12 Paradoxes of Graphic Design
2011 March 10
Feeling inspired after a lecture by Adrian Shaughnessy, design student Tobias Bergdahl went home and enshrined the advice in a series of lovely images.
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HOW Brand
@HOWbrand
1. Yes, there ARE many many BAD clients. In any industry there are always bad clients, why do designers always get flack for not being able to read minds!! Half of these are just ridiculous. And this designer has 2 lovely spelling errors in this “series of lovely images”.
Thank you for finding those spelling errors. I think I fixed them.
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Great images, but I’d also have to agree that there have been, on occasion, bad clients.
David Cecil | Owner, Strategist
Johnny Lightning Strikes Again
Web Design. Graphic Design. Branding.
This is a great paradoxical discussion…and the images are wonderful.
I understand the thought process that “there is no such things as bad clients, only bad designers” because chances are, a bad designer came along and misused a client, which made them bad. Or a client got exactly what they paid for, and that soured them towards the industry.
However, there has to be bad clients. All those clients in the world who expect something for nothing, are those not bad clients?
I do think that this thought process should be more specific. Just because a client doesn’t understand, doesn’t make them a bad client. Just because a client make a ridiculous request because they don’t know any better doesn’t make them a bad client. A bad client is the same as a bad person – someone with a malicious, unprofessional, hateful attitude that they have no reason or cause for having towards you…however, I also know from personal experiences, if you stick with these people, stick up for yourself and your work, and prove your loyalty and no-shit-taking attitude, they are likely to become a better client, if not a good one.
In the end, clients are work, and work is money and valuable portfolio pieces. It’s really what you make of an experience that defines it. All attitude.
There have always been bad clients and that will not change until business schools teach the value of design. Tough financial times aside, having the CEO’s secretary design the annual report is probably not the best idea… digital printing and other technology have further lowered expectations… at the end of the day, we can try to educate our clients and ourselves and work towards a better future.
There are two grammatical errors here… bad design?
There are bad clients and bad designers, and plenty of both. It’s best to pair bad designers with bad clients. Neither is likely to know the difference.