The design profession is one where we get to deal with a lot of different types of clients. I divide them into three categories. There are some dream clients that say “You are the expert, I just want to communicate this and this and you need to make it happen.” There are also some clients that are a bit harder to work with. Not because they have bad intentions, but rather because there is a fundamental communication gap. For instance, when we talk about designing a logo. The word logo has a very different meaning for people who are not active in the design field—in fact, there is even confusion within the design field. Finally, there sadly are some clients that simply have bad intentions.
If you are in a creative profession and dealing with clients, this probably sounds familiar to you. As a matter of fact, there is a whole website devoted to so-called bad clients. However, a recent post on Clients From Hell made me realize that designers sometimes jump to conclusions all too quickly—not all 12pt fonts look the same, it is the x-height that really counts. I would even go as far as saying that the much-quoted phrase “we have to educate our clients” is outright snobbery.
Our biggest weapon as designers is empathy. Empathy is the unique competitive advantage a good designer has over a not so good designer. Our main job is to seek and understand our clients’ underlying wishes and translate that into an awesome design. We should not be snobby when clients do not speak the lingo or when clients appear to be utterly stupid. They rarely are. From the moment we feel that way, we should look to ourselves, because it is often us who are being ignorant. It is us that are failing to comprehend our clients’ wishes. It is in fact us that are being utterly stupid.
So here’s to you, dear clients!