Pleasing the Customer vs. Defending Your Ideas in Graphic Design

By Janet Dodrill

Which is more important, pleasing the client with your graphic design concepts or designs, or satisfying your professional integrity and design sense derived from your education and/or experience?

The important word in the above question is ‘client’, for without it we have no business. But is it also our duty as a hired designer to guide and steer our client toward good design? Yes. What about presenting them with risky or edgy or innovative design? If it meets the project objectives, yes.

We need to fulfill the project objectives and use our good design sense and please the client. One way to achieve this is to present the client with concepts or designs that they want to see, but ALSO present them with concepts or designs that you as the hired designer want them to see.

By showing the client visual options backed by sound reasoning, any new direction can be more easily persuaded.