Are you a designer or a free lance photographer? Have you pledge before to love your clients? Well, while on one hand our standard of living depends on how many clients we satisfy, on the other hand some clients are not exactly "easy". Inspired by the hilarious reviews on http://clientsfromhell.net/ we will simulate a typical case of miscommunication between Designer and Client. When things go from bad to worse. Presenter: Stefano Virgilli, Adobe Photoshop Community Professional and User Group Manager Singapore. Stefano is an expert in print, web and video. He is Design Master Instructor at LAB School Singapore (http://lab.edu.sg)

1. DESIGNER vs CLIENT
by Stefano Virgilli,
Adobe Design Master @ LAB School
Photo: All rights reserved by aaardvaark
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ozjulian/163274570/sizes/z/in/photostream/

2. Take a designer...

3. Take a designer...
Characters designed with WeeMee iPhone application.

4. Put on some clothes!

5. Give him a computer...

6. Give him a computer...
Apple computer ;)

7. Put him in the right creative
environment...

8. with lots of caffeine ;)

9. And here you go... an happy designer!

10. Ready for your first client?

11. Ready for your first client?
YES!

12. Ladys and Gentlemen...

13. Ladys and Gentlemen...
THE CLIENT

14. Designer is very excited!

15. Designer is motivated!
I am going
to use my
creativity
to make
a lot of
money!

16. Designer is determined!
Design is
my passion
and will
impress
the client!

17. But The Client...

18. She is NOT a designer.

19. FIRST MEETING:
Client describes job scope

20. SCOPE:
“Make a poster for our products.”

21. FIRST MEETING:
Designer listen carefully and thinks...

22. FIRST MEETING:
“This is an easy task. I will do this, that...”

23. ...then he leaves.

24. SCENE ONE... Action!

25. Client send the images for the poster
to the Designer...

26. 2 Microsoft Word documents
and 3 Power Point files (including logo).

27. ERROR #1: Missing file requirements.

28. A good Designer should have informed
Client that source images are required.

29. Also, define “source images” and require
specific file formats.

30. Logo file format should be .AI or .PDF
Worst case a vector encapsuled in a EPS
All the other images should be in JPG or TIF

31. Client may ignore the basic rules of
design. Designer should guide Client.

32. GUILTY!

33. SCENE TWO... Action!

34. Designer show the first proposal to Client.

35. Client is very excited.

36. Well... not really. Client says:
“I don’t like it.”

37. “What?!”

38. “I spent hours on it. I have also used a
golden formula to balance the layout. And
the colours are just awesome!”

39. ERROR #2: Ask and listen. Don’t comment.

40. A good Designer should think as a client,
and work as a designer.

41. Client does not want to become a designer.
Golden proportion and colour tehory are
out of client’s scope.

42. Client may not be able to articulate the
reasons why does not like the artwork.
Ask the client to provide some reasons.

43. Maybe the problem lies in something as
simple as “wrong font”, but Client may
not know how to formulate.

44. GUILTY!

45. SCENE THREE... Action!

46. After 20 hours and 4 proposals, Designer
is no longer motivated, and keep changing
everything without directions to follow.

47. Designer says: “I have worked 20 hours and
made 4 changes. Do you know how much
money I am losing here?”

48. Designer says: “I want more money.”

49. Client replies: “You gave us a price. We
agreed on it. No changes.”

50. ERROR #3: Money, hours and edits are
stated upfront. Changes are not welcome.

51. A good Designer should write proper
quotations. State everything on black and
white. And stick to the contract.

52. State clearly:
• Number of proposals
• Max number of edits
• Max number of hours
• Price of extra edits
• Price of extra hours

53. As long as Edits and Hours are not
stated, Client may assume that they are
unlimited. Better to clarify upfront.

54. GUILTY!

55. “You price yourself like dirt,
you’ll be treated like it.”
http://clientsfromhell.net/post/2178060904/on-dirt
Other clients from hell: http://clientsfromhell.net/

56. BE AN HAPPY DESIGNER!

57. Links:
http://creativecrew.org.sg
Creative Crew (Singapore) - Adobe User Group
http://lab.edu.sg
Adobe Authorized Training Centre Singapore
http://www.virgilli.com
Stefano Virgilli’s website