Questions Equal Clarity
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Clients come to us designers for our expertise, and it is our job to guide them through the process. We are helping them find clarity about their vision and goals for their project. To do that well means asking questions! It is important to remember that not all clients are going to be good at communicating their vision—and that's okay. You can still work with them and get amazing results by asking them lots of questions and following up on those answers with more questions until you're both on the same page. This dialogue will help set clear expectations for project scope, deliverables, and everything in between while avoiding frustration for both parties.
Think about the word 'classic.' Now think of five things that could be described as 'classic'—it probably varies wildly, right? So, which version does your client imagine? You could guess… or you could clarify with more questions like "Can you show me an example of what 'classic' looks like to you?" or "What makes this classic?" And so on. It's a silly example, but it illustrates just how subjective descriptions can be and how necessary it is to have good communication between you and the client. Remember that your clients don't do this for a living, so asking questions will help you get to the root of any issue quickly with less time spent guessing. And no, it won't look unprofessional if you ask a lot of questions, but it will make you a better creative.
Collaboration For The Win
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On one side of the table, you have a designer with knowledge and experience. On the other side of the table, you have the client who knows their business, audience, and goals. As creatives, we have to remember that we are on the same team as our clients and aim at collaboration over confrontation. Design should be a collaborative process: both parties are at the table with different perspectives and different knowledge to contribute. It is this diversity of viewpoints that will make the creative stronger and your client ultimately happier.
When you work collaboratively with your clients, they'll often tell you what they need before even realizing it themselves—and sometimes, those needs are things that they didn't even realize they wanted until after having talked it through with someone else! This is because people often have trouble articulating what they need out loud (even if they think they know exactly what they want), so getting clients involved in the process can help ensure that everyone's needs and project goals are met.
It all boils down to communication. Everyone at the table, both clients and designers, want to feel heard and respected. Good communication and listening skills are a way to ensure that clients understand that they don't need to be designers themselves, but they are still contributing meaningfully to the project. This helps keep them fully invested in a great outcome.
Contracts Are Your Friend
Photo by Cytonn Photography on UnsplashContracts can help you set clear expectations for both parties. The best way to protect your business and make sure you don’t get burned by a client is to have a signed contract before doing any design work. If you’ve ever been burned by a client (or had to fire one) it’s probably because you didn’t have a contract in place when you started the project with them.
As a designer, it can feel a little awkward to send a contract and you may be tempted to just dive right into the work even when a client hasn't signed a contract. But there are several reasons why you should always, ALWAYS get a contract signed before doing any design work.
First, this will help you protect yourself from scope creep. Clearly defining the project scope is essential. If the client wants to add extra elements or changes their mind four times about what they need to be designed, it's much easier when you have a contract and clearly defined deliverables to say, "Sorry, but we have to go back and renegotiate the scope of our agreement." This way, you won't end up doing more work than you agreed on.
Second, a contract will help your client trust you. When working with someone new, trust is everything—and they need to know that they can rely on what you say and how it will be delivered. A contract helps build that trust by setting expectations around quality and deadlines.
Third, contracts help clarify your client's definition of "done." If there are any questions about what constitutes acceptable deliverables for them (or if their definition changes), it's much easier for all parties involved if those questions are answered in writing before any work begins.
Finally, if something goes wrong and you need legal help, your contract can help prove that you did what was agreed upon in the first place or at least show that there was an agreement in place.
Go With Your Gut
Photo by Paolo Bendandi on UnsplashYou were built with intuition; use it! Learn to trust your gut when working with clients. I've found that clients who don't seem like they are being straight with me are often problematic. I don't run into these issues very often these days because time and experience (and a good contract) have made me better at spotting potential issues. When I meet with clients I make mental notes of red flags and green lights. Red flags are the things that a client or potential client might do that give you a moment of pause or make you worry a little. Green lights are, of course, the opposite.
Red flag clients will push boundaries like expanding the scope of work but expecting the cost to stay the same, or delaying payment in an attempt to negotiate a lower price after the work is done despite being happy with the project results. Sometimes it is better to pass on a problematic project; it leaves you open to take on a great one. That's a hard pill to swallow when you are first starting out because you are excited and want to take on as many paying projects as possible. I simply urge you to beware. If something doesn't feel right about a client then it is probably your intuition throwing up a red flag.
Ultimately, it is up to you if you take on the project. Just remember, if you do decide to proceed, get a deposit to start, have a signed contract and make sure it is specific with a detailed deliverables list.
Followthrough Is Everything
Photo by Josh Hemsley on UnsplashLast but never least, this one seems like a no-brainer to me but I feel it is essential to call out. Deliver on everything that you say you will do for clients—and do it with a smile! I can't stress how important it is to nurture relationships and build a reputation of being trustworthy, reliable, and awesome to work with. When clients trust you, life just gets easier. They will value your design decisions more easily, they will continue to work with you, and they will recommend you to others that need your services. I promise it is a win-win.
How do you cope with being unemployed during the holidays? Like any loss, a job loss results in grief. Inevitably you must mourn the loss of the job and all that it provided: Security, money, self-esteem, status, identity, etc. I like this model for dealing with loss that is similar to the traditional Kubler-Ross Model, but provides 7 stages for moving BEYOND the grief. In Part I an overview of the grieving process as it relates to the loss of a job. Part II will give suggestions for how to enhance your transition through the process.
1. SHOCK & DENIAL
In this stage you will feel generally numb – this serves as a coping mechanism to protect you from what may be potentially overwhelming. If you recently have lost your job you may be unable to think about how you feel about that, what you will do, and so forth. This stage keeps you moving forward physically and ensures you will meet all your basic needs.
2. PAIN & GUILT
Pain and heart-break are laced with guilt in this stage. You may relate it to a lost love from which you suffer and know it must be that you are not worthy or must have deserved it.
3. ANGER & BARGAINING
Anger is normal. You may reach this stage pretty quickly after a job loss, whether through lay-off, illness, injury or takeover. Accept this, express it, but be mindful how you do so – you may need the help of those closest to you most during the next days, weeks, and/or months.
4. "DEPRESSION", REFLECTION, LONELINESS
It is important for you to “feel” how you feel – you are likely to feel depressed and lonely. You are cut off from your normal social support, however helpful it was. The bottom line is that just the act of getting up and dressed and out to work every day and interacting with others gives you some social and emotional support that is seriously felt to be missing at this point.
You should allow these feelings, recognize them and think about what you need going forward.
5. THE UPWARD TURN
Eventually you will attain a rhythm in your job search and networking and will feel some sort of calm and organization. You may flash back occasionally to feelings of guilt when you realize this. Understand that this is the first step in moving beyond your grief from the loss of your job and that it is entirely NORMAL.
6. RECONSTRUCTION & WORKING THROUGH
As you begin the upward turn, you will eventually be able to think about where you want to be and what type of job you might like to have. For many this is the first time they have had the opportunity to consider what type of job they might like to do and/or what they ENJOY. Many note that the lay-off, downsizing, job change was the best thing that could have happened because it forced them to look at what is out there relative to what they had to offer.
7. ACCEPTANCE & HOPE
Eventually, you will be able to accept that you may not be the same exact person you were before your “loss”, but somehow you are the best you can be and you have made the most of what life has to offer. You are able to move forward, seeking and finding other employment opportunities. It isn’t easy, but it is possible, even if it doesn’t seem so right now.
If you want some general tips on what to do if you lose your job you might like to read a prior article, You lost your job. Now what? Mary is a Masters-prepared Career Counselor with over 18 years experience in resume writing, personal branding, career assessment and counseling. Specializing in non-traditional specialized careers and career-transitioning, she has the ability to synthesize and focus your unique skills and abilities to obtain interviews for the positions you want with the employers you want to notice you. Follow her on Twitter at @MarySevinsky.
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