I promise that I will only present designs to you that I feel will be successful, ones I would want to put my name on. (Of course I realize the bigger name is yours. See Footnote #1 below.)
I may prefer one of the design directions presented over the others, but that should be an aside. You are the client; you are the decider. (I am reclaiming that word!) Your agreeing with my personal preference should be of little concern to you. One of the hallmarks of a good designer is that while integrity and honesty are entwined in the creative and development processes, ego is not involved. (Ego? OMG! See Footnote #2 below.)
Give me your true reactions. It doesn’t help me, or the process, if you are just trying to please me. Similarly, it doesn’t help the design if we simply do what you want without weighing it and balancing it.
Maybe the peachy color would benefit from a little saturation, as you suggest. Or maybe you think that element would look better if we moved it a little further to the left. Your feedback matters, obviously. And maybe what you would like to see is a great idea. Let’s try it! But honesty and integrity demand that I state my opinion firmly if you ask for something that I truly think will be detrimental to the design or to your brand.
I promise that I will say (as I have said), “No, I can’t do that,” when presented with client feedback/requests in the form of, “Can we make it blink?” or “What about if we make it red, and bold, and really really large.” or “How about a big flower.” Um, no. (More on the flower-in-the-masthead conundrum in a later post, if comments request the explanation).
If we change an ingredient without considering the domino effect on the whole recipe, we are little more than yes, ma’am-ers, and I promise, we are much better than that.
And you deserve a designer who is that good.
* * * *
Footnote #1: Other designers will put their name and maybe even their logo on every page of your site. Footer fetishists. Too much, IMO. The design may be our work, but the site is yours.
Footnote #2: I can hold my ego in check unless someone plagiarizes my work. Then my roar is loud. I have suffered that indignity many times, recently and over the years — it never gets easier.
Your footnotes were hilarious and the reason why I love you. There, I’ve admitted it in public. I also said I wanted to be you on the EJJQ board. You think I can be reincarnated as you?
I am desperate for another me! Can you go to the gym for me?
Thanks for the love. I think you’re pretty special, too.
I see where this is going…
Keiraly, go to the gym.
Keiraly, eat those brussell sprouts.
Keiraly, don’t eat those chocolates.
Keiraly, R splashed in the mud today. Give her a bath.
Er, not quite what I had in mind. You remind me of Marta Zinsser from Odd Mom Out by Jane Porter. Did Jane write her on you?
Oh no, I misrepresented. I don’t want a servant (though a dish fairy would be nice), I just need an additional hour an a half somewhere and the energy to get to the gym/pool yoga class.
Oh, and another extra hour to study fashion and shop. That would be great.
And you will have to ask Jane about Marta. I just don’t know.
see this must be why i like the wax sites so much!
Thanks for being a voice of sanity! I’m definitely going to refer one of my colleagues – who suggested our website include mouseover triggered theme songs for each staff photo – to this post.