Be it a graphic design company or a freelance graphic designer, everyone needs clients to survive in this industry. No matter how talented you are, if you don’t have enough clients, you won’t have much income. Clients are the main source of earning money in the graphic design business.
However, a designer must not be overly dependent on the client and let him overshadow his work. While successful communication between the designer and the client is necessary for the success of a project, you may face some types of clients who either starts bothering you with regular questions regarding their project and ask you to do impossible things, or never contacts you during the designing process, but comes up with loads of problems before payment.
Working with these clients will harm your portfolio as you may have to leave the project midway due to their behavior. Here I will discuss how you can understand who are the bad clients and avoid their projects.
The Bossy Clients- Some clients feel that they know everything in graphic design and give orders to the designer. They always underestimate the expertise of a designer and want them to work as their puppet. They will try to cross you with their own point when you try to explain your designing ideas. The fact is, they don’t have any knowledge in graphic design and just try to act smart. Giving suggestions is acceptable, but intruding in the creative areas of a design project, is insulting. Don’t waste your time with such clients.
A Client Who Never Communicates- This type of client is an exact contradiction of the bossy clients. He will hire you, give you the project, and will come back to you on the project delivery date to collect the final design. While bossing around is bad, getting no suggestion from the client is like driving a car blindly, without knowing the destination. Unless you get feedbacks from the client during the design project, you can’t shape the design accordingly. He may see the final design and reject it. Then you have to work again from the initial stages. This will take your valuable time that you could have spent in another project.
The Fussy Client- Some clients are too fussy about their designs and may ask you to show some work samples before giving you a project. Try to avoid such clients. Even if they hire you, they will constantly ask you to do small changes in the design. While a little modification is good, no designer wants to conceptualize an idea and then deviate from it completely just because the client can’t make up his mind.
The “I’m always in a hurry” Client- Some clients feel that graphic design can be done overnight. They think that graphic designers are fast-food delivery boys who can cater to the customer just in 5 minutes! Every graphic design project takes time in conceptualization, implementation and modification. If a client tells you that he needs a design within 24 hours, don’t accept the project, no matter how lucrative the deal is.
The Miser Client- They are the most irritating! Such clients think that graphic design is like buying a cheap hat from a bargain shop. Even if you send them an official quote, they will always ask for discounts. They don’t respect the creative effort of a designer and try to underpay you for your hard work.
In conclusion…if you come across any of the above mentioned client types, avoid their project politely. You don’t want to waste your time and effort on someone who does not value your creative ideas and experience.