Clients – A Designer’s Survival Guide
“Yeah, how about if you change that color to green and make the logo bigger, oh and I don’t like the photo of the girl nor the background could you use something else? And could you have it ready by tomorrow?”
Sounds familiar? We’ve all heard this kind of speech. OH THE FRUSTRATION !Lots of time spent trying to achieve a perfect balanced composition and all the elements are in place and you are satisfied with the work , and it looks great BUT the client doesn’t get any of your ideas and he insists on making tons and tons of alterations until you end up with a mock up of the original idea and you die a little inside.
So , as you may have guessed that’s what this article is all about… different kind of difficult clients and some healthy ways to dealing with them  without losing your mind our your soul. First we are going to begin with identifying different categories of difficult clients . Please feel free to add any other category that I might have left out.
Types of Difficult Clients
( Any similarity to  any real persons  is purely coincidental  )
The But client
This is the type of client that will always praise your work , put you in a good mood and immediately after that starting with the criticizing. He clearly doesn’t like what he sees but  he has learned in the self help book he has read that it is better to highlight the pros before the cons BUT what this type of client doesn’t know is that  this tactic is  actually very very annoying.
What’s- So- Difficult- About- Your- Job Client
This is the type of client that thinks he can do your job much better than you and he acts like he doesn’t need you. His standards are usually too high and often he doesn’t even know what he wants. Maybe he has some basic knowledge or he is a frustrated artist . He also makes sure  you know and appreciate  his artistic skills because his self esteem  needs to get some extra points .
You- Do -Something- I’ll -Tell -You- If- I- Like -It Client
This is a very common type of client. He doesn’t know what he wants. He gives you no indications but when you show him a version he suddenly knows what  he doesn’t want and he is ready to critique everything. But this client is surely better than the …
I -Know- What -I -Want- And – It’s -Awful Client
This is the type of client that comes from the very beginning with examples of others people work ( nor rarely his examples look plain dreadful ) . And he often wants you to copy  them or create something very similar to that. He is  of course often very reticent to any new ideas.
The- Tight- Deadline Client
He always makes you work under pressure giving you a very close deadline. He comes in the last moment all agitated and frustrated demanding an absolute priority for his project.
The -Other- People- Decide- For -Me client
It’s the kind of client who likes your proposal when he first sees it just to call you later on to tell you that …he has thought about it…and well his wife says it’s too…
The advantage is that this type of client is easy to convince that your version is what he is looking for. But the disadvantage is that after he leaves your office he goes home again.
The  Needy Client
This client will take all your time, send you tones of e-mails, call you for hours in weekends and whenever he feels like it . He is under  the impression that if he hired you , he owns all your time  and he is entitled to disturb you for any small thing.
The Indecisive Client
Make you do lots of changes and then change them again , just to decide in the end that your first version was the better one. He is never satisfied and just because he likes something today doesn’t mean that he can’t hate it tomorrow.
The- Always- Looking- For – A- Deal Client
He will always require a discount, minimizing the value of your work. Also this type of client requires you work for a smaller fee promising that this will lead to more work in the future.This is just the type of collaboration you are going to regret sooner or later. But again this type of client is better than the…
The -One- That -Doesn’t -Pay
This is actually the worst case scenario…when you find out that all your hard work  was for free.That’s the reason that led to contracts being invented  and you always have to take good safety measures to make sure that this doesn’t happen.
Dealing With Difficult Clients
We have to admit that designer and client are locked into a marriage ,that like a real marriage has to be based on equal partnership and understanding if it is to last an produce a worthwhile offspring. Without clients there is no graphic design , and without demanding clients there is no good graphic design. Until a certain point, a demanding client can be stimulating, helping you get more out of your work.
Don’t just confront or avoid your client. When you are to busy with complaining about his actions you miss out on the opportunity to learn something about him. Get to know your client, don’t just get annoyed by him. Think about the motivation behind his actions. Why does he insists on leaving the impression he is an undercover design guru , why is he always critiscing your work.  Maybe because he has some issues of his own : a low self esteem that needs to be boosted with a know it all image. Look beyond the surface and maybe you will find an easier and more efficient way to deal with your client.
I remember a client that was clearly difficult. He barely liked anything, he always made me do alterations, start over, and practically made me lose a lot time with his project and I was very frustrated about that until I have realised that he actually thought that I wasn’t that much involved in his project. And that’s why he made do all that work . I must admit that by the time I have realised that I Â really wasn’t that involved. I’ve started with enthusiasm ,but after all his exaggerated demands my enthusiasm wore off.
So I’ve changed my tactics. Every time he dropped by , I would assure him that his project is the most important out of my all projects, that  I was spending lots of time on it  and I was deeply involved and interested.His criticism instantly melted and we started collaborating much better from then on.
Also it is very important to set clear boundaries from the very beginning. You will always meet clients that will want to test them, and negotiate them. It’s for your own safety. I’ve had my share if demanding clients that think they own your free time. I remember a client that made me lose all my weekend. It started as a simple task that would only take a half hour to make but it turned out to be a 10 hour conversation with millions and billions of alterations just to return to the original version. That’s what happened because I had no boundaries.I’ve learned my lesson and from then on I always make sure I set my rules straight .
Finally it is very important to keep in mind that your clients will never ever change. They have no interested in doing so. So the only good thing to do is that you change how you approach them. Observe them, learn more about their real needs and maybe you will find a new way to communicate with them.
I am more than interested in your own experience in dealing with clients. What was your most difficult client and how did you manage to deal with the situation. Tell us about it.
Interesting article. I have only started freelancing recently, but have already came across clients that tick alot of these boxes. thanks
Anybody know the going rate as a free lance t-shirt designer to client if they will retain all rights to design?
Kind of off subject, but relevant.
Thanks.
I agree with so many of your points above – regarding your type of clients. In my 3 years of working with my own company, I’ve come across almost every category.
One advice that I can definitely pass off is the one about assuring your client that you are really spending time with their work and that its of the utmost importance. That always gets them to soften down and not unnecessarily make you slog!
I’ve been more in the role of a client so far, although I’m switching sides (What’s- So- Difficult- About- Your- Job Client… *check).
I got one job now – pro bono to polish that rust off – and I must say I’m lucky. No deadline, fully compleated (and good looking) sketch and thematically interesting.
My other client is myself. What an asshole!
That was fabulous — as an ex copywriter I identified with this article very, very strongly!
And you’re right. People don’t change. You have to find an approach that deals with their foibles.
Client Comment : Survival is spelt wrong
geez…what a misspell…the clients curse!!!thanks a lot…
Great post. I’m half tempted to direct my clients to it.
By the way, this post is quite useful along the same lines: http://www.freelanceswitch.com/clients/12-breeds-of-client-and-how-to-work-with-them/
Funny but very true..! Excellent reading, thanks.
KUDOS! Your article, sir, has successfully jolted some life into my otherwise near dead psyche thanks to a ongoing project with a type 3 client.
I’m still learning to put my foot down in regards to the needy client. I hate it when they throw me the ‘but it’s the industry’ line…
Having dealt with said client, I believe it’s important to keep believing in your own capabilities and creativity despite any harsh critique received.
Great article! Thanks for sharing!
My gender is actually the very opposite of sir and I’m glad you liked the article…
oh, and lots of luck with your client. Hang in there!
Nice one.
You could add the Let-Me-Sit-With-You/Teach-Me-While-You-Do type as well
well this is funny because I’ve been thinking about this topic for so long and I’m really trying to improve myself in it…
Here’s my few additional advices:
1. Pay attention to a first contact with client. OK it sounds very strange but you designers know how it goes with first impression. Speak good, be cool and what is for first impression most important – look good. Why?
Clients know just your work from your portfolio or from their friends. The very first conversation turns your whole cooperation to one of mentioned jobs. If people get you as a designer who knows what he does, they will listen to you and they would love to be learned from you (some not). If you speak as a guy who is just drawing lines in photoshop, well there’s no respect and probably your work will take some more days to finish.
2. Keep your distance and make your rules. It’s all about personality, but you know where to push when somebody thinks he owns you. People are bending other people until the others want to be bent. You’re a person with skin and bones aren’t you?;)
3. Don’t work until you meet your client personally and know what he really likes (if possible). It saves loads of time and cracking pencils. I’m very disappointed when I find email in my inbox from my boss with what some “client” wants. It always took some more time to guess what he likes. Besides that it is refreshing for man’s soul to know and learn from people working in some other branches. We’re still people who can talk not just type right? (Some not:)
4. Be ready to refuse. Hot topic I know… But from what I know big people always know their limits and they know when to say NO! It will definitely not destroy your reputation. Working with a jerks will not enrich you, your name and nor client who thinks webdesign company is a cash machine. If your client doesn’t understand the golden rule that you design for people who are viewing his website and not just for him, hands off.
hope it helps somebody.
good luck to you all.
and sry for my english – pretty bad
I’m glad that I’m not the only one who thinks of other people when designing a website.
I work in company that thinks mainly of profit than the design look of the site itself.
And the worst part of it, my immediate supervisor and other designers I work with have no voice of their own, afraid of criticizm and opinion of the Big Bosses…And I can bare with them for the bosses are “All-of-the-above-listed-clients”
Also I am a Fine Arts graduate and most of my co-workers are computer tech geeks (no offense on what they do), lets face it, most of their ideas on what makes a beautiful site is based on the hit counts of page views and the advertisers willing to advertise on their site.
Most of them, but not all.
I do have some friends on the techy sides who appreciates art as well.
And when it’s time for comments & suggestions, we have the whole department’s opinion and the voting starts on what’s beautiful and not.
And guess what is chosen, the ugliest piece with all of their opinion combined into one design.
I don’t want to quit my job because it’s a job never the less, so I try to work around it and gather more positive energies as I go through it everyday.
But most of the time, it wears you down, drastically.
well, I know what you mean. I’ve been working in this company just for one and a half year but some things are really annoying me.
I mean there’s not a lot of clients who thinks that when they pay they’re already buying your opinion. It’s more like: ‘baker bake some bread, it’s just bread and people need this so whatever’ thing.
good luck then I hope your designs will ensure some people that quality isn’t always success. well that’s how it looks like first.
Nice list of client types!
Of course there is not rule saying a client can’t practice traits from several categories. :)
What about the client who takes 3 weeks to get back to you with some feedback? That can be fairly frustrating as well.
nice and is an awesome post however it still rocks, pws pamen
It’s more like: ‘baker bake some bread
“A Designer's Survival Guide” is a must, if for nothing more than it's humor value or just giving you a peek at what you may have to deal with someday !! ~ Hermitbiker ~
A very interesting article about potential clients and your ability to survive, or even be noticed, in an ever-growing field of graphic-designers !!
thank you, i really need this kind of information for my recent project…
You made some great suggestions there. I did a searching on the niche and discovered plenty of people should recognize with your blog.