234

CLIENTS-----YA GOTTA LOVE 'EM!

'But I want my book cover in lots of colors,
not just blue, and I don't want these curly
flowers on the paper, either' So remem¬
ber, when it comes to rough comps, think
of them as sketches on a napkin."

Because computer roughs are so fin¬
ished-looking, we must explain to the
client that he is looking at roughs that
may not be used as final art.
One designer submitted logo
roughs on paper to a client who
decided to use one of them for
final art and assumed no fur¬
ther compensation to the
designer was required since she
was being saved the "extra work" of fin¬
ishing the logo.

This client didn't realize that if a
designer spits on a piece of paper and
that spit is used by the client, the
designer must be paid in full. If a com¬
pany goes ahead and uses an artist's
work inappropriately, the artist can
almost write her own ticket as to the
final billing for the illegal use (unless
the work was done under a WFH con¬
tract). But do everything possible to
avoid misunderstandings. Almost no¬
body wins in court, except lawyers.

MY CLIENT, MY TEACHER

Clients can be really annoying. Either
they have no idea what they want, or
they'll be so specific about every dumb
detail that you'll feel like asking them,
"Then what do you need me for?" And the
answer is, they don't. Only they don't
know how to use Illustrator and Photo¬
shop, so they really just want you to be
their hands.

It is true that most clients—like all the
drivers on the road ahead of us—are
dummköpfe, but every so often, those
seemingly ridiculous, annoying little
changes have ended up improving the
piece. Often, the client's input actually
makes us look good. Countless times,
after I'd gotten past my resentment over
being forced to make a change I didn't
agree with, I'd realize that I'd lost objec¬
tivity and the client was right! After all,
even though the client isn't a designer,
he may possess basic judgment.

But then again, clients often make our
lives a living hell by changing everything
good that we've done, leaving us too
embarrassed to even want to sign the
piece. Jobs like that you just let go. You
write them off and deposit the check. The
next job you do can go into your portfolio.

PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT

It's fun to demonize clients, but

remember, they have to deal with us, too!
Are you the kind of designer who really
listens and takes notes on what the client
wants, does preliminary research, deliv¬
ers sketches by the agreed upon date,
cheerfully makes changes and finally

delivers the finish by deadline? Or are you
the kind of designer who treats assign¬
ments like school homework, gets flus¬
tered and frustrated, procrastinates, calls
the client with excuses, makes sketches
without heeding instructions, complains or
becomes belligerent about changes, and
makes the client leave messages for you
while you avoid him because you were par¬
tying instead of working?

The fact is, many deadlines are frivo¬
lous or false—the client may actually
have extra time—but we cannot operate
on that basis. Deadlines, especially for
publications, can be very tight and dead
serious. Many times, art directors confid¬
ed that we artists are notoriously unreli¬
able. I was also told, on several occa¬
sions, that the fact that I respected their
deadlines and got my work in on time
was one reason why they often hired me,
rather than someone else.

GETTING THE JOB DONE

Here's a typical scenario: you've just
negotiated the price and landed a logo
assignment from a small company.
Submit a bill for one-third the price of
the job. If the client seems reasonable
and trustworthy you can agree to bill the
total job at the end. Sometimes it's bet¬
ter to show faith in the client to build a
relationship, but it's still a gamble on
your part. Basically, the more expensive
and extensive the job, the more impor¬
tant it is to get up-front money: A web
site or brochure design, definitely; a logo
or small illustration, not necessarily.

After listening carefully, and taking
notes as to what the client wants, begin
throwing out some ideas to see if you're
both on the same page. If the client is set
on an idea that you hate (clients notori¬
ously come up with undrawable, non¬
graphic concepts), sketch it for him along

with some better ideas of your own. He
may be smart enough to recognize your
superior approach over his preconceived
idea. Also, at this time, find out what
size and dimensions the finished job must
be and if there are printing specifications
such as two-colors only, or six PMS spot
colors plus blind embossing.

Steep yourself in research to
discover the approaches taken
by similar companies, or study
comparable products, then
make your roughs. Invariably
you will love one or two of them
and present the rest as filler to
bulk up the presentation. Invariably the
client will like your least-favorite sketch,
but she'll ask you to change the colors or
to combine the type from one logo with
the graphic from another sketch.

Should the client hate all your sketch¬
es, but send you away to try again, ask
lots of questions first to get her to
explain in greater detail what she wants
using your rejected sketches as a jump¬
ing off point. My policy (though we all
hate when this happens) is to do one or
two more rounds of sketches until the
client is pleased. Otherwise we may lose
the job altogether. If after that she is
unpleasable, both parties will usually
decide to call it quits.

But let's say that the client likes your
next sketches and tells you to finish one
of them, which you do. Now submit your
second bill for the sketches (which usu¬
ally represents three-quarters of your
actual labor on any job). Finally, you
hand in the finish. The client looks at it
and says, "Great! Just what I wanted...
except... whattaya think if instead of two
cows as we agreed, make it two mules."

We must now decide whether to bill for
the change or to accept it graciously and
not be petty. Whether we do so or not will
depend upon the complexity of the
change (I usually do the first change for
free), whether the client has been a pain
in the behind, how many other changes
have been asked for during the process,
and whether or not we feel it worthwhile
absorbing the loss of time in order to
build a relationship with the client that
might lead to further work.

Let's make clear that there are two
types of changes: those the client asks
for before "signing off" (giving official
approval) on a sketch, and those changes
the client asks for when he changes his

If you disagree with a client, try to

give him what he should have,

rather than what he thinks he wants.

LOGO, FONT a LETTERING BIBLE

235

mind after we've done the job precisely
according to his wishes. In the first case,
we are obliged to make changes or we
may lose the job. In the second case, the
client should pay for our wasted time
when he can't make up his mind. Yet,
between the sketch and the finish there
can be a world of differences and the
client should have the right to tweak the
finish to his satisfaction—up to a point.
Unfortunately, the client can withhold
payment if he's not satisfied with the
final, so it's best to make nice-nice and
try to keep him happy because, in the
end, the customer—even when he's a
moron—is always right. Once the job is
finished and billed don't neglect to
request printed samples of the job for
your portfolio.

MARKETING FONTS

After we've designed a font, what then?
Most larger foundries accept outside sub¬
missions and have differing submission
guidelines that can be found on their web
sites, or by e-mailing them. Most
foundries will want fonts with full char¬
acter sets, though your first submitted
version won't need to be complete.

Some foundries pay advances although
that has become rare. Most often, you'll
receive a royalty the amounts of which
can vary widely, from 10 percent to 50
percent according to foundry. Online font
foundries seem to distribute fonts accord¬
ing to one of three principles: Sell high-
quality fonts at high prices, low-quali¬
ty fonts at low prices, or give 'em
away free.

I have taken many pot shots at free
font foundries because those of us
who sell our fonts, naturally don't
like the idea that our prices—and
some customers' senses of value—are
being undermined by fonts that are free.
If Pontiacs were given away free on the
web, many people would not want to pay
for a Lexus, even though the difference
in quality might be considerable. This
analogy is well applied to fonts. Not
always, but in general, the quality of free
fonts can't compare to that of profession¬
al fonts sold by the larger foundries. For
one thing, assuming most designers
need to eat, how many of us can afford to
work for free? Thus, the free fonts are
often those produced by students, retir¬
ees or others who often don't spend
enough quality time with their products
to tweak them to a professional level.

Regardless of whether you sell or give
away fonts, if you intend to do it yourself,
you'll need a web site. Ideally you'll be
able to include features like automatic
credit card billing and automatic down¬
loading so that font lovers in Australia
will not have to wait until you wake up to
receive their fonts. The best way to plan
your font site is to type "fonts" in a search
engine and research font sites as well as
font prices.

I, DESIGNAHOLIC

The Latin phrase "ars longa, vita bre-
vis" (art is long, life is short) sums up my
feeling that there's just too much to
accomplish and too little time to do it in.
When I was a boy, my mother used to say
to me, "Why don't you go outside and
play?" I'd answer, "What do you mean—
there's no pencil and paper out there!" Or
she'd say, 'You're always working!" And
I'd say, "I'm not working, I'm playing." And
that's how my life has gone, ever since.

Author James Michener wrote, "A mas¬
ter in the art of living draws no distinc¬
tion between work and play. He hardly
knows which is which. He simply pursues
his vision of excellence through whatever
he is doing and leaves others to deter¬
mine whether he is working or playing."

So I began to wonder if workaholism is
a prerequisite to greatness, if other
designers were like me, and if I should
tell my readers that you have to work
hard to get good at this. I sent a short

What percentage of waking hours do you spend:

Working

With spouse
/family

Hobbies

Recreation

On the
internet

71%

11%

2%

9%

7%

survey to the contributors of this book. I
asked for percentages of time spent work¬
ing, as opposed to time with family and
other activities. The following averages,
the result of twenty professionals sur¬
veyed, are revealing (see above). But more
interesting were the comments that
invariably accompanied the surveys some
of which I've included, without identify¬
ing the writers:

"There is never enough time to get the
work done. It always seems barely
enough, so any time that isn't specifically
set aside for the rest of life tends to be
converted to 'guilt time': I really should
be working. Because, for some reason, I
think my work is important."

"Your survey really shows me how
much my life sucks! I need to make some
significant changes, however, my mind
seems to need to remain consumed with
problems to solve and information to
absorb."

"Even while doing other stuff, I'm
always thinking about design I illustra¬
tion. Ideas will come to me from all kinds
of experiences and feed in."

"When I'm working, all I think about is
sex, and when I'm having sex, all I think
about is work."

"If the word 'working' includes design¬
ing as well as thinking, or 'pre-designing/
dreaming up projects, talking to potential
clients, seeking inspiration and other such
nebulous activities, mental and otherwise,
then 80-90 percent of my time is spent this
way."

"I have sacrificed much 'fun' time in my
life since I started working at a young age.
[Your survey results] really make me won¬
der if I should take more time for myself,
because my bank account certainly isn't
growing."

"If work paid about three times as well,
I'd be happy to do a little less of it. I can't
afford not to be insanely busy"

"Ahh, what a sad, sad life we type
designers live, all for the love of letters. I
wish I had time for hobbies."

"It is quite shocking to actually tally
the hours spent on work versus the
rest of life that includes family,
friends, socializing, etc."

"I'm not sure anyone who isn't born
with this affliction called 'creativity'
can really understand what it means
to live with the 'sweet & sour.' One
day art schools will require all prospec¬
tive graduates to complete a course called
'Insatiable Appetite 101' or 'The Un-
scratchable Itch.' I've had the disease
since birth... The blank page forever chal¬
lenges my pencil."

For myself, I have learned that there is
an ironic agony that follows an artist's
progression. The further we are able to
advance along the artistic path, the
greater becomes our ability to see just
how much farther the road extends.
Designer Michelangelo Buonarotti must
have felt this. On his death bed he
uttered, "I regret that...I am dying just
as I am beginning to learn the alphabet
of my profession."