Here’s the lowdown:

We’ve all heard—and lived—the tragic expression that “the client is always right”. 

There is nothing more infuriating than a client who you simply can’t please, but you don’t quite understand why (And chances are, neither do they.) More often than not, their unhelpful feedback appears at the “aesthetics’ phase of site development. 

But what happens when you’re the client and you’re having trouble getting what you want, even if you really love working with your outsourced designer?

We wanted to get to the bottom of this phenomenon and learn about creating the best-looking—and best-functioning—layouts for your clients’ sites. With some communication practice, you can get the site you’re looking for the first time, every time.

So we started by chatting with our incomparable designer, MARINA. She’s been instrumental in dreaming up beautiful and functional websites for her clients (and their clients) here at GoWP. 

Here’s what a designer had to say.

A: How did you get started with design?

M: I originally studied plastic arts in university, but it was mainly working with painting and sculpture. Then when I graduated, I started doing some graphic design related to architecture. I loved it! I’ve been working as a designer ever since then.

A: How would you describe your aesthetic?

M: Above all, the final decisions lie with the client, but I tend to prefer a classic, clean and minimalist look. It’s easiest for the client’s audience to read and navigate, and it puts the focus on what the client is trying to present.

My passions are the arts and graphic novels, so if I could pick a dream assignment, I would design a site for clients related to those fields!

A: What do you like the most about working with clients?

M: I love creating something beautiful that brings a smile to my clients’ faces. It is wonderful to collaborate and see the finished product.

A: And what do you like the least?

M: When clients come in and aren’t sure what they want or want to do, they tend to not like anything that I do. That can become a little frustrating.

A: If you could “design” the perfect client, what characteristics would they have?

M: Ooh! If I could design a client, I would make one that was collaborative and open-minded, communicative, and had a clear idea path for what they wanted to do. The perfect client would trust me and my experience, and they’d let me have a little bit of room to work. They would be pretty punctual in responding to emails, so that we could get things done faster and more fluidly!

For me, it’s also great to have a little bit of a personal relationship with a client, so that we can be more in-sync mentally. When I feel like we’re both on the same page, I can much more easily create something that’s almost perfect the first time around.

A: What is something that clients think is helpful but really isn’t?

M: Sometimes, clients try to tell me how to fix the problem instead of telling me what the problem is. While I understand that their intentions are good, it typically creates a result that nobody likes, leaving the client ultimately annoyed.

Differently but equally frustrating, it’s good to be open to changes and to my ideas, but we need to have a clear direction in our work. Coming in and saying, “It’s up to you,” is rarely going to turn out well.

A: What is something that you wish you could tell all design clients that would make your working relationship function more smoothly?

M: Trust me and my work, even just a little bit! I know what I’m doing. Sometimes you can have a great idea, but it’s not being communicated to your clients or their audiences in the most effective way. That’s what I’m here for.

For agency owners, I would tell them to try their very best to not let their personal biases and preferences affect their clients’ sites. 

My best example is this: You might not really like the color green, but if your client has a nature-based site, please just let me use green! Have a little faith and pass the site onto the client for approval. Let’s see what they say and then work from there.

Here’s the breakdown:

We went ahead and boiled down Marina’s points so that you can keep them as a checklist for your next designer conversation.

• Even the most talented of designers can struggle while they create stunning results. While we are often quick to place the blame on any number of reasons, we must also ask ourselves how we can work with our designer to create an effective, streamlined process. 

• A lot of the topics related to having an optimal relationship with your designer are centered around communication. 

• Creating a plan with a trajectory is a power-move for everyone involved in the process. It demonstrates your engagement, along with your research. It’s the first step in setting your site up for success.

• Got an opinion? Be polite about it, but don’t be shy about it.  And don’t wait until it’s too late. We’ve all gotten a haircut that we didn’t like because we were hesitant to open our mouths. Don’t do that to your clients, your designer, or yourself.

• Have a little faith! The beauty of outsourced hiring is that your designer was handpicked for their expertise. They come with a glowing recommendation from us (or whoever else you might choose) and a record of success. They’ve studied this, they’ve practiced this, and they’ve got this. 

• Together, you two will conquer the world of effective and eye-catching sites.

Regardless of your level or years of experience working with designers, you can always improve upon being the most effective collaborator possible. With clear initial communication, a workable trajectory, active dialogue, and an open mind, there’s not a picky client you and your designer can’t conquer!

If you think you’d benefit from working with Marina, or any of our fabulous GoWP team members, then don’t hesitate to schedule a call with us! We can help you design the perfect site—and the perfect plan—to care for all of your sites. Resulting in happier clients and a happier you.

For more advice and ideas about how to be the ideal client for your designer, head on over to our Digital Agency Owners Facebook group, where agency owners just like you have also been working on their collaboration skills!