Arbenting Asks Aloud : Is The Client Always Right?
Mar
03
2010
March is officially upon us and besides the madness that it apparently sparks in some college basketball circuits, do you know what that means? That’s right, it’s time for another discussion here on Arbenting, and this month we are tackling an age old pearl of accepted truth, to find out if it is still considered a truism in the design community today. So this month we hope you all will participate and tell us your two cents on this open, ongoing dialog.
The Question
You hear it all the time, usually from the customer, that the customer is always right. Now in a field like design, where we are working within a structured framework with limitations and boundaries, and where like we discussed last month, some understanding of said boundaries are considered important when making a design, is the client qualified to have the final say? Of course they are the one paying for a result, but they are paying us for our expertise in making that end result work. So what’s your take…
Is The Client Always Right?
So whose judgment should ultimately win out when it comes to the final design output? Should design effectiveness ever knowingly be compromised? Go ahead and discuss.
A Final Word
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March 3rd, 2010 at 6:06 pm
I think there is a difference between the client being right and the client having the final say. No one is always right, but ultimately the client is paying for a service, so regardless of whethere they are right or not, they DO get the final say. Or else we – the designer – doesn’t get paid. Take your pick. I’ll choose getting paid most of the time. But not to the point of ‘prostituting’ myself or my services. So maybe a good question is “how much are you willing to sacrifice of your knowledge and expertise in order to get paid?”
March 3rd, 2010 at 6:07 pm
That’s some great spelling/typos you have going on there, Mr. McDaniel…
March 3rd, 2010 at 6:58 pm
Well said. And perhaps a further question should be, who do we owe more responsibility to in this situation. The design (to do what serves it best). The client (concede to just get the project done and the client happy). Or ourselves (just get paid and forget the rest).
Hmmm. I understand that they are paying us, but like I say below, they are paying us to make a product. For our expertise and ability to make their project work. If their judgment impedes on our ability to effectively make it work correctly, wouldn’t we still not get paid? So how do we convince them to then bend to our judgment to salvage the project?
I keep coming up with more questions…I’ll stop for now though.
March 3rd, 2010 at 6:49 pm
I’ll go ahead and kick this off by saying, I’m on the fence. As Angie and I discussed while putting this together, in some professions, like medical industry, we yield to the opinions and suggestions of the professionals practicing in that field. We wouldn’t second guess the diagnosis because we think we have a better grasp on what’s needed.
As designers we get handed a huge task of creating a connectable product that conveys a certain message. We have honed and trained these skills to be sure we understand and know the best ways to achieve this through our medium. So why should our clients expect us to yield our judgment and expertise to their whims and wishes. Especially when it contradicts their intent.
Perhaps this is the reason that so many clients complain that the last designer they worked with didn’t do what they asked. Maybe because it was either not possible, or not because it worked against the purpose and mission of the design. Perhaps clients should concede this point to those who have the expertise to make the most of the project they hired us for.
March 3rd, 2010 at 7:50 pm
Tricky, tricky question guys! For me, the simple answer is probably: no, the client is not always right. Depending on who they are, they might be right most of the time, half the time, some of the time, or pretty much never.
Does that mean that the designer is always right, though? Ha! Not so! I think sometimes we designers have slightly inflated egos and too-great-a-sense of our own design-0-magical-abilities (sorry for the hyphen-mania there… oops I did it again… and seem to have just quoted the mighty Speers… this parenthetical aside must end… as must my poor attempts at wit and humour).
I think that the designer is probably “right” more often than the “client” (in general terms), but that doesn’t necessarily mean that the designer is always going to make the right decision.
So is there an answer to this power struggle. I would propose that there is: in the form of the user/target/audience (depending on what is being designed). My logic is as follows.
- the client approaches the designer to create a design
- chances are that the purpose of this design is to “sell” (financially, politically, theologically, ideologically…) “something” to “someone”.
- success, then, is likely to be measured through the sale.
- the sale comes from the choice of the someone to purchase the something
- therefore, success is driven by the someone
- which means that the design must appeal to the someone
- ultimately leading me to conclude that only person who is ever right is the someone who drives the “sale”.
I use general terms to keep the logic broad enough so that it doesn’t necessarily apply to just designing for clients who are literally selling a product for money, but since that is likely the most common scenario, I will conclude by suggesting that it’s not the client who is always right, but rather the client’s client.
.-= Matt Ward´s last blog ..Should Designers Know How to Code? Thoughts From a Developer =-.
March 3rd, 2010 at 8:08 pm
Thanks, Matt. It’s interesting that you mentioned ego, because in the follow-up questions I asked in the post, the latter read like this in the first draft. “Should design effectiveness ever knowingly be compromised for ego?”. I think this is a huge problem in this arena. Both ego from the designer and from the client.
Thanks again for the thoughtful reply, and the addition of the third party to the equation….
March 3rd, 2010 at 8:11 pm
I don’t think that the client is always right.
For me it’s a way of finding how to interpret what the client wants and needs, while executing it in a way to make both parties happy.
That is the true challenge. The big thing I have found from experience is to take the extra time in the beginning of the project to educate every aspect and why your going to do the things your going to do, and why certain things should not be done.
This approach gains respect from the client from the beginning and they will be more likely to accept what you present to them because they will have a firm understanding why you did what you did.
I have found that this helps eliminate the “Make the logo bigger,” and “It needs to pop more,” issues that client frequently bring up. The bottom line is the client is paying us, and we as designers are not always respected as true professionals. It is up to us to educate them them that we know what we are doing and there are specific reasons why we made the decisions we make.
March 3rd, 2010 at 8:24 pm
I think you are right that we need to take the extra time to educate them as to why we follow some of their suggestions and not others. Good communication is vital in these instances and can demonstrate our commitment to the design. The more passionate we show the client we are, perhaps the more likely they will be to listen to what it is we suggest and say.
I also think you are correct that by and large we are under-respected by the clients who may also feel entitled because they are paying us. Again, I appreciate the thoughts.
March 4th, 2010 at 3:03 pm
I love that you mentioned communication in your comment, it is so true. I agree that the client isn’t always right, nor is the designer. It’s not about finding a right and wrong, but about settling on a solution to a problem the client has.
Educating them, not only through the process, but right off the bat is often the best way to get to the root of the problem that they need to solve.
Clients hire us to solve these problems because THEY KNOW off the bat they don’t have the tools/experience/SOMETHING to solve the problem themselves. Educating them on the process is the best way to maintain control of the project, increase the odds that the client will not undervalue/underappreciate you, and provide the solution that will gather the best results for them.
.-= jhoysi´s last blog ..Designers: Our Job Includes Thorough Communication =-.
March 4th, 2010 at 3:16 pm
Very well said, jhoysi, very well said, indeed. I do agree our ability to communicate is vital in having our role as designer/coder/whatever be respected by the client. If they find out early on that we are submissive and allow them to walk all over us, then they will. So it is so important, especially when beginning a new client relationship, to be firm and fair and to establish what kind of relationship it is going to develop into.
March 3rd, 2010 at 8:19 pm
Wow! Just realized I rambled on in my comment. Hope it makes sense. Guess I should not leave comments when i’m in a rush. lol
.-= Josh Cagwin´s last blog ..This is my quote. Do you have one? =-.
March 3rd, 2010 at 8:20 pm
lol! No, it’s great, man. Thanks!
March 3rd, 2010 at 9:34 pm
I think that the client being right, and the client having the final say is definitely different. If the client is seeing things differently than you are, you can educate them, but at the end of the day, they’re paying for the service you’re offering. So, as far as the design goes, you may think something is ugly and not needed, but it’s their work, so suck it up
Now, there are times when clients can be wrong – like, for instance, asking for too many “extras” that they weren’t originally asking for. Things like this though should be covered in your contracts and initial talks. There are times when clients cross the line from ‘trying to get a bit extra’ to ‘horrible as shit’. That’s when you need to cut them loose and move on
Nice topic Rob. I like what you’re doing with Arbenting as of late. good discussions.
March 3rd, 2010 at 10:19 pm
I see what you are saying about them paying us, but again, doesn’t that imply some kind of surrendered judgment to our expertise? Afterall, why are they hiring us? Because we know the field and they don’t? So what is it that keeps them from giving in to what we say is best? Is it a matter of ego? Or possibly some kind of communication failure on our part? Or a combo?
And I agree that sometimes the client steps over the line in coming up with all kinds of extra requests that were beyond what was agreed upon.
Thanks for the comment, Mike. And the kind words. We always thought the discussions were valuable communal contributions when we did them at FYC, and we encouraged them to keep them going after we left, but they decided not to. So given that we saw the value in them, we continued the tradition when we came back to the Bent.
March 3rd, 2010 at 10:56 pm
Rob,
I think that it’s a bit of a communication error on our end to be honest. The beginning process of any interaction with clients is to (in my opinion) gauge where their head is at and show them you know what you’re talking about. I believe that if a client hires you, they’re hiring you for more than just your work, but your input and the value you can provide for them beyond just the pixels. But in order to get to that point with your clients, I think the initial communication between you is key. Put your foot down, stand your ground and 9 times out of 10, you’ll get to do things properly.
March 3rd, 2010 at 11:13 pm
I think you are on the right track with there. I think we as the designers need to learn how to communicate better with our clients, especially those outside the field and outside of any sort of creative profession. I think it is this communication barrier that gets us undervalued and underrated in a lot of instances.
Thanks for the follow-up.
March 4th, 2010 at 7:31 am
I have to say hands down that the client is not always right….many clients just don’t have a deep enough understanding of best practices and principles to make the right calls when it comes to a new design project. Our job as designers is to help educate the client as to why we make the choices we make. But as many have stated before, at the end of the day its the clients buck…so if you do your best to educate and share your thinking and the client still wants to go another direction (say horrible navigation/color scheme on a site design) you do what they ask and then the job doesn’t go in the portfolio.
March 4th, 2010 at 1:37 pm
Thanks for being a part of the discussion, JC! So far the growing consensus seems to agree with you. The client may not always be right, but they are the ones paying. Even though the doctor analogy has yet to be addressed by anyone. Is this second-guessing from the client an ego thing, or a willful attitude that won’t allow them to cave to our counsel when that’s part of what they are paying for?
March 4th, 2010 at 9:34 am
As mentioned above, a client who is not experienced with design simply cannot always be right when dealing with problems specifically to do with the technical aspects of design, typography and colour is a good example.
You are doing your clients a disservice if you always give into their demands, they are paying you, a experience designer to lead the way. I tend to stand firm with my clients, not worried about speaking my mind if what they are asking will adversely affect the project. If they will not listen and insist on changes etc that will affect the project, I have been know to leave the working relationship.
If they feel they know better, and will not listen to reason, then I see no reason why I should put up with that. That’s a choice I have made and usually it works out for the better.
Important thing is to always listen and take on board the clients ideas and wishes, but to explain in detail why their ideas will not work and should not be implemented. It is bad form to just say no without offering reasons why.
If i pay a lawyer or architect to design me a house I will like to think I will listen to what they suggest. If I have firm ideas on how the house should look, work etc then will expect them to listen, but I would also expect them to be honest with me. To tell me what will work and what will not. I would hate to think the architect is just humoring me for a peaceful life. That would not sit with me at all.
So its not good to give in to clients demands, regardless of the cost involved. Otherwise you are cheapening what you do and what you stand for. Stand up to inappropriate suggestions and listen and implement good suggestions. Especially if they are purely aesthetic in nature opposed to anything more technical. After all, design is subjective, it’s wrong to force on a client an idea of yours just because you like it and refuse an idea from them because you dont like the colour as it doesn’t sit with your style of design. Being able to see through subjective matters is important.
Graham
.-= Graham SMith´s last blog ..Vintage logos Flickr set from World Of Logotypes book =-.
March 4th, 2010 at 1:44 pm
Awesome answer indeed, Graham, thanks so much for the insight. I was waiting for someone to say so many of the things you said. I admire and like the idea of walking away when we realize that our counsel is not being listened to and the client is forcing us to take the design in an ineffective direction despite our attempts to reason with them.
I agree that by going through with their unreasonable requests we not only hurt the design, but our reputation because this bad design exists (maybe not in our portfolio but it is out there). And it also seems like once the client realizes that the added elements they asked for do not work or impede usability elsewhere, they will be angrily coming to you to fix it.
Like you said, we are paid to be straight with them, and just like an architect we would yield to their advice, why should our clients not extend us the same respect when we have, like you said, taken the time and effort to make reasoned arguments to their requests. Thanks again, Graham!
March 4th, 2010 at 3:33 pm
Well said! It’s true, if the client doesn’t respect you for sharing your expertise, then it’s not a right fit.
.-= jhoysi´s last blog ..Designers: Our Job Includes Thorough Communication =-.
March 5th, 2010 at 7:24 am
The client is not always right. Period.
However, just because the client isn’t always right, doesn’t mean that you are always right or that you can force the client into a particular logo because you think it’s right when he doesn’t.
Example of the client being wrong.
Nike. They hated the swoosh mark that was presented to them, but they went with it anyways because of deadlines. Now where is Nike and the swoosh? The nike swoosh is now worth billions of dollars and inseparable from the company.
March 5th, 2010 at 5:52 pm
True. And we should never take the position that we are always right, either. I think that is also important to understand.
March 8th, 2010 at 3:01 am
i personally think its a very sensitive balance and one has to be diplomatic about it. even if i find out that my client is not right, i would put it across in such a manner that he is able to understand why i am saying so, rather than fighting it out with him. since he is paying the money, he has the right to show his displeasure if he doesn’t like what i have offered him!
i do my own designing and printing work at http://www.psprint.com/postcards and have even met requests of a really huge printing order which my client did not like!