Kerry has done a terrific job of defining some of the major aspects of a difficult client. In the spirit of being proactive, I thought I would take a stab at providing some solutions to these problems:
problem: pay very little, yet be the most demanding.
solution: increase your hourly rate/standard project fees to accommodate for the “hand-holding” that you might have to do on a project. The funny thing is that when you raise your prices, it creates an image of quality in the eyes of your client.
problem: dabble in design (mess around in Photoshop), and call it expert experience.
solution: You are the expert in design, but you must be cognizant that your client is the expert at what they do. If your client hands you a rough design, it is not because they want to pay you less of take over your job, instead it is usually because the client feels so compelled to visually articulate what they know so much about. Sometimes this does help so don’t automatically brush the client off and act as if they have nothing to contribute.
problem: have unreasonable deadlines, and wonder why they should pay you.
solution: Always, always, always define the major milestones and payment details in a contract before any work is done. Every contract that you have should state how much you will be paid, when you will be paid (thirds is typical - 1/3 up front, 1/3 half way, and 1/3 on delivery), and who will pay you (large corps often have a long method of payment approvals - define it early and save the hassle of tracking it down for the next two months).
problem: hold little regard for the graphic design profession.
solution: Build up your clients respect of graphic design by providing them with materials such as
“Good Design Is Good Business” or AIGA’s
Client Guide to Design. You must also be willing to accept the fact that some clients won’t respect you at the end of the day - so if this is the case then you need to seriously think about letting your client to make room for another client that will appreciate your talents.
problem: have no clue what designers do, and are unwilling to learn.
solution: This problem is very similar to the previous, but we should also acknowledge that often a client doesn’t want to learn what we do because they do not have the time to. It is in our interest to inform the client of what we will do for them right from the start. Make sure you always outline the exact services you will be providing in a contract. Also, make sure it is written in layman’s terms so anyone can comprehend it. Much too often we get caught up in using esoteric words that go right over our clients heads - which only makes them frustrated and annoyed.
problem: expect designers to read their minds, and get angry when you don’t.
solution: We are not mind readers, but we are communication experts. It is our job, as the designer, to extract all of the information we need from the client to provide the right solution to their communication problem. If the designer is not solving the solution, then they have not asked enough questions to make sure that they understand the problem. Likewise, we also have to be open to the fact that there may be multiple problems that can’t all be fixed with one, nicely packaged, solution.
problem: bring unknown others into the design process, and let them make approvals.
solution: At the beginning of a project the designer and the client should designate one contact on both ends that will handle ALL communication between the two parties. The designer will like this because it keeps them from getting a barrage of messages from all different directions, and the client will like it because it allows them to get all of their project updates from one person. You’ll find that designating one person at both companies will also smooth out the approval process because it often forces both companies to make sure the team agrees with the feedback before sending.
problem: insist on their design vision with no input from the designer.
solution: Most clients feel they understand their product/brand better than the designer can, and for the most part, they are right. The client eats, sleeps, and breathes their product, while the designer comes in for a short period of time, examines limited information on the product/brand, and then is expected to design with the insight that they truly understand the product/brand. We should be open to hearing clients vision when it comes to the overall concept - after all, it is part of our discovery process! But we shouldn’t allow the client to “pixel push” us by directing us on the smallest nuances of our design solution. Place more emphasis on your design presentations to the client and thoroughly explain to them why you’ve created the solution you have. This will get them to comprehend exactly why that 2pt blue line is there, hopefully squashing any attempts to outright move it.
problem: have little respect for the designers time.
solution: This problem is a little more difficult to solve. First we have to define exactly what time means. We can define it as “the span it takes us to complete a project or task”, or we can define it as “period spent in meetings with the client and answering/handling correspondence from the client”. Either way we define it, you will find that the problem can be solved with one solution - be honest. Be honest with the client when you tell them how long a task/project will take. If you think it will take you a week to do, and the client keeps pressing that you get it done in two days, then be honest with them and say that two days is not possible and you will need at least one week to do it. If the client still persists then you have two options, do the rush and charge more for it (always charge more for a rush) or say “no thanks” to the client and move on. Clients will only respect our time if we respect our time - plain and simple.
problem: give nothing to the designer to work with, and wonder what’s taking so long.
solution: This goes hand in hand with “expect designers to read their minds, and get angry when you don’t” above. It is the designers job to pull as much information out of the client as possible. It is also our obligation to let the client know when they should expect to see a design. I think every designer I know has a comp and revision process they follow, but few outline when they will be administering this process with a written schedule. At the onset of the project, create a schedule that outlines your expected delivery dates, design presentation dates revision presentation dates, feedback dates and final project hand-off.
Source:
http://www.graphicdefine.org/
