5 red flags that can signify a bad client
Many of us have experienced bad clients while working as designers or developers; deadbeat clients that won’t pay up, clients that seem to vanish completely, and clients that are just flat out rude.
I’ve written a list of 5 red flags to keep an eye out for before taking on potential clients. Any of these red flags could signify a bad client, which could lead to the project being a complete nightmare, and you may not even ever get paid for it. I’m also going to describe some measures you can take to help prevent that from happening.
Payment in equity
This kind of offer has been made to me so many times. A company comes along needing a website, and offers you equity instead of a standard payment. Your first thought might be that it’s a pretty cool idea because that can mean a lot of income for you, right? Well, no. It’s obvious that this offer is made only by clients with no money. If they’re unable to raise capital for their own company, they’re not making the necessary investments for success, which means you may never make a penny from them. So unless a potential client provides proof that they’re making real money (which is pretty rare), you should forget about these offers.
The vanishing act
When you’re discussing things with a potential client about their needs, be sure to keep an eye on their communication. Are they fast to respond emails? Do they answer their phones regularly? Are they willing to meet face to face? Are they handing over their full contact details? If the answer is more often no than yes, then taking on such a client can be risky. Sometimes, clients can vanish all together. If their communication is bad in the first place, it can be because they’re in talk with other designers/developers, or because they’re simply not sure about the project yet. When a client does a vanishing act, it can be a huge waste of your time.
Insane deadlines
Many potential clients will have unrealistic explanations of deadlines. I happen to write content as well as design websites, and there was a time where someone wanted me to write a hundred articles for them in just a few days. It was beyond unrealistic. Some people don’t stop to think about how long certain jobs really take. When a client comes to you with an unrealistic deadline, tell them how long the job will realistically take to complete, and don’t be afraid to inform them that you have current work to finish if that’s the case. You shouldn’t have to put other projects aside just because someone is rushing you. If a potential client won’t compromise, you should highly consider rejecting them.
Unclear needs
You’d be surprised how many potential clients simply aren’t sure about what they even want. Sometimes it’s as if they’re leaving their own business decisions in your hands, despite the fact you’re just there to build them a website for their business. Basically, if someone is not entirely sure about what their own needs are, you should not take them on as a client. The high amount of changes they are likely to request as the project goes on will mean constant revision of what they owe, and deadline extensions, yet the client may still expect only the original price and original deadline. Inform such potential clients that they should first have concrete knowledge of what their needs are.
Designing for services
It’s not uncommon for a business to offer their services as a form of payment. But how valuable is their service, and more importantly, is it something you even need? In most cases, I’m betting not. Personally I don’t feel I need to spend time creating a website for a business that is just going to give me a 12 month subscription for their online accounting software, or a set of free eBooks on how I can apparently double my business profits. Such businesses are trying to get something for nothing. When I was a teenager, I made simple websites in return for things like web hosting with domains. But when you grow up and have rent to pay, making money is way cooler.
As a means of your own security…
Keep an eye open for any of the above red flags when you’re in the process of taking on new clients. You could end up saving yourself a lot of hassle. Anyhow, there are some measures you can and should take in order to prevent clients from pretty much screwing you over.
First of all, a legal contract should be put in place if possible. This does involve talking to a lawyer and it can be costly, and I understand that it might not be suitable for lower budget projects.
In any case, especially if there is no contract in place, take some form of upfront payment from your client, otherwise they can vanish half way through or even take your work and not pay. Taking 30-50% upfront is often acceptable.
Also, make sure you have your client’s full contact details, including e-mail, contact numbers, and address. With such details, in the worst-case scenario, you’ll be able to go banging on your client’s door.
7 methods of inspiration to fuel your creativity
As someone who writes a lot, I suffer from writer’s block from time to time, and we all know what that means. It’s when you’re lost for creative words. Or at least, that is one form of writer’s block. But for those of you that design a lot, I’m sure at some point you have suffered the design equivalent to writer’s block.
Whether you suffer from designer’s block often or just sometimes, you could probably do with more inspiration to fuel your creativity. We all have creativity within us. Creativity is like a fire, and to be inspired is like throwing wood into that fire. The flames get bigger, and it stops them from dying out.
So, what is inspiration exactly?
1.
to fill with an animating, quickening, or exalting influence: His courage inspired his followers.
There is actually a vast amount of definition behind inspiration, it’s almost hard to put into words. Inspiration stimulates your mind and body, in a way where it motivates you to be creative. To be a creative designer, you will need inspiration in your life. A lot of us are actually being inspired every day without even knowing it. But if you’re stuck in the office working a tedious amount of hours all week, it can be tricky.
Let’s look at some different things that can inspire you to help you achieve your creative goals in design.
Design galleries
The most obvious and perhaps most effective form of inspiration is online design galleries. There are endless galleries containing screenshots of some of the most awesome quality designs out there, many of them artistically beautiful, making them fantastic sources of inspiration. You can pick up on new interface ideas, color combinations, and overall styles. You often need to see how things are done before you can go and do them yourself.
Designing something based on inspiration from other design is not about copying. But getting ideas from ten designs and putting them into one is a good example of creating a design based on inspiration from design galleries. Take a look at these:
http://www.thecssawards.com
http://www.csselite.com
http://www.bestcssgallery.com
http://www.divinecss.com
Art galleries
Why not go and check out some local art exhibitions or museums? They are filled with inspirational art of all types. You’d be surprised how many web designers out there have been heavily inspired by painters and illustrators. Various effective web design techniques can be comparable to that you find on canvas work, such as paintings.
There’s an incredibly wide array of artistic styles out there. If you get inspired by the more unique stuff, you could well become a very unique designer, allowing you to seriously stand out from the crowd in terms of design style.
Music
Music can have an enormous effect on your mind, especially if you happen to be a particularly musical type of person. But either way, music can clear your mind and really get you in the zone. It can also help you get in touch with your emotions, which can lead to it being a way of truly inspiring you. Some designers don’t actually work without music to assist them. I don’t listen to music much when writing, but I do when designing.
Stuck on what to listen to? I always find new stuff on www.last.fm. You can listen to music for free on there.
Travel & culture
Travel broadens the mind. It is absolutely true, and it certainly can unlock a lot of creativity within you. Travelling and experiencing other cultures surrounds you with many forms of inspiration; different kinds of people, different languages and unique architecture, to name a few.
You don’t necessarily even need to travel far to find such inspiration. When I moved to a city less than 20 miles away from my original home, I was suddenly surrounded by old Georgian buildings, different accents, and new people. This no doubt broadened my mind because it was all new experiences.
Nature
There is nothing quite like nature. Taking a walk through fields, beaches or mountains can seriously sooth your mind and inspire you. Nature is incredibly colorful, which can give you good design ideas. For me, looking out over large waters is very peaceful and relaxing, and clears my mind of all of the interruptions that a lot of us have to deal with on a daily basis. I love oceans and waterfalls – others may prefer things like flowers, wildlife, forests or scenery.
Take some time to go and experience the beauty of nature, and you might be amazed at how you work when you return to your screen.
Books
Books can contain great creative inspiration. But they can also inspire you to be successful. Most great design books are written and compiled by great designers that have come a long way and become highly successful. You can see their work and learn from their text, as well as read their biographies. If you learn from design authors, be sure to look up more information about them and see what you can find out about their success stories, as it could well help you to build yours.
Here are some great book lists:
http://garmahis.com/reviews/best-web-design-books
http://speckyboy.com/2010/03/19/12-must-have-free-downloadable-web-design-books
http://www.smashingshare.com/2010/02/22/useful-web-design-development-books
Photography
Seeing a bit of nature is easy enough, and experiencing some different culture is usually no difficult task either. But the world is full of incredible beauty that a lot of us don’t have the time or money to go and experience. Photography is the next best thing. Photos can look pretty amazing, not only capturing nature and aspects of different cultures, but also very particular and unique moments in time. For example, you cannot go and see a solar eclipse every day, but you can look at a photo of it as much as you like.
Photos can be incredibly colorful and inspiring. There are all kinds of awesome photographs on http://browse.deviantart.com/photography.
I’d love to see some comments on what other things have inspired you designers out there.
