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Question of the Week 28.07.09
Posted by Eliza Williams, 28 July 2009, 9:10 Permalink Comments (53)
This week's Question of the Week, displayed on our trusty CR whiteboard, asks what makes for the best client to work with....
We've been delighted by your responses to our previous questions, so hope you will be equally illuminating on this one. What qualities make for a good client-creative relationship?
What's the ideal working relationship? How can clients work better? What changes can designers or creatives make to help this process?
On the contrary, are there any particular traits that make the client relationship really difficult? Things that you secretly long could be changed?
We'd like to know your thoughts on the best way for clients and creatives to work together.
Question of the Week is produced in partnership with MajorPlayers.
53 Comments
Your mum!
2009-07-28 10:57:42
Hahaha Your mum. I laughed.
A client that knows exactly what they want - designing on budget and for an existing brand is far easier if the client knows what they're after, what their brand represents, and what they want to achieve with the work you're doing for them. An indecisive client makes for a total pain in the arse with everything from brainstorming ideas, to redesigns, to continuation of a campaign.
2009-07-28 11:11:11
One that actually listens and appreciates the benefits of using someone qualified and experienced.
One that doesn't think being able to use clip art and powepoint makes them a graphic designer.
One that understands good design can take time.
One that you don't need to explain what an eps file is. For the fifth time.
One that pays on time. Or at least responds to reminder emails.
One that doesn't say, 'the colours look a bit dull on my screen'
One that doesn't say, 'I've shown it to the wife/the hubbie/the cleaner/the goldfish/the watercooler and we all agree we don't like purple.'
One that can open a PDF.
One that doesn't say, 'thanks for changing the font for the six billionth time, but we think we're gonna go for the original one you did'.
One that doesn't think using words like 'Vertical Market, Return on Investment and Customer Oriented' makes them intelligent.
One that can write a brief.
One that can read an email without looking at the 'pretty pictures' first.
One that doesn't expect you to give them a print cost over the phone without first speaking to a printer.
One of a kind...
2009-07-28 11:15:04
its obvious. Yourself!
Andrew
2009-07-28 11:16:15
Your brother!!!
2009-07-28 11:19:53
Hmm that joke doesn't really work Ron, and it suggests you're a Man-Whore?
2009-07-28 11:20:07
anyone who is brave, focussed and nice to people
2009-07-28 11:21:51
I run a project management and production company, working with digital and creative individuals and organisations. For me, the best creative client has the spirit of adventure, combined with a steady head. They are also usually an individual who I'm able to talk openly with; we have a mutual personal respect for one another, which encourages both parties to pull out all the stops.
We often get asked to sort client project problems out before we've even signed a contract, and those problems are usually down to not having the finance in place to get the ball rolling. The challenge is good, and we'll always help out with exciting projects and ideas if we can, but the worst client to deal with is those with aspirations far beyond their means and abilities, with no desire whatsoever to budge. No one likes being talked down from dizzy heights. Sussing this mentality out from the start is crucial; then we part on friendly terms.
Georgia Rakusen
Haus Projects
2009-07-28 11:37:52
One that listens & appreciates your guidance based on your experience, knowledge & skills.
More often than not these days I encounter clients that really just want you to copy something they have seen elsewhere. Frequent comments include:
• The colour didn't look like that on my screen
• My auntie Margaret doesn't like the font or the colours you've used
• We prefer the layout & fonts we supplied you in Word
• We want it to look more like the Powerpoint presentation we emailed you
• How come it's really easy to update stuff on Facebook but not on our site?
• Can we see what the logo looks like in 3D & maybe spinning like a globe
• Why aren't we top in Google?
• My friend does a bit of web design & I've asked him to email you his comments about your concepts
• Can you make everything look more 'reflective' like this site
• That's the only version of our logo we have?
And the list goes on...
2009-07-28 11:51:24
Definitely yourself!
You know what you want, when you want it and how much it should cost. You also know how long the design process takes and that the project should be open to changes and adaptation.
I've created some self initiated project recently as "In-House" projects and these include...
http://www.lovebox.org.uk
http://www.communiquehq.com
Definitely got positive feedback for both and enjoyed working on them. In fact they are ongoing (as everyo project should be) and the process is organic.
Michael Murdoch
http://www.thehouselondon.com
2009-07-28 12:18:09
One that thinks the sun shines out of your bum.
Oh and it's great if they pay on time too.
2009-07-28 12:24:32
I feel very fortunate having read the previous comments. Obviously we are doing something right. We are still working with our first ever client 10 years on. We have become good friends, we have helped them grow their business, in turn they have watched us evolve and grow and they now make a great case study for us.
I guess it is all about establishing human relationships and dialogue. We are not always right, the client is not always right, if both parties can acknowledge this then we are off to a pretty good start.
It is not an us and them scenario.
The best clients will make your work better. Truly collaborating. Designers love to use this word, try doing it with your clients. At the end of the day it should be an enjoyable process and not a battle.
As Stephen Hawking once said, KEEP TALKING.
2009-07-28 12:34:04
Reliable ones. Clients that pay on time and when they say. Clients that provide you with feedback and website content when they say they will. Nothing worse than unreliability when time is ticking and bills need to be paid, Believe it or not clients like this do actually exist - a rare breed true, but ones worth holding on to!
2009-07-28 13:22:42
Position applied for:
Best client
Salary:
As high as Voyager II at its current velocity
Job description:
Must avoid abbreviation at all costs as communication is the business not obfuscation. You know who you are. It's not big and it's not clever.
Appreciate they are not as creatively attuned as the creative team they are employing. At least they shouldn't be if they have done their job right.
Understand they cannot write as well as a professional writer. Nor can the other 99% of us.
Should be willing to look beyond their business peers for creative direction to avoid following the herd. Sheep are great to eat.
Should be trained to write a clear brief and dedicate the right amount of time when doing so.
Should make sure they know what their company or brand needs creatively to succeed, and that they are in agreement on this with the decision makers. It's horrible when your winner breaks a leg on the last hurdle.
Must be willing to pay good money to ensure the creative services currently being supplied can continue.
Location:
My portfolio
For the record, my mum was my worst client to date. She insisted on Norwegian berries on her business card. She likes berries. A lot.
2009-07-28 13:29:55
Our perfect client would be: Someone who knows roughly what they want, appreciates your design guidance, listens, gives constructive feedback, has a budget in mind and pays in 30 days.
2009-07-28 13:37:19
anyone with low standards and deep pockets
2009-07-28 13:42:57
Quite an implicit question.
The boundaries of what makes a good client surely is in relation to the designer.
A relationship between a 'client' and 'designer' is the same as any relationship that relies heavily on the compatibility between the two. It is like trying to describe your perfect partner, the best sort of music, the worst film ever. Opinion can change along with the answer.
I do think though that a client that opens themselves up to allow a designer to read them is invaluable as it creates an opportunity for the designer to react in the best way.
Either way it is all a bit of fun.
2009-07-28 14:06:53
Me. I fit all the criteria listed above. I do my best to be a great client! I'd be fascinated to know whether the designers I've worked with think the same!
2009-07-28 14:21:25
One with a blank canvas - we do our best work when we have a free rein. If they don't know what they want, even better, treat this as a golden opportunity. We've done naming, brand, print, web, signage, packaging and marketing for clients that come to us with nothing other than a business - it's a joy! A bit of budget helps too.
2009-07-28 14:26:04
someone who knows exactly what they want.
anyone else will vex you in one way or another!
2009-07-28 14:32:51
every client is the best client if you have your own communication skills together
2009-07-28 15:02:29
Anyone who is willing to listen and has the guts to try something new...... everyone benefits then.
Also the designer has to be good at selling the idea to the client.... be able to change the clients way of thinking.
2009-07-28 15:07:34
-one who knows .jpg's are not editable
- one who doesn't ask to establish a new corporate colour using as starting point a RGB colour and asking to convert RGB in CMYK and Pantone , also expecting that printed CMYK colors match with the CMYK colors on screen.
- one who doesn't use the word "to align" only for left allignment but also for right, centered and justified alignment
-one who knows web bannesr are measured in pixels and not in mm(or inches)
2009-07-28 15:09:13
Anyone who is willing to listen and has the guts to try something new...... everyone benefits then.
Also the designer has to be good at selling the idea to the client.... be able to change the clients way of thinking.
2009-07-28 15:16:05
Those clients who can inspire - are the best clients.
2009-07-28 15:16:13
One that doesn't say 'Could you check your image archive to see if you have a picture of Elvis on a motorbike coming out of a lift'. Now let me think about that...
Or 'Could you spin the photo 180 degrees so we can see his face?'
2009-07-28 15:17:31
Anyone who is willing to listen and has the guts to try something new...... everyone benefits then.
Also the designer has to be good at selling the idea to the client.... be able to change the clients way of thinking.
2009-07-28 15:25:15
one that wants a picture of an atlas to communicate global - painful
2009-07-28 15:46:48
Anyone who wants me to work 'with them' rather than 'for them', and who appreciates that my time is what I sell.
2009-07-28 16:13:05
Clients that keep to their deadlines so you can meet yours without staying up all hours of the day and not having to rush work out.
2009-07-28 16:14:49
Clients who actually have an interest in design will challenge you to do great work and will genuinely appreciate it if you do well.
Clients who do not have an interest in design and who have ridiculous ideas tend to be a waste of time for anyone wanting to improve their portfolio and a waste of effort as they tend to try to get out of paying all the time.
2009-07-28 16:24:37
One that provides copy and doesn't need to make changes to it at the last minute. And then understands why you are charging them for your time :-)
2009-07-28 16:26:09
One that is prepared to listen to your experience.
2009-07-28 17:24:15
One that would agree with all the above and many more following
and would be able to learn what you said and respond logically
2009-07-28 18:14:08
Working with your friends whether they're in-house holding it down at a company/brand or if they own their own business. Either way, it doesn't get any better than that.
2009-07-28 18:28:17
My best clients have turned out to be those who have come to me through a recommendation from a friend or another client. I think that's because there is a measure of respect at the outset - and we have to have respect for each other in this business. From that, all the other niceties follow.
2009-07-29 00:34:16
One who provides imagination and realism to the process in equal doses... kind of like a designer needs to!...If client and designer both buy-in to the equal importance of both, there's a much better chance of finding common ground and completing a design task painlessly.
2009-07-29 12:00:09
Someone that doesn't infect your brain with crappy ideas and leaves the thinking to you.
2009-07-29 12:45:45
A client that has already been through the ringer. A client that has ready been promised
used false deadlines to win a contract. A client that knows enough to hit the ground running and understands that the main job they have, is to provide content. Signed off, proof read content. Let the students, home taught designer salesman, boxed solutions, brandahic guru self proclaimed one person shows have all the other clients. When those clients are ready, I am willing and able.
2009-07-29 21:40:40
anyone who believes in what they are doing. Its not their job to "get it", to love design or creativity, to instantly agree with our point of view. Its our job to sell them an idea and its importance and to put what we do into their world and context, not expect them to come and live in ours.
as long as they believe in what they do and what they are asking us to do, then the rest is down to us, to take them on our journey and inspire them enough to believe
2009-07-30 07:35:43
One who has the wisdom to listen, the strength to trust and the power and will to do.
2009-07-30 09:44:33
Someone who respects your business and the project enough to engage with it, commit to it, and communicate clearly, objectively, helpfully and promptly.
Someone who has realistic expectations when it comes to the timings and budget that they have allocated to that project.
Someone who respects small businesses enough to pay on time.
We don't ask that much, do we?
2009-07-30 11:05:07
The funny thing of course, is that if there happens to be a 'Client Review' blog out there, they are probably right now running a 'what makes the best designer' forum, and the same identical answers are being given. Well, apart from the explaining an eps question.
For what it's worth though, I find that the 'best' clients are either clients who we've been with since they first set up – as Julian says above, these clients become your friends and we in turn feel a part of their business and its development, where a truly collaborative relationship can flourish – or clients who know their market instinctively and don't allow their own personal judgements (or those of their colleagues, children or passers-by) cloud that. A shit-hot head of marketing should approve that purple logo if they know their target audience will go for it – regardless of whether it makes them personally want to puke.
It's never that easy of course, and we all know the client who wants you to artwork his sketch or make the logos bigger only too well. Before we moan about those clients though, ask yourself whether you have done everything in your power to make your processes transparent and have your lines of communication clear. So many clients just need a guiding hand – and will reward and surprise you if you take the time to sit down with them before pen has even touched paper, to go through with them how you will deliver the job stage by stage and to explain what you will expect and need from them in order to make that happen.
So go easy on them, the genuine difficult ones are very few and far between. Just keep those ones out of your portfolio ...
2009-07-30 14:13:00
I'm sure it's different for the rest of the studio but my all time favourite client was the big beardy guy who managed a band up North, we were late for the meeting and he clearly hated us for half an hour. Then he said we could "have a go" at his next album "no promises though." He also said that if we produced anything on a computer his band would probably walk out.
we made them a package of swan heads inked onto old books and took it to a gig they were doing in a working men's club. They shit a brick and we danced all night. The album artwork was a straight copy of the Little Book of Swans.
we've done higher profile and bigger budget stuff, and by rights, the whole experience should be a marginal blip, but it just sticks with me for some reason. Good clients are like that- they leave a lasting impression.
2009-07-30 17:22:19
An easy going business start up with pleanty of money is my ideal cliant and touch wood we get plenty of them.
2009-07-30 19:07:20
The best client is one that has a clear idea of what they want, and trust enough to let you solve the problem for them. Given that situation, I don't feel there's brief that can't be turned into something that delivers both for the client and yourself creatively.
Personally my best client was one that really pushed our team to do something highly creative when, given the nature of the industry they operated in, we were expecting something quite mundane. Obviously the best thing a designer can hear and reinforced my view that you can really turn any project into something special. The client's trust paid off for them (literally) and we got to flex our design muscles.
2009-07-30 20:56:14
anyone who believes in what they are doing. Its not their job to "get it", to love design or creativity, to instantly agree with our point of view. Its our job to sell them an idea and its importance and to put what we do into their world and context, not expect them to come and live in ours.
as long as they believe in what they do and what they are asking us to do, then the rest is down to us, to take them on our journey and inspire them enough to believe
2009-07-30 23:59:28
There are lots of things that make for the best client to work with, but a single one could be enough - the inspired client!
2009-07-31 08:58:58
Someone who employes you to do your job, and not try and impose there ideas onto you. Let be honest, if they were any good they would be doing it themselves!
And have some money... that always helps!
2009-07-31 10:51:02
Someone who comes with a problem and are open minded about what the solution could be, they also know when it's time to make a decision and stick to it.
2009-08-05 17:04:10
One that understands that if you get an electrician in, you don't lean over their shoulder saying, "Do you think that wire should go in there? Sorry but I stand green, can you make that one red?".
2009-08-11 13:11:56
One who is changing the world for the better and wants a partnership in order to help get there.
2009-08-18 15:02:38
Clients who don't expect you to compete with those who quote 1/10th of what you quote, because they value your professional expertise as well as the project being undertaken - and then put their money where there mouth is.
The more a client is willing to spend, the more committed they usually are to the project. And there is nothing better than a committed client.
Even if they do not know what they want, they will have no problem if you factor facilitation sessions, etc into your quotes - so a great opportunity to increase your turnover too!
The client who from the outset is only worried about budget, is the one that always proves to be impossible all the way to the end - and afterwards when providing ongoing support.
2009-08-26 05:53:59
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