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Design professionalism in India

  • July 7, 2010
  • naina

I’ve had a glimpse of what it might be like to work with uncompromising standards in the design industry. Where client’s don’t take you for granted, give you all the information needed to make the project a success, don’t relegate design decisions to weekends and most-work hours and pay you on time without arguing how the designer owes them money instead. But, working on a country like India, where professionalism is an oxymoron at best and the attitude of “Chalta hai” [ everything goes ] is etched onto our very bones, day-to-day work as a designer is painful, demoralizing and seemingly-futile.

Not only do Indian clients treat Indian designers unprofessionally, even clients from the West tend to do the same probably because the last Indian designer they worked with, was exceedingly unprofessional. In either case, even a remote attempt at professionalism leads you to getting stared at like you left your brain somewhere – anywhere but not here. I cannot even begin to describe how difficult it is to go on doing what I love doing, in such an environment.

Reminders from people like @andyrutledge are what keep me going. To read what he writes and to feel what he writes is to believe that all is not lost. I am waiting – desperately – for his http://designprofessionalism.com/ project to launch. He might not know this but it would give some direction to countless designers who want to do the right thing even in the face of unprofessionalism not only from clients but from other design industry ‘professionals’ as well.

Advise, educate, and be unapologetic about getting the information you need to make the project a success.

from : http://unitinteractive.com/blog/2010/06/24/your-clients-are-not-stupid/

But what does an aspiring designer do when they don’t know what information would be needed to make a project a success? Without a benchmark, the designer, improvises. Usually, based on the standards he / she has seen / worked with earlier. Which are usually pathetic. There are so many designers in India who, let alone have an understanding of professionalism, don’t even have a creative brief format / questions that they administer to their clients prior to the project! For most, what matter is that they are getting a project. Everything else is dependent on client whims.

I have a fairly detailed creative brief that I use with my clients. Almost ALL my clients have complained about the length of that brief and many have explicitly told me they don’t see why such detail is necessary. Most clients do not bother to answer even half the questions in that brief. Some return it entirely empty, tell me they’ve made the 50% deposit and expect me to start. And in most cases, when repeated “Please fill the brief” emails / phone calls have fallen on deaf ears, I have started. Which is a bullshit thing to do but at least I know I am in Plato’s cave. link courtesy @andyrutledge

If everything runs smoothly, but the client repeatedly makes bad choices, then I am failing to adequately communicate the reason why those choices are wrong.

from : http://unitinteractive.com/blog/2010/06/24/your-clients-are-not-stupid/

I’ve had a similar encounter where the client insisted on picking what they wanted and all my attempts at explaining / recommendation-reasoning were thrown away. I was told I was “preaching” and trying to use colorful language to create a meaning that was not there behind the suggested shape / logo. Yes, I finished the project by delivering the EPS file of the design he wanted – as soon as possible – and I did not ask him to settle the bill either. I was happy he was gone before I could beat myself up more.

Yes, a client may not be familiar with the nuance of typography or social media, etc., but that lack of experience is why they hired you.

from : http://unitinteractive.com/blog/2010/06/24/your-clients-are-not-stupid/

Yeah? Then why do almost all of them tell you which typeface to use because that’s the one they’ve been using for the last five years? Why do they treat every piece of recommendation and briefing as ‘artsy’ talk? And I’m not talking about the few great clients I’ve had the pleasure of working with – like @shefaly – she was one of my best clients.

While I don’t encourage blind acceptance of what a designer throws a client’s way, I am also not comfortable being told to ‘just do something’ like the competitor’s logo.

To even suggest that a client’s intellect is inferior because they disagree is just plain childish. Suck up your creative angst and try to see where they are coming from.

from : http://unitinteractive.com/blog/2010/06/24/your-clients-are-not-stupid/

And what if you know the client is not coming from a place that has anything to do with the design in question? How do you determine that before you have even begun working on a project? Most issues always seem to crop up just when the design engagement is about to close. An extra iteration is needed and if you so much as indicate that extra iteration = extra effort = extra work, it’s almost like you’ve gone and slapped the client. Design engagements in India, for the majority of clients, have only price as the motivation – the place they’re coming from.

What I tell myself is that at least I gave my recommendations and gave a detailed explanation of why I would recommend a particular design. As Daniel Nordstrom says in the comments on the above article, at least I know that the client made an informed decision. But there are times when they “…just want something…” and logo is “…something shiny…”.

…after years of seeming success with compromise and false professionalism, actual professionalism becomes unrecognizable.

from : http://www.andyrutledge.com/platos-cave.php

Yes, someone, please tell me what actual professionalism is, because I don’t even see the shadows around me.

RECOMMENDED READING :
http://www.andyrutledge.com/stupid-is-as-stupid-does.php
http://www.andyrutledge.com/platos-cave.php
http://unitinteractive.com/blog/2010/06/24/your-clients-are-not-stupid/
http://blog.frankchimero.com/post/777628842/holiday

Thanks @andyrutledge for being who you are.

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5 comments
  1. Nitin Garg says:
    July 7, 2010 at 1:27 am

    I totally understand the motivation, frustration behind this article !
    I think, the overall issue of professionalism in creative industry is affected by two things.

    First, Designers need to stop thinking & behave like they are the client sometimes ! And, the most smartest breed of people who can help, control businesses/organizations.

    Second, clients need to stop thinking that design is just about colors & software and they can do it too ! They just have more important things to care about so hiring someone else.

    Just these two aspects need to change & we will be in a better design-world.

  2. Naina says:
    July 7, 2010 at 12:24 pm

    Nitin, apart from simply doing away arrogance and ego, there needs to be an understanding of what design does. Even as designers, most Indian designers don’t understand what they are finally delivering to the client – what value they are delivering. If we, as designers, do not understand our profession, we have no right to be in it. While the notion of educating clients is a noble one, most clients in India are not interested in being educated – they “just want a logo” – they don’t know what long-term value a logo might impart to their brand and if you do try to explain how a project would ideally work, they scoff at your ‘idealism’.

    I don’t know what th answer is because I am still learning. I doubt that simply changing the two aspects that you have mentioned, will change the design industry scenario in India. It’s like saying that the plight of the human race can be changed if only two things are removed, the wars and poverty – it is not going to happen. The way I see it, it is going to happen only if taken on as a personal crusade by each designer on their own. As a collective community, we should work toward some program that increases design awareness among the non-designers and increases design professionalism amongst designers themselves. If a client misbehaves in terms of professionalism with ONE designer, every other designer should refuse to work with them unless they agree to at least sit down and listen / argue / discuss with us and then decide for themselves, which route would be best for them. It is scary to think that a client who says “just give me a logo, I’m paying you” and then refuses to fill-in a brief, for example, is someone who controls the project.

  3. nishant says:
    July 7, 2010 at 3:19 pm

    great article, well there are various solutions to this problem since this is not a single problem.

    Educating the client in however way might be one of the good solutions, like what you just did. creating a community and getting all the designers seems to be another.

    Regards,
    Nishant Kalia

  4. vikram Singh says:
    July 7, 2010 at 3:23 pm

    I see where the anger frustration and helplessness feelings come from to make you write such an article. But i beg to differ, not that i am some big-shot logo designer of some really FaNCy design agency to give out my two cents on the topic.

    Some how i feel DESIGN is never given any importance in India. Even though in todays changing times people are still not educated regarding the importance of design. So our first step should be teach them the importance of design and how it can help promote the business and establish a BRAND. I am sure most people wont know the difference between a brand and identity! (maybe even I fully dont)

    Well I have learned this over time with clients of various “Mind Set” and at the end I feet that the most common part in every client is the fact they are like “little kids running after a big dream”.
    * Some are too shy and don’t know if they can convey their idea to you
    * Some of them are confused with there surrounding! Don’t know what they want?
    * Some are just in too much hurry that they will jump at the first thing they get.
    * Some of them are perfectionist and forget about the rest of the things!
    * some want everything they can think of in a LOGO.
    * Some are too proud/pompous, who believe tehy have the perfect design without any evaluation (based on a hunch feeling or the WOW factor)

    * Finally there are some who have TRUST in the designer. (best clients)

    well I must say I have seen most of them and they are not that bad after all if you learn to handle each in a different manner. You have to mend your ways to get through to them. So following the “SAME” professional approach with all the clients wouldn’t be the smartest move, one has to predict first hand after talking to the client once or twice.

    I would always say listening is the key here, but filtering all what you have heard is most important. Have an original idea but do blend in the clients advice.

    After all the client should be HAPPY at the end of the day 🙂
    educate:learn:grow

    1. Naina says:
      July 8, 2010 at 12:11 am

      Vikram, thank you for a different point of view. In the article above, I’m not talking about keeping the same approach of design for all clients – depending on a client’s requirement, each project can have a different process of unfolding / solving. What I’m talking about above is keeping the same level of professionalism – meaning if I take a 50% deposit from one client, I should do that will all others instead of being taken in with promises of “I will give you more work.” – or, if a logo design project requires a creative brief to be completed, that brief should be applicable to all clients regardless of whether it is a multi-million-dollar company or an individual management consultant – or, if a client refuses to pay the balance due to me, I blog about it and take legal recourse whether it is a large company or a small company. It’s ‘professionalism’ I’m talking about, not the way a project is approached.

      If I take my car to a mechanic, I don’t expect him to repair / service the car based on whether I look like an idiot / genius to him. I expect him to service my car to the best of his abilities. The approach to servicing my car might be different – well because I might be a male / female and accordingly, I might / might not understand intricate working / jargon, or I might be someone who’s just bought the car and doesn’t know much about it or someone who’s had the car for a long time, or I might be a repeat customer or a fresh one – my car might be different from the ones the mechanic is used to servicing, etc. So, the approach to servicing my car will be different. But I will expect him to get genuine parts, clean the insides of the car, learn more about the car if it is a new model, give me an estimate before he starts and then deliver on time. [ These could be some of the many ‘professional’ ‘things’ I might expect from a car mechanic.

      Unfortunately, the problem, in the design industry, the way I see it, in India especially, is that even us designers are unable to define ‘design’ and hence we are unable to define what constitutes professionalism. We take work from a client who doesn’t know anything about design / what he wants from us and deliver the project ‘somehow’ so that we can get paid and move on. I’m not saying that a client needs to know the nuances of what logo design / branding are – but they should know enough that if they are hiring a professional, some level of trust and respect should be accorded instead of making the designer run around for the money they deserve or delaying projects to more than six months unnecessarily, simply because design is not a priority for them – and then fuming when they’re told that after six months, a fresh payment needs to be made to re-start the project.

      That kind of professionalism.

Comments are closed.





Naina Redhu is a professional photographer & visual artist.

Her career, spanning 16 years, started with an MBA in IT & Systems, to a job as an Innovation Management Consultant, to branding & graphic design work for international clients, to a full-time solo-entrepreneurship as an Experience Collector.

Naina started her blog 16 years ago and it has evolved from writing about Creativity & Innovation, to sharing case studies about Branding & Graphic Design to finally a destination for some of the leading Luxury & Lifestyle brands as Naina writes features for these brands and photographs them.

Having traveled all over India as a child ( the advantage of having a father serving in the Indian Army ), she is also well-traveled across Europe ( Austria, Switzerland, Netherlands, Italy and France ), Asia ( Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam ), America ( New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco ), and Canada.

Naina has her own podcast called The Naina Redhu Experience, where she talks about the business and professional aspects of photography, blogging and influencer marketing in India.

Her abstract art, under the KhaosPhilos label can be shopped on the Naina.co online store and she is available for bespoke commissions as well.

"The New Rules of Online Brand Building", Naina's on-ground workshop, recently wrapped up its 7th Edition. Launched in 2018, "Workshops By Naina" is going to be seeing more editions across the country & online.

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