How to get what you want from a graphic design team
Someone once said a creative’s work is only as good as the number of uncomfortable conversations she is willing to have with her client. Positive results are dependent on the successful navigation of a variety of fraught topics – expectations, budgets, deadlines – and breaking them down takes guts. From both parties.
So you need to be as devoted to dialogue as we will be.
Talking through misunderstandings, misgivings, mistakes and whatever other human issues may arise helps to dispel momentum-killing and emotional awkwardness. Not talking through them only makes it worse.
This is not about being confrontational. It’s about being conversational.
Yes, it can be frustrating when you ask for a change and the person you’re paying doesn’t want to make it. But if you don’t give us the chance to explain our point of view, how will you convince us? Or vice versa?
So have the hard, honest conversation. Don’t avoid emotions and don’t be afraid to raise fears. Talking defuses emotional impasses, stress and frustration. And when I say “talking,” I literally mean talking. Don’t get into email exchanges about important issues; the tone of written messages is frequently misinterpreted, and once the damage is done, unintentional or not, it will be hard to repair. And never, ever start a fight over email; that’s like breaking up with someone on a Post-it. Show you care by having a real conversation with a real person – without eye rolling or table pounding or hanging up.
Some people think that will spare our feelings if they withhold the truth, but if you know how people feel, pull the Band-Aid off quickly. It will save time and strengthen our relationship. While it can be scary to tell someone how you feel, take comfort in the fact that the creative likely knows how you are feeling already. We are always reading you and your emotions. The biggest surprise will be your willingness to discuss the feelings. Once you reveal your vulnerability (a universal condition) – someone we’re working with on a project and not a suit we are working for – I promise the results will always be better.
This is a relationship. Invest in it.