Why Clients and Creatives Need to Come Together

I get to hear both sides. Creative individuals sometimes think clients are clueless and only concerned about the bottom line. Clients often wonder if designers have a clue about the bottom line since they’re so “artsy-fartsy.” Maybe it’s time we started appreciating each other.

I appreciate both art and profit in the marriage between entrepreneurship and design. Sometimes we designers are so idealistic that we don’t like to think in terms of time and cost. Our philosophy becomes, “if it’s beautiful, who cares about the dollar amount?” Meanwhile the business client is waiting for the return so he can feed his family and build his company to new heights.

Here are some things we should probably learn to appreciate about each other…

Five Things Clients Should Appreciate About Creatives

• Creativity. Plain and simple. Most designers have the ability to think abstractly, which can push the edges a bit. While old business models grow stale, a creative individual can force a business person to explore new realms of thought.
• Form and function. Personally, I see both design and code as art, so good designers have the ability to make something work, and make it pretty.
• Advocacy for the consumer. An entrepreneurial friend of mine told me flatly, “Advocate for our clients. Don’t let us do something that we think is smart but will cost us sales.” We who study user experience as a discipline should do this, and it should be appreciated.
• Expertise. Client, don’t under-appreciate the technical ability of designers. Yes, you can probably get it done cheaper at one of the many design warehouses online, but you’re paying someone to know something that very few people really know – how to make a logo pop, how to make a site standards-compliant, etc.
• Exposure to the online world at large. Don’t under-value this. Most designers understand how to network quite well and are exposed to what’s happening on the cutting edge. While you’re reading Forbes, they’re reading Wired and becoming cultural geniuses… hopefully. Trust me, this can help you!

Five Things Creatives Should Appreciate About Clients

• Money. Plain and simple. Don’t whine and complain too much about the guy who is providing food for your family. And realize that you should earn what you’re paid by good old-fashioned hard work.
• Drive and vision. Learn all that you can from entrepreneurial risk-takers, especially if you’re a freelance designer. Believe me, you can use a little help most of the time.
• Connections. This one is simple – choose not to cooperate with a client and it will most definitely cost you a potential future new relationship. Sometimes this is unavoidable, but this should be rare. If business relationships are crumbling around you ask yourself what the common denominator is. (hint: it’s you)
• Focus. Clients have a good way of saying, “Yes that’s cool, but will it help us sell?” This is a better question than we sometimes think.
• Help with discipline. Clients – here’s a secret – creatives don’t like deadlines at all, but when the deadline comes, they’re appreciative for the benefit of the pressure. Admit it, creatives, you cram at the last minute, but sometimes you need the push.

You’ve heard people say, “I just love it when a plan comes together.” Well, I just love it when a project comes together because a client and a creative got together and arrived at a grand conclusion and were mutually beneficial to each other in the process. How else are we going to grow?