The 5 characteristics of the perfect design client . (Actually a rant in disguise).

Steve Jobs once said, "People don't know what they want until you show it to them".
You know why he said that? Because he was one of those people. No one gets to develop a product like the i-phone without going through iteration after iteration after iteration. If you are a billionaire you can have as many iterations as your heart desires. You can start from a brick and work backwards if you want. You can have your designers indulge your every whim and want until you get it just right.  Just make sure you pay them for the work. And say thank you now and then.

Note to clients - in the world of design we designers attach a certain amount of revisions and bill against a retainer so everyone knows where finality lies. When you tell us to make it red to see how it looks we will gladly do so as long as you pay us for it. It's only the right thing to do. Would you ask your contractor to build you a wall to see how it looks without paying for it? Work is work.

When you hire a designer you acknowledge that you are hiring him or her for their talents and aesthetic and you trust them implicitly in their direction. That goes for any design profession. Whether you are hiring an architect, interior designer, website designer, or product designer the reason you are hiring them is because you are convinced of their capabilities and you both share similar sensibilities.

I have been dealing with design clients for over a decade now and what I have learned is no matter who you have as a client, no matter how difficult they are, or how persnickety they happen to be, they will always teach you something. Good or bad.

The majority of clients will inspire you and help you improve your design and elevate your work. Some of them will stagnate you. And some of them will simply make your life miserable, pushing you to want to change careers. Thankfully I have not had many of the latter.

So I was thinking. What characteristics would embody my perfect client? That one unicorn client that would make me oh so happy. Let me interject here. I have quite a few unicorn clients. And I am grateful for them every day.


My definition of the perfect client does the following:

1.   Respects your time and pays your bills

2.   Appreciates your sincere efforts as an expert in your field

3.   Says thank you
4.   Has realistic expectations
5.   Is open to new ideas

What I know for sure:

The best clients meet all five of the above. The decent clients are 3 out of 5.  The bad clients meet none.
At any given time you might have one of each.
How do you deal with the stresses of having difficult clients?
I exercise and meditate.

Oh, and writing a blog now and then, helps as well.

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