One of the skills we don’t have in house here at KashFlow Towers is design skills. There’s not a proficient Photoshopper amongst us. So we’ve always had to outsource. I’m yet to find a design firm or individual designer that provides good work, good pricing and good service. Someone we can work with on an ongoing basis for things like web design, print advert design, web banners, etc.
I know that it’s an age-old truism that creatives are often not great at business, but they can’t all be terrible, can they? These are the highlights of our experiences so far:
Company 1 – Quotation Paralysis
These guys were not cheap, but their work was absolutely outstanding. They usually responded to emails and queries very quickly.
The problem: They had an inability to give a usable quote. This was back in my Key Onedays when we used to do a lot of back-end development, so I’d be looking for a design quote to pass on to a client as part of a bigger project. As such, I needed a price to be within a reasonable sized ball park. Absolutely impossible to get from these guys. They were terrified of either underquoting or overquoting – so in the end they did neither.
Company 2 – The Dissapearing Act
Extremely competitive pricing. The work was not as blatantly brilliant as Company 1, but it was of a good enough standard. When they said “unlimited changes”, they meant it. We had mutual clients that could be particularly fussy and not once did Company 2 complain about it. They got tens of thousands of pounds worth of work from us and from people we referred to them over a period of a couple a year or so. I could have happily worked with these guys forever.
The problem: They’d disappear for weeks at a time, no autoresponder, no warning. Just gone. When they re-appeared on the radar they’d be no explanation as to what happened.
Company 3 – Just don’t get it
We didn’t work with these guys for long. They had a good portfolio and were reasonably priced. But they just couldn’t work within a brief. They had their own ideas and it didn’t matter what the client wanted.
Company 4 – The Disappointer
This is the designer that prompted this rant. They’ve done a few little bits and pieces with us over the last couple of months. I’ve not dealt with them personally, but my guys that have have been really impressed with the professionalism and the level of service we’ve been getting. So recently we’ve asked for quotes for a few minor design jobs. That was weeks ago. Despite leaving telephone messages and emails we’ve heard nothing back from them.
In my frustration I sent a message out into the twitterverse: “why are good designers crap at business? They either unable to provide a usable quote, and/or they provide shite service”
Here are some of the responses I got back:
JayGreasley: why are business leaders crap at design ?
RachaelWyatt: that’s a crap generalisation Duane.
Ed_Hart: Probably for the same reason that good business people are generally crap at designing. We use different bits of the brain.
Whilst Rachel is right that it’s a generalisation, like a lot of generalisations there’s a reasonable sized dollop of truth in there.
As Ed Hart says, and Jay Greasley implies – it’s the whole left brain / right brain thing.
Supposedly people who are more right-brain orientated are the creative types that are better with symbols, images and are driven by feelings. The left-brained amongst us are supposedly logical types that are less creative.
If you’re not sure whether you’re left-brained or right-brained, then take a look at the picture below. If she’s spinning clockwise then you’re a right-brained creative.
If you see her as spinning anti-clockwise then you’re left-brained logical type.
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Tags: design
This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 18th, 2009 at 1:18 pm and is filed under Small Business. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Interesting – I see clockwise spinning yet joined MENSA when I was 12 with an IQ in the 1% category.
Is there a middle brained category or am I just weird? :)
Hmm. I also see clockwise spinning, but have always considered myself far more logically disposed than creatively – my artistic skills are frankly.. well.. pants.
I do agree with the post though – we don’t have in-house design skills – we outsource to a trusted designer (known for many years) – but would be very cautious if looking for a new supplier for just these reasons.
I’ve nearly sent myself into spasms staring at this thing and trying to work out how *anyone* could see her spinning anti-clockwise.
She’s quite hot though. Do you have the non-silhouetted version…?
I see clockwise – but want to why, how it works and what it would look like spinning the other way.
Hmmm
Having read the reasons behind your ‘crap generalisation’ I can see why you would be frustrated – however – how about a different take?
Sadly, we all consider ourselves to be great customers, why wouldn’t suppliers throw themselves at our feet, because let’s face it – we’re all just great.
However the almost personal nature of hiring a designer is that if you engage a professional and then find that ‘they just don’t get it’ and you can’t work with them, then why not consider that just for a moment – it might not all be their fault. Was your brief good? did you take the advice they offered? or should you actually have just hired someone who could draw what you’d already designed?
Could it be that you are gently being told that the relationship isn’t working out and it’s time to move on? I don’t know – but I do know that it’s easier to work with clients than for them.
Now I know there are a lot of companies out there who deserve the criticism – the part timers who are in it for the money, the ‘cheap website’ lot, and I’m not suggesting for one minute you are a bad customer – however when you find the designer who enthuses about your brief and ‘gets’ your vision – then you’ve found someone you can work with. Maybe you’re just kissing a lot of frogs at the moment :)
PS – I can see the woman rotating both ways
To my great delight I can see her spinning both ways.
I agree with Bill – struggle to see how that could possibly be interpreted as an anti-clockwise movement.
I really *wanted* to see her going anti-clockwise, but my brain was having none of it. Sorry :(
I can see it both ways as well, just have to flip her over, i find it is easier to “switch” when looking at the feet..
I can’t possibly see how anyone could see it as anti-clockwise either. And I’m a left-brained logical type. Not a creative bone in my body.
A few people on Twitter and here in the office are like Otis above and can switch at will.
I think the key to it is whether you are looking at the top or bottom. If you look at legs it is anti but the top half looks to be spinning clockwise.
I looked at the legs and hence saw her go anti-clockwise.
I can flip her whenever I want to. And boy I want to a lot…
But if I just relax I see her clockwise.
Re Company 2: I bet that whenever they disappeared they were uncomplainingly working on *someone else’s* unlimited changes. You cannot be available to everyone all the time.
Possibly. But that doesn’t excuse it!
I’ve trained and worked as a designer for over 20 years, I have run my own business for 10 years. I actually left large ad agencies because I couldn’t stand the way they treated their clients. In the end I got so sick and tired of it that I set up my own company. We focus on getting good creative results but with excellent service, from the estimate, through the job and right up to the invoice. It all gives an impression to a client. Every last bit is included in the relationship you build with a client.
So being a designer you’d expect me to be sticking up for the lovable creatives, however I’m not. I’m firmly on the side of the client here.
The thing that a lot of designers miss is that to fulfill a clients needs, a project has to be on time, on budget and meet the brief. 2 out of 3 isn’t good enough.
My biggest problem in growing my business hasn’t been keeping clients (if you give a good service and deliver the design project it shouldn’t be hard), no, my issue has been finding good designers to employ that are sympathetic to the clients requirements. Too many take the attitude of ‘I know best as I am creative’ when actually they should look to educate but remember the client is paying. If we think that we can do better than what the client has proposed we give them two options – one as they have asked, the other as we would suggest. Most times they go with what we’ve suggested but at least they feel they were in control. After all it’s their money that they are risking.
I will get off my high horse now and this wasn’t meant as a shameful plug – it’s just I think designers that don’t deliver should rename themselves ‘artists’ and hang their work in a gallery. Design is for business.
Controversial but there you go…
PS: The funny thing is I see it as anti-clockwise
Hi Rachael,
I understand where you’re coming from. What’s the common denominator in the business relationship with the above 4 designers? Me! (or KashFlow, anyway). It’s something I often point out to others too.
In my defence, for 2 of the designers above I knew of other customers that had the same issues.
that’s why in business you need well-balanced teams in order to succeed. Your left/right brain theory assumes that you are dealing with one person. That’s why account managers do not do the design work.
…and if you imagine you were lying on the floor looking upwards then you see her spinning anti-clockwise. perhaps if she was wearing a skirt, it would be the *logical* thing to do
Link bait and media whoring aside – Duane, you really should be nice to designers. Without them all you’ve got is a blank web page dude.
Ha! I love this quote from your post…
“They had a good portfolio and were reasonably priced. But they just couldn’t work within a brief. They had their own ideas and it didn’t matter what the client wanted.”
Shouldn’t that be…
“They had their own ideas because they are designers and know what looks good, they do it for a living and have a good portfolio to prove it” :)
I also see her spinning both ways… OOOoooer!
Nope – as someone above said – that would be an artist, not a professional designer : )
I saw her spinning clockwise.
Good news given I make videos.
Perhaps not so good news given I also happen to be a chartered accountant. Or is it good news because it means I’m not the stuffed shirt sort of chartered accountant?
And by the way I think that anyone who doesn’t keep their customers informed about what’s happening ought to get the wet sponge treatment.
I feel a blog post coming on.
M
I’m with you, Duane. Hiring a designer is a like a lottery and you are forced to live in fear of escalating charges and slipping delivery times, no matter how well you spec the job (and how clear they profess to be with the brief at the start of it!).
BTW, I’m very definitely seeing anti-clockwise spinning. Can’t make it go clockwise no matter how hard I try. Didn’t think I was THAT logical!
Curiously the direction she spins can be determined by which way I want her to spin. With no “pre-determination” she tends to go clockwise, but I can quickly see her go anticlockwise if I want her to.
Is this a really a reliable way to assess someone’s character? I hope not.
Am I being too hard by judging someone’s professionalism on what they produce, not why they may be good at it? And if someone isn’t that good at something, hopefully time, circumstance, or a good friend, will tell them to try something else…
I can only see her going clockwise and no amount of straining will see it any other way – I’m yes a creative.
I think the implication that creative people are less likely to be business-minded is an absurd one plucked of thin air with very little evidence or substance behind it.
I’ve been referred to many times in my life as a ‘robot’ or ‘borg’ because of my unnatural levels of organisational skills and efficiency. I’m extremely business minded.
The natural creativity I possess doesn’t prevent this. Anyone can learn to be organised and efficient (and care about good service), it’s nothing to do with which side of your brain you use the most.
The reason why there are so many bad designers out there isn’t because they are ‘creative’, it’s because it costs next to nothing to set up a design service/business – startup costs are very very low.
Hence the industry is littered with loads of people who are just ‘having a go’ – who have poor design skills half the time and even worse customer service.
That’s not because they are creative, it’s because they aren’t serious about their ‘business’.
Amanda
either I’m going crazy & my eyes are playing tricks on me or this is a test of how much do you pay attention to detail. I sat and watched that illustration for a bit and it actually stops and changes directions.
I would however consider myself balanced left & right. I am a designer and I know my strengths and weakness and I could lean towards #1 – I’m a big picture thinker so sometimes I get wrapped up in a project and put more into that I’d originally planned. But I have a project manager that handles quotes and those types of details. I think it’s important for people to know where their skillset is and let everyone do what they are good at.
Overall I think the term “designer” is waaaaayyy too broad to try to generalize. A 15 year old with a stolen copy of photoshop may call himself a designer online yet he has no experience. Unfortunately there aren’t requirements to be able to use the term designer. I’d suggest as a client find designers through recommendations from your trusted business associates.
Yeeehaw! I’ve seen her swing erm spin both ways!
Very bizarre.
Anyway, what were we talking about?
Is it bad to say I can see her nipples? Is she spinning?
In a recent post on the KashFlow blog, Duane had a short rant at some of the pitfalls involved in trying to find a good designer. [...]
I’m not a designer but as film maker working mostly in the corporate environment, I like to give as good a service as humanly possible. Sometimes clients don’t realise just how much work has been put in on the job, and “Company 2″ seem to have created some kind of design perpetual motion machine if they could deliver unlimited changes for a fixed budget. No wonder they disappeared for periods of time – they were probably off to Las Vegas to pull a heist to pay for all the time they were working for you for nothing!
Anti-clockwise. No Hang on, Clockwise. No, its Anti-clockwise.
Can’t consciously flip her though. My Daughter saw both ways too.
I can see her spinning both ways too
I agree 100% with Duane. I had a designer & developer work together on a project. They’re both self-employed. The designer did a great design, the developer built a great cms system. The main problems were the same Duane experienced with his guys. They disappeared, didn’t answer emails for 2+ weeks, always under-estimated the time it would take to complete a project, never started on time and the list goes on. So I decided to get someone else to do more work. He was brilliant in the beginning with the whole project-management thing, coming up with ideas etc. He started work, almost completed it and then disappeared. Now what?? I’m still waiting for this guy to tell me what’s going on. We’re now 3 weeks over his deadline (that he set and I gave extra 2 weeks in case) and he just said he’s busy I must wait! WTF??
I say all developers (especially self-employed ones) should get someone to manage them and their clients. Most of them just sucks at business and keeping clients happy.
BTW, she’s spinning clockwise even if I look at her toes:-) Really thought I was left-brained.
I see her spinning both ways – it helps to blink hard to get her to change direction. As a creative who has had my own business for over 25 years, I do think creatives are lousy business people, mostly because they aren’t taking business courses in school, they’re either in art class or learning on the job somewhere. Creativity is like a river – it needs a strong channel to focus it, and when left to its own devices it tends to meander this way and that. I was in the film biz for 20 years, and the best people were excellent within the structure – but take them out of the structure and the often were unable to meet deadlines or budgets. A good producer (who is usually left and right brain balanced) keeps the job moving forward and the creatives on task.
Also, my brain has a very hard time with numbers – I have had a bookkeeper for years to help me keep track of everything correctly, because when the numbers don’t make sense my brain shuts down and I feel overwhelmed. But tell me we need a visual presentation by the weekend, and I’m your gal!!
I think that it’s a bit of an unfair generalization to say designers are not good at business. About 30-40% of our userbase are designers in small-med (and some large) businesses and many are doing great. Many of the creative business CEO’s are also designers and art directors.
I just don’t think the two (design and business) are linked. They’re separate talents but you can have either or both.
I’m the CEO of http://www.proworkflow.com, a web based project management solution. My background is 15+ years as a designer, art director and creative yet I’ve made a success of the business.