What Happens When a Client Doesn’t Like Your Designs?

I think every web designer has come across the client that just says, "you are the professional, I trust you". However when you produce examples for them you find that their expectations were not the same as yours. This can be a difficult situation to handle, and needs to be done not to inflame the situation.

Obviously the best thing to do is to give your client a form to fill in upfront and tell them that the more information they can give you the better. If they give you not much information it is a good idea to make it clear to them that you will do your best but it is possible their expectations may be different from yours.

Once you have done the designs and they are confirm that it is not what they want, they may be slightly annoyed or upset. It is important to handle this situation properly to ensure everybody is happy and gets what they want. Below is our list of top tips for handling this situation.

1. Don’t Point out their Failings.

You may be tempted to just tell the client "well you didn’t give me a brief". This is probably not the best thing to do at first as it may only succeed in annoying your client.

2. Explain the Design Process.

In most cases the initial design is a starting point and work can be done on the design to get it right. It is a good idea to ask probing questions, find out what it is that they don’t like and if possible what they do like. You might not what to say "Well what don’t you like?" as they will probably say nothing. However once you have explained this is a starting point, you might what to ask them, what they think of the colours, or what changes they would make to the layout. This will help to start a conversation on the design. You may even get to the point where they admit they like some bits.

3. Be Specific

It is important to understand that your client may need to have their hand held through the whole process. The more you can explain to them and the more information you can get from them the better. Never just accept the statement "It is not what I was looking for". Be as specific as possible with them to find out which bits work and which bits don’t.

4. Bring up the past

Once you have begun a discussion with your client and got them thinking about things, it might now be a good idea to bring up the lack of information. This should be delicately and as part of a discussion. Explaining to them that there was not much information in the beginning and that it can sometimes be difficult that way, but now you have something to work from it will be easier to get it just right for them.

5. Butter them up a bit

It is important to remember that you are the designer and you want to do something that is right for your client and not for you. It might be a good idea to point this out to the client and say that although you can do the design you value their input. You can then ask them, shall we keep this bit or take it out? They might be very receptive to this approach as they will feel they are important.

Above are the major points to consider, however it is important to remember that there is no pleasing some people. If someone refuses to give you any input and just keeps telling you they don’t like, don’t afraid to tell them that you don’t think you can produce what they are looking for. If you simply cannot please someone, your time may be better spent on clients that are happy to work with you.

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