3. Working Alongside Clients

For designers, there exists almost a consensual, general vendetta against clients. They're often spoken about as clueless about design and difficult to work with. As a designer I can definitely relate to instances where clients have proven frustrating to work alongside. Personally I’ve experienced where the client changes their mind frequently and opts for design directions that I find less aesthetically astute. However, I’ve adopted two new perspectives over the course of my design career, which have helped me navigate the challenges with greater peace of mind.

1. The client is not wrong, they're just different.

I’ve come to recognize when sharing my frustration about difficult clients, I frame the problem as a matter of right and wrong. The client is incorrect because they make the wrong decisions about the design and gives unhelpful, sometimes even retrograding feedback. I’m "right" according to the standards of design and visual expertise.

But am I really?

I’ve come to acknowledge that though I may be better learned and have a developed sense of design, at the end of the day the client isn't wrong, just different. The only reason the client was wrong because I so adamantly believed I was right. In all honesty, the client was wrong in my eyes because they didn’t agree with me. However, letting go of the desire to impose my own personal expectations and beliefs onto the client has helped me immensely. It starts with a painful and honest acknowledgement of my own arrogance, and then the worthwhile removal of it.

2. Clients have come to inquire your expertise in helping cast their vision, not to cast yours.

Often as designers we get caught up in what we do. We design things; we make function and form intertwine in a harmonious dialogue. We "pretty" things up. We make good products have good packaging. However I've noticed that clarity around not what, but why I design helps me when I'm working alongside clients. At the end of the day clients have their own company vision. We as designers help actualize their vision. It's easy to get sucked into projecting our own, often subtle and hidden, casting of what we want the brand and product to look like. Because it's our work as well, we desire to have a say in its form. And we should. But we should also acknowledge our limited influence and be content within its framework. The client has come to inquire our expertise in helping cast their vision, not to cast ours. I've learned to be content submitting to the preferences of the client. It's not easy. It's challenging to witness something with so much aesthetic potential crumble at the feet of clientele preferences. But at the end of the day, it's their project, and we're there to help not judge.

In all I've found, assuming a serving posture is far superior to a critical one. Winning the client's trust and loyalty will allow you far more design freedom as their designer than if you tried to force your way. Working alongside clients is a peaceful engagement if we lay down our agendas, but challenging if we cling to our egos.