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I know there might be those of you have already seen this, but I felt to share it anyway because I just went through nearly this exact same deal.
Oh sure, I've had occasions where a company would pull this kind of stuff, but over all, it's rare.
The general public on the other hand is a whole different story. These are the ones who would have an eye for styles that they are used to seeing on the internet every day.
They aren't seemingly too interested in what works, per se', rather, they have the tendancy to want the sort of stylings they've been viewing already on the internet.
The concept of bloat doesn't even cross their minds, and if it did at all, they'ld be hard pressed to trying to understand it.
I've had quite a few come to me for quotes after running their "professional" presence on the likes of Facebook or Myspace ... each of them expecting that this is how it's done.
It isn't so much the function, but rather it's the bloat. They constantly want to add this, that or the other.
I was hooked into a scenerio not too unlike the one I posted the link to recently. Why? I have no idea .. it just happened that way .. and even in spite of the fact that I've had rules for business that are meant to eliminate these kinds of things from happening.
Unless you are a maintained/managed account, your website is like a new car. The minute you drive it off of the showroom floor, you've got to find someone else to change your oil. If you change your oil yourself? And do it wrong? Well then, there you go .. not much I can do about it really. It's yours, you've paid for the product, now go on out and crash it up against your grossly over estimated designing experience.
In the years gone by, I've had site owners mess a design up so bad, that I would refuse to put the link to it anywhere. What's worse is, in after they've put their final touches to the site, they'll go around bragging about how great their designer is/was .. I wouldn't want people to think that I was the one that made those grotesque and rather pointless changes to their pages, and I've been known to actually ringing them up on occasion to ask that they not make reference to me when they go on and on about their site.
I do have a "fix" for all ye sympathizing with this.
At this stage,
. . . I'm the CEO so I feel obligated to make some changes . . .
Where I **used** to get hung up - and I'm sure many designers do, without admitting it - is my ego won't let go. I've created a work of art here, and I hang on for dear life hoping to turn it around. As soon as this stuff starts to happen, the job begins to flounder. You wake every morning wishing it would just go away, but can't let go. So you stifle your sensibilities to pander to the client, and it just gets worse . . .
Now when this happens, I draw the line. I state careful and specific reasons why this has to stay the way it is, I base them on design principles and facts, not just touting my experience in the area . . . this gets you nowhere (and turns into what I call a "p****ing match, a game of designer "mirror mirror . . . ")
This is a turning point: either you let me help you, or find someone that will do what you want and follow you into perdition. When you see the error of your ways, I assure you, when you come back I will be glad to help.
Sometimes they appreciate the honesty, sometimes they go away. In either case, I don't have to live with a big mistake!
Now I say: you draw exactly what you want on paper. Or get someone else to. When you've finished and you're happy with it, send it over to me and I'll reproduce your 2D design as an interactive, standards-compliant, semantically-optimised website. But it'll be your design. You take responsibility for it. I'm not changing it once you've sent it to me.
Silence. A week later the client says, "We'll move forward with the project programming but we're using a design by [local newcomer], he's really GREAT, here's the link." No discussions, no nuttin' . . . the chosen design was sliced, diced, and julienned by a WYSIWY proggie (had to re-assemble the slices to get it to work,) as stale as a burnt piece of toast with salt on it. Ahh well . . .
It took a lot of convincing to get them to allow me to require a click to play rather than having it start playing when you hit the front page.
It had nothing to do with anything on the site. The only reasoning ever given was that the owner loved that song.
A phrase I have adopted when this type of thing happens is this.
"I am the expert, you hired me for my expertise, if you don't want to take it then I can't do anything for you."
Usually this jars logic and reasoning in them, and if not, I usually drop them or suggest they check out graduates from local colleges who are desperate for work and are willing to be kicked around in this fashion.
What is missing from the cartoon is the part where you submit your invoice for the original design + all the rounds of changes made to it and it is met with:
"I am only paying for 1 design not 4"
What is missing from the cartoon is the part where you submit your invoice for the original design + all the rounds of changes made to it and it is met with:"I am only paying for 1 design not 4"
I pissed away the last hour reading and emailing the comics.
I stupidly took on the design of a business card for this type of customer. He now wants me to put snapshots (multiple) of the place on his card. Ugh! At least he hasn't said (yet) that the logo should be bigger.
After the 2nd revision I emailed him a very short list of y/n questions. If his reply includes any comments that are not on my list I'll be happy to refer him to another designer.
