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Top ten lies told to designers

1 “Do this one cheap (or free) and we’ll make it up on the next one.”

2 “We never pay a cent until we see the final product.”

3 “Do this for us and you’ll get great exposure! The jobs will just pour in!”

4 On looking at sketches or concepts: “Well, we aren’t sure if we want to use you yet, but leave your material here so I can talk to my partner/investor/wife/clergy.”

5 “Well, the job isn’t CANCELLED, just delayed. Keep the account open and we’ll continue in a month or two.”

6 “Contract? We don’t need no stinking contact! Aren’t we friends?”

7 “Send me a bill after the work goes to press.”

8 “The last guy did it for XXX dollars.”

9 “Our budget is XXX dollars, firm.”

10 “We are having financial problems. Give us the work, we’ll make some money and we’ll pay you. Simple.”

In the end, working commercially, being a terrific artist is about 25% of the task. If that is the only part of the task that you are interested in, do yourself a favor. Don’t turn “pro.”

(from Painter Creativity, thru No Spec!)

No news for any designer. No matter where or when, if you’ve ever seated at the creative side of the table, you have for sure come across all this lies -coming out of the mouth of a hey-I’m-a-businessman-and-you’re-just-a-designer like guy. Good thing that the people of No Spec! put them all together.

(I have no idea where September went; A business trip to RR@Derby, a week off at a farm by the Baltic, a company strategy week and a couple of weekends filled with nature and children parties have eaten up the month…)