Working with Non-Creatives by Sarah Whinnem

Posted: March 21, 2009 at 7.40 am
Posted by Sarah Whinnem in Guest, creativity

Website : madysondesigns.com
Twitter : @madysondesigns

Working with Non-Creatives by Sarah Whinnem

We’ve all been there before, right? You are in a meeting discussing the layout for [insert your project here] when someone says ‘This isn’t in English!’

You tell them, ‘No, it’s not in English, it will be replaced by the real copy once it is written.’

‘Also, can we put a different picture instead of the one with letters across it? What does ‘FPO’ mean anyway?‘

I’ve seen many people get frustrated in a situation like this- myself included. It’s unfortunately a reality of working with those who don’t have a creative mindset. Your client, co-worker, or boss is paying attention to the minute details which haven’t been finalized anyway, rather than focusing on the big picture ideas. So you have to explain to them what ‘for positioning only’ means, and you have to walk them through each of the important parts of the design, and point out to them where they need to make decisions, and the process ends up being quite painful. Trust me, I feel your pain.

Many things can be practiced and learned, but I definitely believe some things are just easier for certain types of people. For example, I can dissect a music box that isn’t working and figure out why, but the music that it plays? It boggles my mind. I have tried for years, taking lessons and classes, but my brain just isn’t programmed to be able to understand music. And some people’s minds just don’t have whatever creative spark that enables them to fill in the visual blanks.

So how do you get past this block to make collaboration easier? The really obvious answer is to try and find a parallel that you can use to compare your thought process to your client’s. What if you can’t come up with one? Have you spoken to your client not just about what he wants from the particular piece you’re working on, but also about what he wants from you as a designer? Where does he want to be in five years? It sounds cliché, but what are his hopes and goals? The more details you can discuss, the more likely it is that you will find an idea you both fall in love with to use as a springboard.

Once you’ve started the actual design, be sure you provide as much information back to him. Don’t expect him to be able to picture something when you have only given him a skeleton of an idea. It pays off to take a good look at your concept and to spend time fleshing out your best ideas. You may spend more time making revisions in advanced stages, but on the plus side, it makes it more likely that the client will be on board with the idea you’ve been laboring over. Then, explain what your hopes and goals are with the design, and where you need his input. Walking through your ideas may seem self-indulgent, but you will give yourself and your client more of a common ground to stand on.

Because as basic as this may sound, you and your client always have something in common- you’re just exchanging data. It’s your job as a designer to know what data you’re looking for. He is providing technical and proprietary data, and you are providing visual and conceptual data back to him. The problem starts when either of you haven’t brought enough data to the table. The more time you spend comparing and organizing your data, the more information you will have to build with, and the less time he will have to spend trying to interpret your design.

Perhaps the most important thing to learn from working with non-creative people is that they might not ever fully understand ‘you creative types.’ And if you happen to have a client who is a creative type, then enjoy the relationship while it lasts.