Frustrations
I've been slacking on playing Paper Mario lately. I haven't played in two days.
One of the things I love about designing for myself (in the form of layouts, icons, etc.) is that I don't have to put up with a client who knows very little to nothing about design and computers. Plus, I don't have to worry about the design being disliked, requiring me to start over.
Of course, I wouldn't be making money off it then, would it?
I don't really care if someone hates my design anymore-I've been designing advertisements and other things for money for about 5 years now, I've heard quite a lot-it's just the annoying task of accommodating odd requests and possibly turning out a product that I wouldn't want my name attached to. That's not to say that I'm averse to criticism or improving my work, it just becomes quite annoying to put colors together that I know shouldn't, too many words crammed in too small a space or photos scanned from a business card that are grainy as hell, just because that's what the client wanted.
Not to mention the other frustrations, such as clients who decide to send no materials and decide that the stock photos and color scheme I've chosen don't represent their establishment (how am I supposed to know that when you don't send anything?), and then send photos and materials. We could have all saved some time and frustration if they had just done that in the first place.
There are also clients who believe photoshop is magic and can do anything. I can't just work off of the jpeg of a previous ad with a photo as the background-I need the PSD for it to be the best quality, and explaining it in the simplest terms doesn't seem to work with people. "But you can just erase it on the computer right?!?!" ...No, I can't. I often explain to people that a JPEG is like a physical photograph, you can't really move people around it, it's stuck the way it is. Obviously someone designed your ad, so there must be a PSD floating around somewhere! Unless you want a horrible looking advertisement, it is best that I have access to the PSD file. Tiny little photos on grainy business cards do not magically get better in photoshop. I can do only so much.
People also fail to realize that it often takes time to create designs. I am not a machine even though I am using one. I cannot simply churn out a design right away-it takes a bit of work to find the "right" one. I'm tired of being contacted a few hours to a day later asking where a design is. ..It's not done yet, I'm still working on it. Advertisements that are animated take a bit longer too, you must be patient. Also, do not be angry at me because the ad isn't perfect the first time around. That is why you look at it and approve it before it is completed. Please do not also be angry when you suddenly decide to change the ad dramatically and it actually takes me time to do so. If it were small changes, you would have gotten it sooner.
That said, it would also be beneficial for clients to...make up their minds. I think the most frustrating client is the one who cannot decide what he or she wants. Please, don't have me constantly making changes to one ad and then suddenly want it completely redone in a totally different way. Likewise not approve an ad for production and then decide to completely change it. You will be charged extra and that charge is there to deter people from constantly changing their ad once it is approved and ready to go.
Ah, I needed to get all of that out. While I didn't even touch the surface of clients who have no idea how to use a computer, I feel better already :)
Paper Mario Series Completion Status: Chapter 7 of Paper Mario
One of the things I love about designing for myself (in the form of layouts, icons, etc.) is that I don't have to put up with a client who knows very little to nothing about design and computers. Plus, I don't have to worry about the design being disliked, requiring me to start over.
Of course, I wouldn't be making money off it then, would it?
I don't really care if someone hates my design anymore-I've been designing advertisements and other things for money for about 5 years now, I've heard quite a lot-it's just the annoying task of accommodating odd requests and possibly turning out a product that I wouldn't want my name attached to. That's not to say that I'm averse to criticism or improving my work, it just becomes quite annoying to put colors together that I know shouldn't, too many words crammed in too small a space or photos scanned from a business card that are grainy as hell, just because that's what the client wanted.
Not to mention the other frustrations, such as clients who decide to send no materials and decide that the stock photos and color scheme I've chosen don't represent their establishment (how am I supposed to know that when you don't send anything?), and then send photos and materials. We could have all saved some time and frustration if they had just done that in the first place.
There are also clients who believe photoshop is magic and can do anything. I can't just work off of the jpeg of a previous ad with a photo as the background-I need the PSD for it to be the best quality, and explaining it in the simplest terms doesn't seem to work with people. "But you can just erase it on the computer right?!?!" ...No, I can't. I often explain to people that a JPEG is like a physical photograph, you can't really move people around it, it's stuck the way it is. Obviously someone designed your ad, so there must be a PSD floating around somewhere! Unless you want a horrible looking advertisement, it is best that I have access to the PSD file. Tiny little photos on grainy business cards do not magically get better in photoshop. I can do only so much.
People also fail to realize that it often takes time to create designs. I am not a machine even though I am using one. I cannot simply churn out a design right away-it takes a bit of work to find the "right" one. I'm tired of being contacted a few hours to a day later asking where a design is. ..It's not done yet, I'm still working on it. Advertisements that are animated take a bit longer too, you must be patient. Also, do not be angry at me because the ad isn't perfect the first time around. That is why you look at it and approve it before it is completed. Please do not also be angry when you suddenly decide to change the ad dramatically and it actually takes me time to do so. If it were small changes, you would have gotten it sooner.
That said, it would also be beneficial for clients to...make up their minds. I think the most frustrating client is the one who cannot decide what he or she wants. Please, don't have me constantly making changes to one ad and then suddenly want it completely redone in a totally different way. Likewise not approve an ad for production and then decide to completely change it. You will be charged extra and that charge is there to deter people from constantly changing their ad once it is approved and ready to go.
Ah, I needed to get all of that out. While I didn't even touch the surface of clients who have no idea how to use a computer, I feel better already :)
Paper Mario Series Completion Status: Chapter 7 of Paper Mario