Glassy logotype direction 1.
A lot of creative concepts are developed by designers for explorative purposes and never see the light of day. Because of this I’ve always thought a good concept for a book would be to feature nothing but ideas that were never used.
One purpose my Drawsigner blog serves is to showcase design and illustration projects I’ve worked on, but for one reason or another either never got used or the client just didn’t like what I came up with. This post is about the later.
Mock up on actual product.
The logotype shown at the top of the post was my first design concept. (Very limited budget) It fit the target audience and genre as defined in the brief, in other words it was an appropriate direction for his business. I presented the concept and the client didn’t like it.
The Glassy product line is marketed to a lower end clientele like skateboarders, and any teen interested in action sports but can’t afford to spend a ton of coin on high-end sunglasses. Regardless of a clients price point I always invest the same amount of creative energy to develop a branding that will help them market themselves more effectively.
But that won’t ever have a chance to happen if a client doesn’t like the design and won’t use it.
Glassy logotype direction 2.
No designer purposely sets out to disappoint a client. And even though the budget wasn’t there, I agreed to do another exploration that played off the mark that the owner himself had created for Glassy. I normally don’t allow a client to steer the creative like this, but I really wanted to make this project work for them.
The above design concept was presented and once again the client didn’t like it.
I tried to rectify the situation by asking the client to source out visual examples of what he had in mind regarding styling. The client wouldn’t do this and that makes it next to impossible to define a style that is going to deliver on expectations when you’re shooting in the dark. It was time to back out now.
“Scorch” the hating sun.
So what’s the graphic moral of this story? Take your pick:
- You never bat a 1000
- As long as you can pay your mortgage who cares
- No good deed goes unpunished
- Learn from failure
- Some clients are just dumb ass
- Burning bridges is kind of fun
- At least your pain makes for fun reading on your blog
I don’t know? You tell me in the comments below.
As much of a bummer as this project was I at least was able to create a fun secondary brand character based on the Glassy byline of “sunhaters.” I named it “Scorch” and the client actually seemed to like this aspect of the work I did.
Keywords: Commentary, Rant, Design, Process, Logo, Hand lettering
Methinks the client needs a little work all round. Trying to hard to be cool? Check the copy: http://glassysunglasses.com/glasses
I think we’ve all had projects like this. Try as you might, there’s just no pleasing them.
I often wonder if they hired us for our individual and unique approaches to the job, or were they really just looking for a ‘logo designer’ to get the job done. Sometimes I don’t even think they look at our portfolios.
It’s too bad. Your concepts here have a great style and flavor to them that seems perfect for the assignment, whereas their final logo tastes of Melba toast. Thanks for sharing, Von.
Your work is to good for this client. I looked at there website and it looks like they operate out their moms basement with bulk raybans from china and a minature silk screen machine. At least unlike many of us you have put in the time and your great client projects verses your crappy ones have to at least be 50/50 not 95/5. I hardly ever get to what I really want.
I’ve found that the lower the budget for the project the tougher the client is to work with, i.e. bossy, impossible to please, want to play designer, wants it all done yesterday but is unwilling to pay for it, unpaid invoice hassles, timeline hassles, does not value what your work does for them/their company, unorganized, and just plain rude.
Cool project. Your design approaches were good–their loss. Thanks for sharing. I chuckled at your moral options. It’s good to know that others have had similar situations. It’s not worth losing sleep because of an uneducated client. I like using the word “uneducated”.
Knowing when to get out (as you did) and getting paid for the work completed is key. I guess a question to ask is,”What is a good exit strategy?” “Is there such a thing?!” Clear terms on your estimate, etc.?
Always enjoy your posts–thanks!
JD, well one of the reasons I agreed to work with this person is to help them improve their overall branding. My best client was a result of the same type of efforts so I wanted to do the same for this guys business. But the owner got in the way and wouldn’t let me help him improve it. Live and learn.
I think I like your concept 2 best. The one they are using on the actual product looks much like just a ‘font’ face and not a custom logo type.
Also interesting that they didn’t make an offer for “scorch” they could have at least used that as an interesting ‘mark.’
As mentioned above by others, their loss.
Von,
I have my own stories like this and they end the same way. Sometimes I read your blog posts and wonder if you are my twin in another universe (or just another town).
Although I’ve been through this many times myself it always comes as a surprise when you just can’t seem to please someone with anything. Nice to know an artist of your caliber has similar experiences. Can’t believe they didn’t go with the first concept – seems perfect. Love the typography. Well done. Wish there was a way to gauge clients like this because you just never know which one is going to be the next one.
Budget is exponentially the opposite to the PIA factor! Never fails.
All of it falls into the “C’est la vie” column.
Great post.
Amen to what Clint said. AMEN.
Red Flag #1
A low budget client starts art directing, drop them like a sack of moldy, burning tangerines. Beggars CAN’T be choosers.
Red Flag #2
You give the client exactly what they’ve requested but they decide to take it in a different direction. RUN!
Great clients say: “Hey, you’re the artist, tell me what to do, make me look good.” You then give them kick butt design that immediately gets them a return on their investment. Client returns repeat ad infinitum.
Von,
In regards to “backing out”, what approach are you most comfortable with? Are you straight forward with your reasoning or is there some fibbing involved?
I’m assuming the client/designer relationship is the hardest, most frustrating part of doing this for a living. Most people I’ve done projects for are business owners with big egos, always trying to get the most bang for their buck. What most of them fail to realize is that their buck is just that…a buck. One American style dollar. In their world, that’s enough to play the role of “customer” and the customer is always right, dont’cha know?
My problem begins when the quality of work is always beyond what is promised and tons better than what they’d get from overpriced local design businesses that use clip art and stock everything. And while they love the work, they’re still not happy. They wanna play and experiment until they have their very own Altar of Zeus, with dozens of revisions (which they call “proofs” but are actually total redesigns) and hours of consultation (which they feel is free, complimentary service). They will call you at all hours of the day, procrastinate, ignore YOUR deadlines, make it next to impossible to provide quality work without having to make your own personal sacrifices to make things work. And because many of them are evil, greedy business owners that take zero pride in their own product, they’ve pretty much gotten where they are by being liars and cheats. So they’re totally unaware of how impossible it is to work with them because they’re totally desensitized to being absolutely insane.
I understand this is the nature of the industry, but I need advice on how to handle it properly.
So I’m asking advice on how you, yourself, “back out”. The money is not worth the frustration of working with these types of clients, regardless of the amount. The dilemma occurs when they actually LOVE your work and do not want to end the relationship with you. It’s depressing and frightening all at once.
Assume you’ve given them a second chance, they become pussycats after being scolding, they assure you that all the misunderstandings will be fixed, yet STILL revert back to their annoying ways. I’ve even tried bs’ing and saying I’m taking a break from design-for-hire stuff yet they’ll still email me with requests and pretend to be my friend. I live in a town of roughly 20,000, in the middle of nowhere, so I can’t go Rambo on these guys because people talk ya know. But I would like to end my relationship with them. How do you handle these scenarios?
If I want to do this for a living, I need to master the art of saying “no” correctly. Unfortunately, it’s hard finding good advice on this matter.
I live in a small town and freelance as secondary income. My primary job is more dependable income wise, and allows me flexibility to improve my design skills in my free-time, as well as practice dealing with idiots before I decide to jump into designing full-time. I realize my patience with most people starts at Clark Griswold/Christmas morning and that I’m a miserable person at my core. But in public I’m all smiles and honestly work as hard as I can for people, above what is required. Help a brother out.
Check out the far right link on their website that “eight equals D” is a phallus. Classy.
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[...] That said, regardless how well I attempt to prepare things don’t always go smoothly. [...]