Freelancers all have horror stories about clients who could never be satisfied, who were unreasonably and constantly demanding but then seemed to disappear when the money is due. There will always be bad clients and it is one of the negative drawbacks we freelancers have to accept in exchange for getting to work in our pajamas and on our own schedule. But you aren't one of those clients, right?
Of course, as in all relationships, I carry a part of the blame in the difficulties. At times, my ego, inconsistencies in my communication or overenthusiastic promises have caused strain and delay in deliveries. Each project I take on seems to teach me more about my working process, creativity and how to practice efficient communication. This treatise on good client-artist relationships is a culmination of all of that experience and reflection...
Please don't fight me on signing a contract. If we don't sign a contract, we don't have a working relationship and you might as well stop reading this now. Requiring a contract is not a statement of mistrust. It is a method for us to iron out all the details and confirm both of our expectations and roles in the project. The contract provides us a mutual starting point for the development your project and to determine fair cost, timelines and responsibilities.
Tell me when and what you don't understand -- before and after we sign a contract -- and I will do my best to explain until you get it. This applies both to the terms of our contract as well as design, editing and organizational terms that might confuse you. I try to keep my technical lingo to a minimum but sometimes, especially in the middle of a project, I'll get a little caught up in the geekiness of it all. If you don't speak up, I'll assume you understand and will keep using the terminology and making design decisions based on that assumption.
Be realistic in your expectations and I'll be realistic in my promises. I am a one girl operation. I cannot design and build a major website in 3 weeks and I cannot work on your project full time (unless you want to pay me a full time salary!). I work hard and I do good work but I don't do it all. As we work through the proposal process, I will be honest with you about what I can give you and on what timeline. If you require something I cannot provide, I will help you find someone who can. You also need to honestly assess how much time and resources you can offer to the project to provide both content and feedback.
Establish a common sense approach to communication. We live in brilliant times with so many ways to communicate with each other. Modern technology empowers me to do what I love to do. However, with email, instant messaging, drop boxes, Skype, Basecamp and voicemail it is easy to get messages confused and get lost in the conversation. I make sure to talk with each client about which methods of sharing feedback and files will prove most efficient for both of us. I try to be as accessible as possible to my clients but I also need the time to actually work on my projects. Answering a dozen one sentence emails or daily IM check-ins is not a good use of my time or yours. Consciously collecting all of your quick dash questions into one formative email or one extended instant message conversation will help me help you more efficiently and with greater creative freedom. On my end, I take client-artist communication seriously and respond to all work emails within one business day, even though sometimes my response is simply an ETA for a proper response.
Designate a point person for feedback and design direction. I once had a client's wife, mother-in-law and best friend all contact me with their edits and advice for the website. Not only was this extremely unprofessional, they contradicted each other's ideas so that I had no clue what to do with the development of the site. While I strongly suggest that you ask for feedback from colleagues and friends, it is very important that I have only one person providing me with feedback to avoid confusion and conflicts.
Trust me & my experience and I will listen to you. If you've hired me, there must have been something you liked about my aesthetic and my work. I not only need but want feedback, suggestions and critique. Any feedback provided to me will be answered with a thorough and thoughtful response. However, sometimes this response will be an explanation of why I feel your suggestions won't work for your project due to accessibility, aesthetic, technical or other means. One of my favorite parts of the client-artist relationship is our creative collaboration. I love when clients embrace this process as well.
Pay me when payment is due. The terms of payment are different for each project and each client relationship. The cost, parameters of the project and payment structure will all be defined in our contract to prevent any miscommunication or misunderstandings. If you request that I do work that falls outside of the framework of the contract, I will advise of you any additional cost before proceeding. I make my living working as a designer, writer and artist. I love what I do... but I also love to pay my bills on time! Of course, I understand that sometimes there is a delay. When this occurs, it is vital that clients are honest and forthcoming so I can know what the situation is and budget my time and finances accordingly. Pay me for my work and we'll be good.
