There are times when I totally disagree with a client. As in, they give me a direction that I question, then I come up with a solution that I think interprets that direction in a way that will help them achieve their website goal, and they decide that they simply must have ______. And ______ is usually terrible. It’s a fine line to walk with clients where you want to give them what they really want & hopefully get a great referral or repeat business, but also don’t want to put your name on something you dislike. You can always pick and choose what goes in your portfolio to reflect your work — there is a whole collection of work I did for a prominent vampire romance novelist that I think served its purpose, but isn’t something I want to reflect my skill set and therefore stays safely on my hard drive.

I think it’s a designer’s responsibility to try their best to really get at the goals of a project and then to work from there. So, rather than finding a way to include a large illustration of a magnifying glass to designate something as “mysterious” (for example) because that’s the image the client has in their mind’s eye – to interpret “mysterious” in a way that serves the purpose of the project, making sure not to threaten the usability or content clarity of the site, and to create something you’re really proud of.

To get to the point that you really understand the goals of the project, and to help the client understand that what you’re there for is to come up with a design solution that responds to those goals, and not to draw a digital picture of what they have in their head, you have to establish trust. Trust in your skill set, but also trust in your working relationship. There are too many “designers” out there who charge little money for either templates that include text and images provided to them, or a direct mapping of a client’s direction into a website – either of these without any thought as to who the audience is, what *their* goals are, or really helping the client think through what they’re trying to achieve. Either that or their goal is to create something where the primary goal is gorgeousness, because it’ll look great in their portfolio and allows them to feel that they’re keeping up with the Joneses. Don’t get me wrong – there’s a time and a place for projects whose sole purpose is to be beautiful, but most call for a great design that is also beautiful.

So, when pitching for a project, make sure the potential client understands your value add – spend time to get to know them, understand the goals of their project(s), and then create a design that is not only beautiful but useful and usable. For you, the designer, your investment in creating trust with the client will allow you to better influence the projects you work on, and have a higher ratio of projects you *want* to put in your portfolio, and hopefully get repeat business and plenty of referrals.

Related posts:

1. Your Own Worst Critic: Designing for Yourself
2. Advertising: Putting yourself out there and accepting ads on your own site
3. The Naysayers