What your Graphic Designer Wants You to Know

Today we are talking about all things graphic design! 

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Today we are speaking not only to graphic designers, but people who hire graphic designers as well.

There are certain etiquettes and processes that a lot of people don’t understand while purchasing.

I wanted to share some tips to make the process go smoother while selling or buying graphic design work

Learn how to react correctly when things don’t go your way:

I understand what it feels like to feel like you are right and you need to get your point across and make sure the other person knows they are wrong.

It feels like a woman thing, there’s even a meme called “Karen”’ with a super rude lady with a weird short hair cut.

The other day we went to this great restaurant, and our server screwed up badly, she was super friendly.

She had me order my food a certain way, and it ended up coming out the opposite way than we discussed. 

My whole family was finished eating before I even got my order.

The reason I wasn’t rude to her, the reason I didn’t flip out was because in the beginning she took the effort to try and make me happy and listened to me about what I did like and didn’t lie about the entree and gave me recommendations.

Most people would just be like “Well, What do you want?”, but she tried to help.

That made me feel like she was a good server, she was also super attentive!

I think most servers can’t handle a mad customer, and they will not show up, they will avoid your table.

When I was a server, when someone was upset I was extra attentive, and I never got bad tips from them and I promise it’s because people want attention. 

Let’s say the waitress is really nice to you and you’re still a bi**h, that’s karen.

I feel like with the times, with Amazon, with live chats, without having to talk on the phone anymore, it’s kinda that keyboard warrior mindset. 

Even in politics and celebrities, you can see this extra bravery because they’re just typing.

I guarantee you wouldn’t say the same thing face-to-face or even on the phone.

I used to take phone calls, but I stopped so I could have everything in writing. 

I remember when I did take calls, I had this “Karen”, and when she messaged me or emailed me, she was nasty to me, so I decided to get her on the phone.

The project and her demeanor changed, and she got to the point where she was apologizing. 

People can’t handle confrontation, so as soon as you can hear the tone in their voice they become a real person. 

Let’s say you hire a graphic designer because they have good work, you are spending $60, and they deliver something that is less than their normal work, what do you do?

It is still your responsibility to make sure it is correct, you can’t put all of the blame on them. 

You need to be strategic when you talk to them, don’t spend your time belittling them, when your goal is to get good work out of them.

The creative process and effort will go down if they don’t feel respected. 

Make sure you read their terms and compare them to your terms, research refund policies beforehand.

Another thing you can do is go to their portfolio and point out what you like out of each and you can feel confident they can accomplish that.

Something super annoying is when people bring work from someone else and say “make this” like, why don’t you go to them?

One of the best CEO’s I’ve ever seen was Howard Schultz, the previous CEO of Starbucks, he took care of his workers, you could have as much coffee as you wanted.

When I was a supervisor for starbucks, my sister passed away and took a week off, they paid me for bereavement, not even out of my vacation time.

They even told me to write a letter because the situation was so unusual, so I did, and they even covered part of her funeral costs.

This is the kind of thing that makes a good company.

When you care about other people, the people that work for you, you will get that back ten-fold. If you treat them well they will want to give you extra good work, they will want to take care of you too.

The people who are nice to the people they hire are the most successful.

Everything I said about starbucks, that’s a multimillion dollar company and there is a correlation with how you treat people.

You don’t need to give your opinion on pricing, it just makes you -the customer- look bad.

When I was a server, I would remember my customers and I was a great server. 

If you give people a good attitude, you will get it back, and they will remember that interaction.

The more people like you, the more life opens up for you.

It’s an important habit to learn, because if you treat your graphic designer like this, you probably treat everyone like this, your boyfriend, your parents, your grocery store workers.

You must learn to be a pleasant person.

The biggest thing we wish you knew is YOUR ATTITUDE CHANGES OUR WORK A LOT.

The number 2 thing I struggle with is being vague. 

If you tell someone “blue, gold glitter, say something like this, and don’t have a plan, you most likely will not like it even from the best of the best. 

Some of my most successful clients come to me with their ideas, explain it to me, and I just turn it into a visual for them.

I am not being paid, graphic designers are not paid to come up with your marketing plan.

The customer should explain to you what their marketing strategy is, what exactly they want it to say, and you just design it. 

When you hire an interior designer, they want to know your preferences and it is your job to communicate your wants and preferences.

The best thing to do is show me inspiration and details. If you dont know what you want yet, then it’s not time to hire someone.

My happiest clients tell me exactly what they want.

I have a questionnaire, and some clients ignore certain questions or leave one word answers, and they never get what they want.

Trusting your graphic designer is also important.

Some clients send back like 50 revisions and hack the whole thing up, and I feel bad to even put it in my portfolio. Of course, they are the ones paying for it, so they get what they want.

Remember that this is the graphic designers job, and have experience to make designs that get you more sales. 

If you hire someone to make your logo, choose your fonts, and colors, then you need to let them do their job, because they know what is going to work.

If you don’t trust your designer, it’s a waste of money.

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