I can not stand this client. He know’s exactly what he wants but can’t put it on paper. He is demanding, impatient and belittling when it comes to my work. Did I mention he is also me.
I’ve always believed that the hardest client to please is yourself. I mean, I couldn’t even design my wedding invitations that my wife asked me to do. I was lucky that one of my designer friends was more than happy to do them for us.
Sitting down to design something for myself includes: procrastination, tons of revisions, beating myself up because, “it’s not good enough,” and eventually compromising by creating what I think is mediocre work.
I know the reason I do this is because when I design something for myself it will represent me. It’s just like when you want to look your best when you go out. I think this is a never-ending battle and it just comes with the territory of being an artist.
In all the years I’ve been doing graphic design I can only think of two projects that I designed to promote myself (with the exception of this blog heading). That’s right, two. These are just the finished projects. There are several more that I deemed to horrible to be viewed by the human eye.
Final thought: designing for yourself is torture.
This two screenshots of my portfolio are simple but the client was pleased enough to show it in a job interview.
This is a business card for my lifegroup that my wife and I lead.