Previous post
While I initially thought that this brief wasn't happening, the client messaged me back finally after a month asking for me to create the label design for the supplement products in the brown kraft bags.
They asked for me to follow the two products that they had sent that they like (Celebrate Health & 12 Health). The label was to be 150x185mm, portrait. It had to be a one design fits all outcome so it work would consistently across the products. At this point they left it up to me to decide what to do, and told me to get all the content from the website. They wanted it done within two weeks.
Initially I was quite happy to have them get back in contact and to be able to do this brief as it is a quick one and is something that I haven't done a huge amount of.
I sent across some initial designs, however the client didn't like any of them and was unhappy at the fact that they weren't like the examples given. This was a bit annoying because the client had said they wanted to see what designs I came up with, and I obviously didn't want to copy the designs they had said they liked.
I sent across some more designs, which again the client didn't like. At this point they didn't know what feedback to give to give me more of an idea of what they wanted in the design. In response to this I sent them a message telling them that the ideas were initial ideas, not final designs, so any element from any of them that they liked, they could tell me and I would move forward with that, such as a layout design or a font choice.
I also explained to them that while they like the two examples given, they are hugely different in the way they are constructed - the Celebrate Health is very structured with sans serif type, bold colours and imagery, and the 12 Health is very simple, completely type based and is script type. I asked them to tell me what they liked specifically about each of these, so I could get a feel of the kind of design they wanted, because up to this point I didn't have much of an idea.
However, the client completely ignored this and asked me if I could create a design similar to the two examples they provided. This was completely frustrating obviously because I didn't want to copy the designs at all, and as they were so different it wouldn't be like I could create one design that was similar to both of them.
I decided to follow this and worked on some initial ideas based on the designs of what they liked, starting with the same designs and them merging them together to create an individual design for the label. While I wasn't particularly happy with doing this, I thought I could at least get some kind of feedback from the client.
Once again I didn't get any feedback which was useful or constructive. The client proceeded to tell me that they felt there was no design aspect to the ideas, and they had previously done something similar on Microsoft Paint.
Obviously I found this pretty offensive and frustrating. I had spent time making these initial ideas for them, and instead of giving valid feedback and replying back to messages I had sent, they just continued to ignore me before essentially saying they could do better on Paint. While they are the ones asking me to create the design, I don't think that this is an acceptable way to speak to me as I am doing work for them and asking for their input.
I decided at this point that the brief was clearly going nowhere. Creating a design for a client is obviously a two way process as the client is the one who sets the brief and they want to be as happy with the final outcome as I am as a designer. The fact that they were ignoring me every time I was asking for their input was frustrating and confusing to me as I was only trying to do what they wanted, and let them have an input into the design, which is surely what a client wants because it's their product at the end of the day.
I sent the client a message to say I couldn't continue with the brief for them because it was not getting anywhere. I detailed the reasons for them so they knew why, explaining that them ignoring my questions and queries makes it near impossible for me to create something I know fits in with what they are looking for.
I presented them with three completely different concepts, with multiple variations for each concept, and no feedback was given apart from 'no', deeming it useless and ineffective. I explained that feedback is needed in a client brief as the client gets their input and I am not wasting my time designing work that isn't fitting what they want. They had also told me to get all the information off the website instead of indicating what they actually wanted. This meant that I had to guess what was needed, which was pretty impossible to do considering I haven't a clue about the brand or products. I explained that while they know everything about the brand and the products, I do not, and I need to know what I'm working with to give them the best possible design. I also wrote about the fact I had created at least forty variations of these three concepts without securement of an agreed payment, meaning I had done a lot of work for nothing at this point. On a final note I said that their comments had been quite offensive and made me feel unappreciated as a designer
Overall I am disappointed and frustrated by the way this brief ended up. I felt that the client clearly didn't know what they wanted, or was willing to engage with me and give feedback on initial designs. This is something that was quite a surprise to me. Previously the people who I have created work for have liked the fact that they had an input and could develop the final outcome with me, giving them a feeling of real investment and a final design which they are very happy with. I don't understand why someone wouldn't want to engage in that and know the design they are getting is something they are happy with an contributing to.
It was my first bad experience with a client in terms of how they spoke to me. I didn't feel appreciated at all as a designer, and they clearly wanted the job done quickly, but also cheaply, offering me a small amount of payment, which wasn't agreed upon in the end. I felt as thought they picked me at random and thought they could get it done cheaply.
As they approached me for the brief I was happy to do this at first, and thought that it would be quite a fun brief and interesting to work on. However, now I think I will be a lot more careful about clients because I certainly don't want to have one speak to me offensively or ignore my input or questions. It has also taught me what I need to know from a client to complete a brief, and has taught me about how I like to work with a client one on one.
