Is there another industry with such a wide disconnect between client and professional as web and digital design? These professionals seem to have client horror stories so bizarre, so out of touch and so hilarious that we love to swap stories of unrealistic requests, ridiculous comments and terrifying payment negotiations.
In recent days I have become addicted to the site Clients From Hell, where people are encouraged to add their own client horror stories to a growing litany of forehead slapping inanity.
Why so much? My nephew works on computers at Best Buy and makes $12 an hour.
There's also the genius "If architects had to work like web designers!" - originally posted on A List Apart, it quickly spread across the blogosphere as web designers and creative types recognised their own experiences reflected within.
And then there's this brilliant video from Scofield Editorial demonstrating how ridiculous common client requests are when placed in a different context.
Funny as all these may be, they do illustrate a problem. How can we expect clients to pay us more money for the steak instead of the taco when we haven't demonstrated to them the differences involved to justify the value? How can we get briefs that make sense if we don't take the time to educate the client on their true needs?
Because the online industries are impenetrable to the majority of people who still believe websites magically appear in their browser, are they really stupid for failing to understand the complexities involved or are we stupid for not educating the mainstream on how things actually work?
I want to make a website that only people in Nashville can see.
The constant push of technology means that most people have software and tools on their computers capable of doing what seemed miraculous a few years ago. As the wider population has become used to the idea that everything is quick and easy - from creating images in Photoshop to editing video in MovieMaker - the genuine hard development and creative work in these fields has been devalued.
Prospective client $400 for a logo?! Why are you so expensive? My nephew has Photoshop--I can just get him to do it.
Me: Does your nephew have Microsoft Word?
Prospective client: Yes.
Me: Then have him write you a novel while he's at it.
Creativity has always been a far harder concept to place value on for a client. You can quickly check the working of a mathematician or engineer and show a clear 'cause and effect' of work to result which can then be commoditised with a value. But how do we put a value on the difference between a graphic designer creating a logo and a client's nephew using an open source logo-building software?
It isn't the client's fault that they can't see the difference. We need to be far clearer in demonstrating to them the difference and the steps involved in producing professional work. And also the value of that professional work. After all, if a client honestly believes that his nephew's version is better than your $400 effort, is he wrong to think so if we can't adequately demonstrate how much a logo can impact on branding, sales and ROI?
That looks good, but can you add a blog too? We've already used our budget on the rest of the site so how does $50 sound for adding the blog?
We need to educate them so that they understand what we have done for them. Instead of baffling them with complex jargon and marketing speak in order to demonstrate our credentials, we need to break things down to concepts they can relate to and understand. They need to know that Flash is more complex than basic imagery. They need to know that code is laborious and time consuming to develop. They need to know why innovative and fresh design is better than templates, that cut and paste is not as powerful as inspiration and originality.
Sure, this may mean pulling back the curtain and revealing the professor pulling Oz's levers, and this is why many professionals shy away from such transparency. No one wants to give away their trade secrets.
But that doesn't mean a client will become so knowledgeable that they won't still require your services and expertise. Just because we understand the skill and effort a chef puts into a good meal in a restaurant doesn't mean we then always try to replicate the feat in our own kitchens. I'll never make a curry as good as the little place around the corner, even if he gave me a complete list of the spices and step by step instructions. That is why I have an appreciation of what he does and will always spend whatever he wants to charge for a chili beef with a cheese naan.
