethora of articles and posts inciting ideas of designers being hard done by. You hear of clients asking for infinite edits, many of which are supposedly stupid in the eyes of designers. But, after working in the design field for a bit over half a decade, I'm starting to think it's not as common as it sounds, and might be an issue of pride, or reevaluation.

Sure, I have definitely had a few clients that rubbed me the wrong way, and I did have a client that stopped working with me due to being frustrated I didn't magically have their event information already and didn't understand their vague instructions. But, generally, I've found most clients I've had have been pretty reasonable.

The few real issues I had with clients, where I found myself falling on that spectrum of frustration, looking back, I realized it was largely self-inflicted.

With that being said, here are some tips to help limit client frustration (both from you and them):

1. Don't assume.

As a designer, you can be itching to get onto actually designing. Especially in the beginning, it can be tempting to just make options, showing the client the full finished versions for them to chose from. When really, you need to spend the time having a long chat, asking more questions than you think you need to ask. Bring your ideas to their attention, and coax out what they are thinking; make sure to listen without judgment, and then highlight parts that you can address (even if in a suggested other way). The client needs to be assured that they are valued. And, most of the time, even a client who says they don't know what they want, if you talk long enough, they'll reveal what they are looking for. It might just take a bit of leading on your part to see what you need.

Recently, I heard of a designer who has a document they give to every client before starting a project with different questions that help them get a feel for the client's vision of their product or business. One question was close to "three words that encapsulate the company's vision." With those questions, it can sometimes even help the client better understand their own desires, and as the designer, can help immensely.

2. Listen.

I know, you probably do listen. But, there needs to be listening without judgment. As a designer, you need to fully hear that which the client is wanting, even if it might be outlandish, so you can approach their idea and find the core of what they need. Even if at first, it seems like you don't want to keep anything they say, keep listening, and think about finding alternatives that are in the same vein, or accomplish the same general purpose of the suggestion. If you just say no to everything they say, it is disrespectful to the fact it is their creation. It needs to be theirs after all, not yours. If you are feeling really frustrated by it not becoming your vision, you might need to work on a project of your own for a bit and come back to theirs later.

3. Be patient.

Patience with the client and yourself is paramount. For me, sometimes my frustration with edits ended up being me feeling self-conscious about how many edit passes I needed to do. Other times, it was frustration of the client not being specific enough. That can be remedied, though, by taking the time to have one extra phone meeting or office meeting with the client, expressing you really want to make sure you understand their vision fully and make it how they need it. It might even take creating a question sheet later on to figure out core aspects, such as what defines the company or product.

Conclusion

Yes, there are clients out there, that even with the utmost patience, listening to them, and thorough kindness on your part, they still cause you to want to pull your hair out. But, sometimes the designer is part of the problem, and needs to make sure their end does all it can to help the client. The client probably doesn't know how to design, and doesn't know the process, so let them know. Assure them. Find design solutions for their non-design concepts. Everyone deserves respect, kindness, and a little patience.