Getting rid of “like”
How many of us creatives have had to deal with a client’s fateful verdict: “I don’t like the colour you used” or worse yet “We don’t like the way the photos are placed”?
Given that graphic design is a discipline that requires the elaboration of a plan outlining criteria to achieve certain goals, one would think that personal opinion would have little place and yet, yet, here we are. It’s often on smaller, seemingly straight-forward projects that time-consuming, at times frustrating, exchanges threaten to derail the process. So, whilst it is virtually impossible to avoid this situation altogether, there may be ways to limit the frequency of its resurgence. Here’s what I’ve learned:
Don’t skip steps
Whatever your process is before embarking on the creative development of a project, do it. Often when smaller projects come up we may have the tendency to think a quick briefing will work just as well as the more in-depth discovery we usually complete. When presenting the creative we may also be more lax and allow the conversation to revolve around aesthetics rather than goals and audiences.
Insist on obtaining or providing a detailed brief
Smaller budgets may preclude the discovery phase from being as extensive but a written design brief approved by both parties will go a long way in preventing the project from being sidetracked by a flurry of feedback prompted by personal preference.
Identify the approval process at the outset
Who is authorised to approve the creative? Is it an individual or a committee. If it’s a committee, who will be your contact, in charge of compiling and conveying the feedback?
Reiterate
Before each presentation of creative, reiterate what the stated goals of the piece are. If the brief was thorough and all parties were on board with its findings it will facilitate keeping the conversation on track and harvesting useful, precise feedback.
Pick your battles
Some clients can’t be reasoned with. You may believe you’ve addressed all the feedback or hit all the targets but if the client is still insisting on changes then it’s your responsibility—within reason—to provide options and a process that will enable them to express their objections. You may need to compromise somewhere but it’s a small price to pay to develop a stronger relationship with the client—if that’s a mutually-beneficial endeavour, obviously.
Keep your sense of humor
I realise this is easier said than done. I personally have great difficulty not being offended by clients who, usually inadvertently, seem to be stating that any part of what we’re presenting was executed randomly, based on our own personal preferences rather than their objectives. But I reason with myself and remember that, whilst worthwhile, our profession is not one where lives are at stake.
What methods have you found useful in taking the conversation away from emotionally-driven responses and banishing the word “like” from client comments?
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Thanks to my friend Mark Busse for his words of wisdom on this topic. Le Petit Nicolas wasn’t very good at doing what he was told.
Nice article.
Quiet often I do experience similar reactions and most likely it is turning the work into something worse. Nevertheless talking with the client is an option even though it may not succeed every time.
One reaction that hits me a lot lately are briefings which are later changed of by the client. This can get hairy and destroy the whole structure. But you have to be kind or prepared for this stuff I guess.
Great article Isabelle. Yap! we’ve all experienced that. It’s hard for most clients not to get caught on the “personal taste” wagon. What they write in their brief and what they do is often very disjointed.
Meeting goals requires the client and their team to expand their comfort zone to realize that what “they like” has nothing to do with what their ideal clients will respond to.
I have recently let go of a client mid-project because she just could not get passed that very concept….and although compromising is part of the process, I draw the line in the sand when results are at stake.
I admit…I am a bit of a hard ball, but my clients love that.
“I feel a design is not complete until it has a border around it” – A past client
Always happens with clients that view the process as solely creative with little regard for strategy. If a client believes it is all about making something look good, you are headed for trouble.
The other side of the coin is that designers can be at fault just as often, wanting to do something cool or that reflects their tastes. For me, the best tool to fight this is a well defined (and understood) creative brief. Anytime a change in design is suggested, we refer back to it. It doesn’t always work but it certainly helps to keep everyone headed in the same direction and if the direction is changed, it demands an answer as to why.
Thanks Isabelle
Thanks for all your comments. Changes in scope do complicate things Kadir, but as long as you have a well-defined agreement outlining the deliverables, that should help. Scope creep is always a risk. I find that reiterating the feedback you receive in a document before presenting the next iteration makes the process clearer for everyone.
Absolutely Steve. I agree.
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