A couple months ago Chris told me about OnWired, a graphic design and web development firm located in Cary, North Carolina. I checked out their website and found out that they’re very small (fewer than 10 employees), they’ve only been around for a couple years, and they appear to be over their heads in business. We can certainly identify with the first two. And maybe we can learn from them in order to someday identify with the third, since it seems they had to face some of the same challenges that we face.

OnWired’s Jon Norris wrote a blog entry called “Why the disparity between our own site and the work in our portfolio?” It addresses a struggle that we haven’t completely resolved yet: finding a balance between giving the client what they think they want and giving the client what we think they need.

Jon writes about how when given freedom, OnWired can create beautiful, powerful websites; it’s when their skills are reduced to taking step-by-step directions from a client that OnWired’s creativity is stifled and their projects aren’t as successful. In Jon’s words:

With client work, however, I can’t do whatever I want. None of us can. We try, and we certainly make a case for our suggestions, but sometimes people just don’t listen. They hire us because of our expertise, but then some of them tie our hands and act like back seat drivers. Unfortunately, as we hear all too often, “the customer is always right.”

Jon goes on to write about requests that clients have actually made, whether directly or indirectly:

• You can only use Arial.
• You have to use these blurry, underexposed, pixelated and/or inappropriate photos.
• Make the logo bigger.
• Make the logo animated.
• We want to keep our lame old logo, even though you’re offering to design a newer, better one for free.
• Make it exactly like X.
• This looks too good for government work.

It’s easy for us at Cultivate to laugh at these requests, as they sound awfully familiar, and it’s almost comforting to know that other firms feel hindered by the same limitations. It’s painful to watch something you so lovingly created be picked apart until you don’t recognized it by the time it goes out the door. But worse yet is knowing that although you gave the client exactly what they think they want–or even exactly what they indirectly designed through your clicks of the mouse–you also gave them something that will ultimately be ineffective.

And yet….

And yet the client’s vital role in the project can’t be argued. After all, what do we know about funding a global ministry, arguing a case in trial, or selling handbags? Our clients know much more about their businesses, organizations and  institutions than we could ever hope to know. The insight into their niche is invaluable and without it, we couldn’t do our job effectively.

It’s funny, though, when a client tries to take complete reign of the project because just as they are professionals in their field, we are professionals in ours. We know how to design user-friendly websites, reach a targeted audience, visually evoke specific sentiments, drive traffic to a website, call a web user to action . . . the list goes on.

It turns out a project won’t be successful without the input of both parties, but we’re still figuring out that perfect balance. Despite successfully walking that fine line a few times with the help of mutual trust and respect, we’ve yet to figure out how to keep from falling off again.

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One day at Cultivate South Side we all crowded around Chris’ computer to watch a video called “Make My Logo Bigger Cream.” I rediscovered it while reading OnWired’s blog post. Check it out–you won’t be disappointed.