My little studio was contracted to do four pieces for a client that had a tradeshow coming up. We had never worked with the client before, so we requested reference material for their brand. For color reference, they sent us the package design they did for their boxes.

Client: “I don’t like the colors you chose; they don’t speak ‘beauty’.”

Me: “I used the exact colors from the color reference you sent.”

Client: “No, your colors don’t speak ‘beauty’. I don’t think you understand our aesthetic.”

After we submitted three different designs, the client then made their own designs in Word, using pieces from the designs we submitted. They then demanded that we remake them to be printable.

Finally, they refused to pay us more than the initial deposit.

The sales representative from my company came to me asking for a logo for “his brother’s building company”. That was all the information given, so I asked for a bit more information, like “What do they build?” and “What’s the target market?”

He then forwarded my email to his brother, accidentally CCing me and adding this line:

Client: “Can you answer these? Designers are a funny breed. He wants a brief.”

My uncle contacted me about doing three or four illustrations for his organization’s website. He said the work would be paid, and we agreed on my price, adjusted for family. We corresponded and discussed what he wanted and what I was doing, with copies of my progress sent every now and then to keep his mind at ease.

I sent over some work when we were about 75% complete so he could see how it was coming along.

Uncle: “What are these?”

Me: “Illustrations, like you asked me to do.”

Uncle: “Actually, we were hoping for you to redesign the website. These are nice, though.”

Me: “Well, I can redesign the website, too, but I’ll have to charge a separate fee for that.”

Uncle: “I spoke to some of the other guys in the company. We were hoping that you’d do it for free because you like the company.”

Me: “But you said this was paid work.”

Uncle: “Only to get you interested.”

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Working With Family Is The Worst

Client: “It says my password is incorrect, but I’m sure I entered it correctly.”

Me: “Okay, let’s try to log on with my computer. Can I have your password?”

The client hands me a (poorly) handwritten note with eight different passwords, all thirty-two digits long.

Client: “It should be one of these.”

Me: “You know, there’s really no need to make your passwords that long. Eight digits should be enough.”

Client: “That wouldn’t be very safe, now, would it?!”

Me: “How many locks do you have on your front door?”

Client: “One. Why?”

Me: “Why not ten? It’s much safer.”

Client: “That’s stupid. It would take ages to get into my house.”

Me: “I finished the design for the booklet’s front and back cover. Is there anything you want me to change?”

Client: “It needs to be more professional.”

Me: “What do you mean by that? I need some specifics. Colours, shapes or fonts? What am I changing?”

Client: “You’re the professional.”