Do Clients Really Know What They Want Actually?

[ankrulzz]

So I was working today this morning and i got a message from someone who wanted poster for mid modern textures he gave me some photo’s so i just created a simple one to start , he was looking for abstract design , i created one but he was not satisfied and i have to close the order the main thing is i am new here so i just have 50% rate of delivery which kills me know 😦

i have attached the design anyways do tell me did i something wrong ?

[misscrystal]

The second one has nothing to do with mid- modern. The first one doesn’t either.

Is it possible he meant textiles, not textures? I think you should offer a refund. You are not able to complete this.

You could have googled mid century modern images for ideas:

[pacquo]

So I was working today this morning and i got a message from someone who wanted poster for mid modern textures he gave me some photo’s so i just created a simple one to start , he was looking for abstract design , i created one but he was not satisfied and i have to close the order the main thing is i am new here so i just have 50% rate of delivery which kills me know 😦

i have attached the design anyways do tell me did i something wrong ?

4.png1248×1824 419 KB

13x19 design.png1248×1824 159 KB

do tell me did i something wrong

We can’t really tell unless we see the requirements. “Mid modern” and “abstract” are vague definitions. There is a declination of “modern” for every decade from the 20s onwards, and the second sample is not a texture.

I don’t understand this part:

i created one but he was not satisfied and i have to close the order

No revisions? No time extension?

[misscrystal]

I assume he meant mid-century modern. Unless you know what that is and understand it then I don’t think it’s possible to create what he wants. That is a very definite style that is popular. This shower curtain would be an updated version of it:

So would this pattern:

You would need to be familiar with interior design styles probably. Notice the “boomerang” and “sputnik” shapes. So since you asked what you did wrong, you attempted something that 1. was not clear to you what he meant and 2. is not something you are familiar with. It cannot be faked, or picked up without understanding this style, what it involves. This is an order which needs to be cancelled due to this.

[lenasemenkova]

I assume he meant mid-century modern. Unless you know what that is and understand it then I don’t think it’s possible to create what he wants. That is a very definite style that is popular. This shower curtain would be an updated version of it:

So would this pattern:

You would need to be familiar with interior design styles probably. Notice the “boomerang” and “sputnik” shapes. So since you asked what you did wrong, you attempted something that 1. was not clear to you what he meant and 2. is not something you are familiar with. It cannot be faked, or picked up without understanding this style, what it involves. This is an order which needs to be cancelled due to this.

The short answer is no. Most clients don’t know what they want. If you’re in luck they’ll have a general idea in their head and by asking the right questions you’ll be able to get a general outline of what it is.

Some know but can’t express it with words. Or can express it with words but can’t be bothered to actually do it because you know, you are a “professional”, it’s your job to guess.

In visual media you can protect yourself the following way:

1. Ask questions. Ask them to clarify the most obvious terms. I get a lot of orders that tell me to make something “fun” and when I ask them to provide a reference of what they mean by “fun”, let’s just say, what shows up in my inbox is not what I’d consider even remotely that. People are different.

2. Ask for visual references. 1 or 2 pictures will be enough to get a general sense of what they like.

3. Don’t ever think “ah whatever, I’ll just try to guess and we’ll see what happens”. You’ll fail 90% of the time, waste your time and money.

I’ve lost a pretty interesting project last week because the potential buyer refused to provide me with any specifics aside from the very general concept. I’d ask them direct questions like “what file format do you need this in (.JPG, .PDF, .PSD…)?” and receive no answer. We have an election week in my country that is turning into a disaster and I’ll probably end up waving a flag somewhere next week instead of working so really, the last thing I need is this dude showing up and demanding me to convert the file into 10 other formats I didn’t guess at random in the middle of all that.

In other words, don’t guess, ask. You won’t just guess.

Also, I’m pretty sure “I don’t like it” is not a valid reason for a cancellation especially if the direction was vague. I’m assuming cancelation is what you mean by “closing the order”.

PS It looks like I responded directly to Miss Crystal. I meant to post a general response to the topic, oops.