While freelancing as a web designer a few years back, I was very proud of the hundred or more websites that I created for clients throughout the country. I created them from scratch, a blank canvas in Photoshop. Soon a design would come into shape. A few days later working mostly in the evenings and a few overnights, I was ready to pitch my design to the client. Most of my designs were welcomed with a smile, followed by a designer/client relationship that would last for at least a couple of years, usually longer.
Except this one time. I thought I had one of my best designs yet. I was pumped. The client is sure to love this masterpeice…..except that he didn’t. In fact he did not like it one bit. The colors were wrong, this needed to be bumped to the right, that needs to be nudged to the left. It was just all wrong. So, of course I asked him what colors he would like. I asked him what style he preferred. I asked him to show me examples of what he likes. Something that I can replicate. “No No, you’re doing great” he would say.
So, I would go back to the drawing board with little to no substance. Nothing new to inspire, basically the wind beneath my wings……was just a fart in the breeze. Shampoo, rinse, and repeat. Again, and again, and again. With my client’s “try this-try that” approach, I became increasingly frustrated to the point of exhaustion.
When the project was completed, I thought about how much the client had put into this. With his nudging and small adjustments here and there, I realized that what I was looking at was the best website creation to date. It was a masterpiece. It took a few extra weeks, but I learned an important lesson. Sometimes I don’t have all of the answers. Sometimes, I’m not the best web designer. Sometimes my clients know their business and what they envision more than I do. Sometimes you can take a fart in the breeze and mold it into the wind beneath your wings. It sometimes pays to open up and let others participate. It’s called Synergy. Google it.
Tell us about your thoughtsWrite message