Designers as good bed partners

Provocative titles aside, this article is the first in a series that will look at how we all do business together. Is there such a thing as a perfect working relationship? And if so, what does it take from each involved party, for the relationship to, well, work. Why is it that we can rely on some people with complete trust and while others we are always unsure of? We know that they do good work, but there is something about how the carry themselves that makes them bit of a loose cannon to work with.

Sometime ago I had read an article tutoring clients on “how to be a good client“. It was an interesting read because if nothing else, in describing attributes for the perfect client, it highlighted the imperfections that can exist within every relationship, especially those of designers and their clients.

So today we address the designer.

Mr./Ms. Designer: To all of us who complain about noisy or silent clients, aggressive or confused project managers, we too must define and decide on a code of conduct that we live by.

If you can honestly answer NO to all the points below, you have the right to expect a perfect client. And we want to talk to you:

Have you ever:

• Been late to a meeting?
• Not read the research material that the client gave you, and gone into a meeting cold and “faked” your opinion of what they needed.
• Bewildered a client with design philosophies and words that they don’t know the meaning to, and felt enjoyment in being a bit “holier than thou”.
• Tossed aside the project brief, gone ahead and made a design that you’ve been wanting to make, even if it was not appropriate to the project and its audience.
• Been described by people that you work with as moody and unpredictable. So artist-diva-like!
• Been to a design meeting with a client and not taken any notes?
• Laughed at how developers and geek types “just don’t get it”. Yet you have no idea what AJAX, Ruby on Rails, RSS feeds are all about.
• Repeated a design more than once. Entirely. (Different color does not count as a new design). This goes for comps too. Every comp should be unique.
• Used words such as “Love it”, “Oh yes that’s good” or “Exactly” when the client shows you some existing designs that they like. (And in reality you hate them)
• Hated your work, know that it was bad and still presented it. Heck if they like it, that’s all that matters.

There is more to professionalism than an absence of tattoos or the presence of a Hugo Boss suit.

And yes, I am interested in examining the role of all participants and contributors of a perfect working relationship in our field. Who else shall we look at? Clients, developers, project managers, business development folks, marketing people, I am coming after you. Let’s look in your dirty closets and see if there are opportunities to clean up your act too