Tainted Creative Process
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- AngryMob0
.. were you able to change your fucking diaper yet?
- airey0
hahahahaha. fucking go out and have a beer, jerk-off and get some sleep. you're perspective, or lack thereof, is shot to shit.
- mattthejanitor0
I was recently called into a client meeting to provide rationale for a logo I had developed. The new traffic/ client service person proceeded to undermine me and tell the client what she didn’t like about the logo I was presenting. That went down well.
- Did the new traffic/client service person come from a sales-driven agency?vaxorcist
- Funny enough she had moved over from being a print designer - go figure.mattthejanitor
- scarabin0
who controls what gets put into the presentation, and why did they allow color into an initial phase?
that's poor strategy
that's who you should have a beef with
- Gucci0
This happens to me every day in my current studio.
It sucks. Sometimes it comes down to how it's presented, but sometimes it's about a client that doesn't appreciate (or doesn't know how to appreciate) the nuances of design.
Maybe you just have to be a better presenter of your work. And it goes without saying you and your co-workers should go over eachother's stuff and have a better understanding of the rationale and strengths and weaknesses of each presented piece before going into the client meetings. You should decide on a recommended "best direction" for the client before figuring shit out in a boardroom. That, or again, simply be a better preacher of the benefits of your creative over the other options.
The last thing I'll say is that you're lucky to get to present your own creative. Clients are totally off limits to designers where I'm at right now.
- How nice would it be to one day say "This is your new logo" and that's thatacrossthesea
- Meh. it'd be nicer to have good account people to work with, to be honest. I don't pretend to be right all the time.Gucci
- acrossthesea0
Sounds like one of the main issues is that someone didn't properly present the options. Did your account manager just send the client a PDF of the options? It makes sense why they'd gravitate towards colors right away and ignore the better options.
- vaxorcist0
the cynical side of me thinks the client wanted to see us do a dance, so he talked the salesperson into the 3rd version while we were almost done with the other two, and because HE was the one who caused the 3rd version to be added, of course he picked the one that HE thought he forced into existence...
The hopeful side of me hopes he realized how good it really was...
The Creative Director was really, really good at getting clients to be willing to do stuff that was actually creative, I had no idea how lucky we were till I went to annother agency and experienced the opposite....
- The CD used to say things like "70% of your work is getting somebody to actually pay for it"vaxorcist
- dskz0
so do you think the client picked it because it was done at the last minute or because it really was well-thought out after all?
- vaxorcist0
Some clients do like to have "input" that often takes the form of trying to figure out the opposite of what the designers want.... maybe a passive-aggressive form of revenge against the snotty art directors?
But seriously, I once was on a pitch, we had a REALLY difficult client and a VERY SMART creative director.
We feverishly worked on 3 versions, the first one was the "real" one, with lots of thought, the second was something we could live with and the third completely came our of our collective asses when we found out the salesperson and client had agreed to 3, not 2 designs, as it said in the brief..... The client knew we originally had a list of 2....
The Creative Director pitched the last-minute version as if it was what we'd been struggling on for a long time, talked about how much thought went into it,then pitched the middle one as an alternative, and as I almost gasped, but didn't, he threw out the "real" design as if it was the totally last minute design...
... and the client immediately picked the supposedly last minute design....
- How is this smart? Can you explain how he supposedly knew they'd pick the last minute one?rascuache
- rupedixon0
@d_rek "...bypassing any creative input from either myself or our Creative Director. The presentation was then sent off to the client via our account manager, who thought everything was hunky-dory."
Sounds like there are also some procedural sign-off issues too. How did it get past the CD who's responsible for QA?
The thing is if you're going to establish a process - which it's always ideal to explain to the client before you start the project - it's essential that you stick to it. I bet you've learnt for next time :)
*six pennies
- Leigh0
you got cockblocked.
- dskz0
Yeah even in parallel there should be some discussion about process.
- BaskerviIle0
A lesson everyone should learn early on (and one that VERY experienced creative directors I have worked with still forget sometimes) is:
Don't ever present anything to a client that you aren't 100% happy to run with because chances are they will pick the one thing you don't like.
- d_rek0
dskz,
No, they are not working under me. We more or less work parallel with eachother. Their main discipline is industrial design but occasional they get asked to brainstorm or work conceptually for things outside of ID. Which is fine - they're actually quite good in that regard. Their problem tends to be in formal execution of ideas.Anyway... getting back to the question. The way it happened was that I had prepared the presentation for the client - which I thought was finalized. The other designer then proceeded to tack on their 'designs' to the presentation, bypassing any creative input from either myself or our Creative Director. The presentation was then sent off to the client via our account manager, who thought everything was hunky-dory.
- dskz0
(begin slow clap)
- harlequino0
d_rek - What I am taking away from your post that I related to, is that I don't think this is really so much about taste or quality, but it sounds like a bigger issue is the lack of a coherent or unified process in working with the client. There is no "Here is how we present work to a client, and guide them through the process." That was same problem we had, despite my trying to standardize communication just a wee bit.
If you have a shot at plugging up that hole in the process, maybe it will come with some automatic quality control.
- exador10
I remember a very long time ago at an ad agency i was working for, myself and the creative director were working on an ad for Lever Ponds..can't remember which brand..doesn't matter....
anyhow, I recall that his was insanely clever, smart, and basically the perfect ad. was on point strategically and looked great.I on the other hand, being young and still learning the ropes in many ways, whipped up a photoshop nightmare loosely based around the brand logo and some collage-y type of effects...nothing very well thought out.
Mine was overwhelmingly chosen by the client.at first i was pretty happy...on top of the world. but when i had a chance to really compare the two back at the office, i recall chatting with the creative director (one of the best guys i've ever worked with) and said 'sorry dude....they should have picked yours'
yeah, he said....they should have....
but....they didn't ....so congrats and let me buy you a beer at lunch and i'll explain why they chose yours, and how next time we'll make sure you present something a bit better....you pulled that one out of your ass didn't you..lol'
I admited i had, and we had a good laugh, and i spent the next 2 years learning to be a better art-director.- haha, great, you pulled it out of your ass.jimzyk
- good story, sounds like an awesome CDacrossthesea
- Yeah. great story, that's a good person to work for/with.Gucci
- at least he bought you a beer instead of bitching about you on QBN like a fucking pussymonospaced
- dskz0
d_rek,
Identity work, eh? So you didn't like that the co-worker did not show you the designs first to get approval? Is he working under you?