@Breanne C wrote:
Well, the approach that I've found to work the best for me, whenever I encounter a non-savvy client that tries to micromanage a project, is the "educate your client" approach. There's something to be said about justifying why red and green is taboo for something that has no relation with Christmas and will be marketed to Western cultures (a nod to one of my ongoing high-maintenance private clients). 😉
Something that needs a great deal of consieration is the need to educate your client. I want to stress this point that so many others have already covered; educating one's client is what we refer to as a "sunk cost," in that it's consultation we all do for free in the hopes that the "prospective costs" (what we all expect to walk away with as payment when all's said and done) will justify this investment. It's risky because:
- One generally needs to do this in their interview to give the client enough confidence to pick oneself, and
- One needs to do this throughout the developmental phase (sketching/prototyping/first-draft/etc.)
Take this sunk cost into account when you assess if it's worth the effort. It's already tricky enought for us as it is, considering full-time freelancers need to:
- do their own sales (chasing down prosepctive clients and self-advertising),
- do their own HR (in my case, I'm from the US and can only attest to my experience in that this involves paying my own medical coverage and filing my own 1099, thanks to Upwork for not mediating this, by the way!!! UGH!),
- managing the project themselves (sure hope you're a "self starter!"),
- and act as the liaison between yourself, the worker, and the client (this normally would be handled by a boss/supervisor so you can be left in peace to actually work on the project delegated to you).
The list goes on and on, and all of this will generally not even occur to the client when they try to weigh the pros and cons of choosing a less-experienced cheap freelancer novice versus a vetted freelancer pro. 😞
So, what can we do? Well, this comes back to educating one's client. It's common knowledge that an educator of any level has to have knowledge and experience on the subject they teach. A parent gives life-advice because they've already lived through it. A proffessor gives lectures because they got a degree studying a subject for X amount of years. So, it goes to reason that if one is able to educate another on a topic, they are apt in said topic. If your client can walk away from the project with some new insight or volcabulary, they're going to be more inclined to put their faith in you and let you do your job.
Just be personable and show with actions that you have a head on your shoulders. Anyone with sense will pick up on this (maybe with a little resistance depending on the thickness of their skull, but will eventually give way) when you give them some insight as to why you chose to do X versus Y. 😄
Hello Breanne and thanks for stopping by and you are perfect to discuss on the topic.
Let's say that I'm having most of my "taste" issues with American clients and I don't want it to grow towards bias that Americans don't have a aestetic receptors sharp, because I know that you have whole a lot of superb designers that can be treated as role models or even trailblazers of design.
I kinda fail when it comes to "educating clients". I don't use industry lingo and I am quite sincere and direct.
Let's say clients show you what he (or someone) did as a mock-up and my job would be to zhoosh it up.
I detect flaws and correct them. I explain them why I did it and back it up with knowledge. Not going too deep into color theory, balance, grid and typography. I submit them my work, they find it beautiful, but they would like to see their mock up redone. I did that and point flaws. Despite the fact I slavishly did whatever they requested, it ends up in 2 scenarios:
Scenario 1)
You are not good designer because you cann't follow instructions.
Scenario 2)
You did our idea ugly on purpose so you can push your idea.
I wish clients should be aware that designers are professionals who take their craft with pride. Said that,my portfolio is kinda empty and much artistic. Why? I simply don't want to fill my portfolio with work that clients forced me to arrange on their preference (What in, best case scenario ends up as a clichee) or stuff i ghost-designed for other designers. I did it for the money and even best designers out there don't do portfolio worthy designs all the time. I can run with that. Will the lack of mediocre jobs in my portfolio cost me getting more jobs? Probably yes. Is my Portfolio strategy good? I want to believe that, on the long run, yes. Correct me if I think wrong.
Now back to bad taste. I guess that some clients can't handle critique. As they are paying customer they think that money gives them right to question your expertize and demand that their idea is set in stone. I take their ideas just as input. But I do in their best interest and I genuinely care about their business. If that's not professional, I seriously don't know what is.
This all bad taste rant theard is about what is best way to educate client, cause I feel that I'm failing in that area by being patient and polite. OK, I add a bit of humor in it, but not in crude way of humor I enjoy so much.
I am to geeky? Am I too soft? The other part of the thread would be about client's butchering designs after delivery.
Now vent yourselves off my creatives.
