Freelance question
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- doctor
Say you have a client that hired you to design a site, and they start telling you which fonts to use, where to place elements, which colors to give them etc. With out really giving art direction, or knowing much about design really. That's the thing.
What do you do?
1. "Yes massa."
2. Ask them to reconsider, if their ideas wouldn't work.
3. Something else?
- skt0
have you tried shitting in their fridge?
- skt0
or you could explain to them why their design choices don't work and show them a successful alternative.
- brains0
You can either say "yes massa" and stew about it for ages, or provide them with a better solution. Clients that think they are art directors are by far the worst. They've hired you to do the job, they should trust you to do the work.
After all, you don't go over to their house and tell them how to fuck their dog in the ass.
- MrOneHundred0
Just tell them how much you will be charging them for their alterations, and enjoy getting paid. It’s the reality for a lot of designers these days, unfortunately.
- roundabout0
Fuck right ooFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF?
You do not know what you are talking about you fucking rainbow
- too much Quark today?brains
- or you could say what brains said. :)roundabout
- hahahah yeahroundabout
- Knuckleberry0
If the pay is right deal with it. I have done some horrible design because the money was right. The client wanted to control, I am not into power struggles. I agree with skt.
- dyspl0
consider the price they pay you.
you have 2 options:
-if you need the money, say yes to everything. that way you will finish the project faster.
-if you don't need the money, say you can't work that way and stop. (and don't trust them if they tell you they understand and will let you work, they always come back and start to tell you what to do)
- brains0
The thing about so many clients, is they want you to turn their bad ideas into good ones. It's just not possible. Some clients aren't flexible to change, and they think they always know best. Sometimes you do just have to suck it up and take it up the arse. Those are the types that you charge extra to put up with.
Unfortunately, not every job you take will be portfolio material. In fact, barely any of it is :P
- Spookytim0
I would remind them why they commissioned me, and ask them to clarify what they see my contribution being to the development of the site.
If I could clearly demonstrate to them that their suggestions are not good, then I would take the time to do so.
If what they are asking for is actually serviceable, workable and acheivable and your greivance is therefore more a case of feeling (understandably) miffed at the injustice of being treated like their layout&production gimp, then I would reconsider my involvement in the project and state clearly that my interest in it was to be responsibility for the design aspect as much as the gruntwork.
Design satisfaction is part of the payment. If they take that away its as good as halving your bill.
That's from a self employed point of view.
- doctor0
I would love to show them better alternatives, but we're really short on time, so it's not really an option.
It's a very precise point, what brains said:
"The thing about so many clients, is they want you to turn their bad ideas into good ones. It's just not possible."Your stuff better be tight, when you deliver, but at the same time they might just pop a "By the way, all body copy should be in Comic Sans" in your face. Fail - not possible.
- MrOneHundred0
You really just have the 2 choices. Take the shot in the mouth and dial-in the Comic Sans, or show them the middle digit and walk away hungry.
I chose the first option a while ago, and while I hate myself for it, my wife and kids get to live in the manner to which they have become accustomed, and I am rinsing out daily...
- Llyod0
1) what do you need done?
2) what's your budget?
3) Here's what I/we can do for that price range- In my experience, you can do all of this and they will still ask for the Comic Sans a the last minute.MrOneHundred
- as long as the check clears what do you careLlyod
- roundabout0
Just agree
- nosaj0
Tell them you might not be the right person for the job.
- doctor0
I should add that the Comic Sans request was only an example. It's not that bad after all.
Yes, the client will pay for the extra time, and yes you can laugh all the way down in the bank. However, if they keep expecting you to turn their bad ideas into good ones, they will not be happy about the results. Thus they won't come back and they won't recommend you to others.
- Those types are never happy, and thus they never recommend. You are better off without them...MrOneHundred
- ...if you can afford to be.MrOneHundred
- Well, it's easy money.doctor
- doctor0
Hired guns... Dirty, but puts food on the table.
- AndyRoss0
Here's a good resource:
- designer4rent0
Its like the "can you make my logo bigger cream', clients will continually shit over creative as long as they are the paymaster. This is the great thing about pitching work rather than taking work, a pitch stems from your vision rather than there lame rose tinted design glasses.
- leadtrum0
Try your best to put together a solution you can live with. If they constantly struggle, look for other clients while working with the difficult one and then move on. Life is too short to work with people like that.
- former20
What you are getting paid is what I use to determine the 'flexibility' and accommodating random 'ideas'.
If a site will be a great portfolio piece, it has a certain intrinsic value, but once the site is dictated by someone then the 'value' becomes more about paying the bills and keeping a client happy.
Once the site is not portfolio material, then it is just about the pay for services. If the agreement is low, then you have to address the 'changes' as out of scope (just about to go through this myself...again).
Win some, lose some, just make sure you get paid either way.