When I am designing a new website or application I am very meticulous to get every detail right so it is beautiful while still user friendly.
Almost always however, the client has better ideas. They request awful changes and by the time they are satisfied, I am ashamed to call it my work.
I end up wasting more time, and the product ends up looking less professional.
What can I do?
Is this a common problem to others? Is there a way to convince the client that you are the designer and they should trust your expertise (without sounding condescending)?
Am I just dealing with the wrong type of clients?
Or is this just the way it is, and the sooner I accept it, the better it will be?
What are your experiences?
Answer
Yes, this is a typical issue. At its core, it's a client thinking that their solution should be designed around their personal tastes rather than around particular business requirements that will meet the needs of their customers.
The key is to talk in business terms, not in subjective art terms. Be prepared. Study your customer's business, their industry, and, ideally, their customers. Back up your design decisions with as much objective reasoning as you can rather than subjective tastes.
Graphic design, itself, can be considered an art and a craft. The industry, though, is all about selling. You need to sell your solution. Put on your sales hat. Do your research, and show the client why your solution is the one that will work for them.
Of course, there are still clients that just want you to make that home page with purple and pink stripes and an 8 minute animated flash intro no matter what you say. For those clients, you do the work, bill them, then scratch them off your list of customers you will do business with again. ;)
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