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Beginning her career as a consultant after MBA school, Naina Redhu's passion for design led her to a different career path. As a designer/photographer with an MBA, she brings with her a rare insight into the entrepreneurial aspects of being an artist. Visit her wonderfully written blog for more insights into the world of design!
http://www.aside.in/blog |
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Rare is the breed of designers who are as good at business as they are at design. Most brilliant designers struggle when it comes to managing their work as business - they'd much rather spend their time solving creative problems than the ones related to business.
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Clients who don't quite understand the difference between a design studio and an advertising agency |
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Non-existent workflows in design engagements creating the fear of the unknown in clients |
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So-called designers selling bad-design at dirt-cheap prices only because they're either ripped-off pieces or those heavily inspired by the work of other designers |
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The proponents of design, describing graphic design as a 'below-the-belt' service ( dirty work that advertising agencies have no time for and small deliverables that clients don't have money for ) |
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Advertising agencies agreeing to design but according step-sibling status ( where the advertising jobs are given all the focus and attention and the design jobs get pushed to the lowest priority )by never delivering on time |
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Low levels of design business awareness among designers themselves and a sense of under-confidence when competing in the global space |
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| For a designer, it gets even more difficult to convince clients about the value of the design service, which is the most critical step in any business - determining and communicating the value of the service or product. |
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| The simplest way to solve all these problems would be to do good design work, build your portfolio and let the work speak for itself. While this sounds quite straightforward, we all know that the simplest things are the most difficult to execute. |
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It gets tougher when you are an entrepreneur, trying your hand at the design business on your own, seeking a helping hand and advice from friends who don't really have a clue about the workings of design as a business. As a design entrepreneur, when I was just starting out, one of the things I did was to join various design communities and engage in interactions with 'competitors'. It is one of the smartest things I have done and have learnt immensely from the experiences of other designers. |
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| From the point of view of handling a client, one of the best advice I have followed it what Paul Arden describes in his book "It's not how good you are, it's how good you want to be" - after you have received the creative brief, submit the design that the client wants FIRST. Once the client has seen his own ideas, he'll be more open to YOUR ideas. Then you can present what you think and believe is the best design solution.
This allows a designer to not only do the business of design but also the creative freedom to express her ideas. Works beautifully for me - it's a little extra work but worth it when either your idea trumps over what the client had in mind or when you see the universal truth of the client always being right in action. |
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| In the design community, we are forever talking about how client education is the need of the hour. But it is very difficult to educate a client without sounding arrogant or losing the business altogether.
One of the best ways to educate a client is to send them a case study - a design solution that you applied to a prior client's problem that is similar to what the current client needs. Don't gloat about how well you managed the engagement - focus more on sharing the workflow and the process with the client. This usually means that before a designer gets down to actually educating a client, he needs to have a clear workflow at his end. It shouldn't be etched in stone but should allow the client some sense of order and control and hence a comfort level. |
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| Another common error that designers (especially designers new to the design business - like I was at one point and still am learning) make is to provide the client with too many options. In an effort to show the client how good and eager we are, we end up creating just the opposite effect. Not only does the client start to feel that the designer has nothing better to do, the client may also get confused, and this can make the designer's job nearly impossible.
Make it clear in your proposal - before you begin the design engagement - that there is a fixed number of options you will be providing as part of this engagement - and then stick to that number while delivering.
Early on, when I was starting out as a design entrepreneur, my first client was a film post-production studio from Germany. Because I was a virtually unknown designer I was unable to charge anything but peanuts and that bothered me quite a bit. I was afraid I might not give one hundred percent if I was not happy with the money coming in.
I designed a logo for the client and they were extremely happy with the end result. Because the client was so thrilled with the services, they paid me an extra fifty percent of what I was charging! Today, the majority of my prospective clients who take a look at my portfolio single out this particular logo. Once I decided to focus on the work, not only did the quality and quantity of my work increase, the returns began to roll in too. Good work has its rewards! |
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| Being a design entrepreneur isn't all glamour and smooth sailing. Sometimes you do get to work with clients who understand design and allow you to create - those are magical and rare events. Meanwhile, the more you share your experiences and work with fellow designers, the smarter you'll be able to work as a design entrepreneur.
I believe that I can never stop learning and would love to hear your side of the story. |
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What have your experiences been?
Please email your comments to the Community.
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