Clients from hell

I recently had the opportunity to work with a new client. She was so appreciative of all the changes I made to her artwork, and when I sent her a template that she needed she said I was amazing… It was so nice for her to recognize the hard work that I put into her project, and sweet of her to thank me (and I quote  – “a million thanks!”) every single time I completed another revision. I started to wonder this: How many times do we as designers complain about the awful clients and forget to be thankful for the wonderful ones?

Here – you go throw this away!

So, there’s a catch in my throat.

Cough. Cough…

Don’t worry, I’m ok. It’s just -hack- one of those ‘CVS extra care’ cards – you know, the ones that they just won’t let you leave without every time you set foot in their store… Joking aside, some of the clerks are so aggressive with those cards that they won’t take no for an answer.  Anyone else ever experience this?

Reminds me of a Mitch Hedberg quote. “Whenever I walk somewhere, and someone hands me a flyer, it’s like they’re telling me ‘Here,you go throw this away.’”

Ok, so I’m different. I get it.

Growing up, I was always the tallest kid in the class. In Jr. High, I was thankful that there were at least 2 guys taller than I was! I’m actually 5’9 and a half inches…  Which to me doesn’t seem all that tall. But, you do notice when you’re out and about that some things seem to be tailored towards those 5’5″ and below. Take for instance, bathroom sinks. How many times do I have to bend down just to wash my hands? And today, while trying on sunglasses, the only thing I could see in the mirror was —– my chin. How very helpful. Note to Target, men try on sunglasses too (well, I think they do!) – and their average height is 5’9″. All of this piques my interest, simply because I am a designer, and I strive towards intelligent design. This means taking into account factors that you normally never would. How many things out there are designed for right handed people? How many stores actually follow the A.D.A standards? What about  colors? Red, which means caution or “stop” here in the US, is a happy and prosperous color in China.

To sum it all up, I think many times in life we believe our point of view is the only valid one. We don’t stop and think “well how does this person see it” or “what if we approached it this way”. This is a note to self to remain open and have a global world view…

To Blog or not to blog?

Ka-thump. Ka-thump. Ba-boom. The loud pounding of my heart seemed to block out anything and everything at that moment. Someone was talking to me, but I couldn’t quite make out the words. “What’s that? I have to appear before the discipline committee???”

To give a little background, I attended a small boarding school in West Africa, and apparently several of my high school friends had broken the rules by being part of a renegade band. One of the band members happened to be a close friend of mind to whom I’d written many close and personal letters. These letters had been read…. And I was implicated in… In what? Supporting my friend’s hobby? Negativity towards the school? Bad taste? I honestly don’t recall, but I do remember the feeling of outrage and betrayal. How dare they invade my privacy? How dare they read those words, spoken from the heart and intended only for my dear friend’s eyes?

I somehow imagined this is what it would feel like to publish random thoughts online, for millions to read.. Almost like an invasion of privacy. Then I laughed to myself. Really? Really. Who is going to read my blog? Perhaps a few curious friends; parents – relatives. Maybe one or two people that I’ve followed on Twitter. And to those of you who are reading right now, thanks for your interest, and I sincerely hope that nothing I say here offends. This is honestly an experiment for me, since I’ve always liked writing (and this is ten million times quicker than entering things into my journal). I will (and trust me, do) hold back, but I think this may just be more therapeutic than it is embarrassing. Only time will tell.

Technology – a necessary evil

As my driver lifted his shirt to expose the knife scars he’d sustained in prison, I thought to myself “Ok, don’t panic…” It was several years ago, before cell phones became mainstream. Ok, many years ago. I had set out from college, on a break – trying to reach Nashville TN from Siloam Springs, AR… All alone.. In a 1985 Ford Crown Victoria. The check engine light had suddenly lit up, and a “nice gentleman” had stopped to help me out. Turns out it was his birthday, and his wife was cheating on him (with his brother!!)- and did I have any drugs? He proceeded to try to drive me around to find an open auto repair store. Then, he drove me to a deserted airplane hangar to work on my car for me.. And after managing to take out the thermostat, he drove me to his place so that I could call my friends and let them know I was on my way. *Luckily* for me, this “nice gentleman” was indeed just that.

As I look back on my stupidity, I realize that I did in fact have a guardian angel. Had I owned a cell phone, none of the above would have happened – and I would not have to be sheepish and embarrassed to reveal how crazy I was in accepting help from a total stranger! (I hate to admit it, but there was another time my car broke down.. an hour away from home.. a kind trucker stopped to let me use his cell, and my dad fixed my car right there on the highway! I am sure it was difficult for my dad to watch me drive away, not knowing what other dangers I might encounter..:)

This is just an example of how I’ve shunned technology in the past. And actually, I’m still not a huge fan of my phone! Technology… I never thought it was my friend – part of this, I think, came from growing up overseas. As a designer, I’ve begun to embrace technology, but I’m still kicking and screaming. I liked this quote from Robert M. Pirsig:

“The result is rather typical of modern technology, an overall dullness of appearance so depressing that it must be overlaid with a veneer of “style” to make it acceptable. And that, to anyone who is sensitive to romantic Quality, just makes it all the worse. Now it’s not just depressingly dull, it’s also phony. Put the two together and you get a pretty accurate basic description of modern American technology: stylized cars and stylized outboard motors and stylized typewriters and stylized clothes. Stylized refrigerators filled with stylized food in stylized kitchens in stylized homes. Plastic stylized toys for stylized children, who at Christmas and birthdays are in style with their stylish parents. You have to be awfully stylish yourself not to get sick of it once in a while. It’s the style that gets you; technological ugliness syruped over with romantic phoniness in an effort to produce beauty and profit by people who, though stylish, don’t know where to start because no one has ever told them there’s such a thing as Quality in this world and it’s real, not style. Quality isn’t something you lay on top of subjects and objects like tinsel on a Christmas tree. Real Quality must be the source of the subjects and objects, the cone from which the tree must start.”
— Robert M. Pirsig