How Clients Deceive Graphic Designers [article]

http://www.graphicdesignblog.org/clients-decieve-graphic-designers/

Graphic designing is not just about using design skills and aesthetics. In order to succeed as professional graphic designers, you must also possess business sense and interpersonal skills to deal with clients. Those designers who are devoid of these skills are usually bullied around by clients. Being in the professional world, you cannot afford to be a pushover. Most of us generally assume clients to be harmless and unknowledgeable people who can cause no trouble for graphic designers. But there are some bad client types that have the ability to take undue advantage of graphic designers who are vulnerable to client trickery. Hence, you must be aware of how to avoid being ripped off by shrewd clients. Here are some common ways that clients try to dupe designers into going the extra mile. Also explained are the ways to avoid them.

1. Asks for Excessive Revisions:

Some clients use a shrewd approach to take designers for a ride. After having completed the final work, they will ask you to “Make Slight Adjustments”. Design revisions are acceptable to a certain extent, but when these requests keep piling up, you can be sure that you’re being ripped off your time and energy. The time that you could have spent in making money elsewhere is exhausted by the client who takes you for granted.

2. Demands Outright Plagiarism:

Copying someone else’s work is one thing, but to be forced by a client to implement an exactly similar design is downright wrong. Some would find it hard to believe, but I have myself encountered some clients who provide a sample design (mostly a famous one) and demand that I imitate it with slight modifications. Believe it or not, this happens and if you don’t stand up against this, you might end up creating a copied design that will eventually stain your graphic design portfolio.

3. Stipulates Unreasonable Deadline:

Another shrewd technique employed by clients is to give unreasonable deadlines to designers. Their trick here is that they will pay for a day’s worth and get work done for a month’s worth. Some designers who are subdued comply with this unreasonable demand and end up messing up their work. You simply cannot let the designer set an unrealistic and unfeasible cut-off date for the project.

4. Reluctant to Pay:

Some swindling clients tend to delay the payments with lame excuses. This happens mostly withnewbie graphic designers who are desperate on earning from a design project. These clients take undue advantage of the designers who are pushovers and eventually end up absconding away with the design work without paying a cent.

5. Unwarranted Threats:

Blackmailing is one of the most despicable and contemptible acts by a client. When a dispute or serious issue arrives and it is the client’s fault, he will resort to hurling unwarranted threats at graphic designers. They would also threaten to take legal actions and demand that whatever they say be done. Those designers who are not aware of how to do business dealings bow down in front of these scheming clients.

Tip: How to Avoid Being Ripped Off by Clients

Some designers have a soft corner for clients and just cannot refuse the endless revisions. Others are simply inexperienced with the trade of business dealings and legal documentations. In order to save designers from being taken for a ride by these deceiving clients, a simple solution is to lay the ground rules before taking on a graphic design project. Sign a contract that stipulates the design brief, time, budget and number of revisions on the project. This will spare you time and energy trying to refuse the client for undue revisions. Moreover, it will also protect you from any legal complications with the clients.