November 20, 2009

Things gone awry

I think of this blog as my vacation getaway, a happy diversion from commercial graphic design work. (Except for the occasional logo quiz, of course.) But I'm compelled to mention a hilarious site which designers everywhere will appreciate. Clients From Hell is "A collection of anonymously contributed client horror stories from designers." Welcome to the wonderful world of graphic design! (Via Coudal.)

40 comments:

  1. Live a Colorful LifeNovember 20, 2009 at 12:17 PM

    My husband, who designs kitchens, hates it when clients complain about knot holes in solid wood cabinets. Uh, they come from trees, not manufactured. If you can't handle it, then get painted cabinet doors.

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  2. Grandma GNovember 20, 2009 at 12:24 PM

    Gee, Cindy... I'd complain, too, if my new cabinets had 'holes' in them! Knots I could live with, though. ;)

    So, Jess... have you submitted any stories to that web site?

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  3. KateNovember 20, 2009 at 1:00 PM

    To be fair, black levels are one of the things I fight regularly with (that my bosses never ever notice, but will make me crazy if they're not right), so while I get why that quote is funny, it's something I might be compelled to say, if I weren't the one in charge of how things looked!

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  4. BrieNovember 20, 2009 at 1:06 PM

    I had one client tell me that they needed an image with 300 dpis and that I should fax it over right away. lol

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  5. MollieNovember 20, 2009 at 1:11 PM

    Thank you so much for sharing this link! The next time I feel like crying over ridiculous client comments, I'll remember these and laugh!

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  6. picknstitchNovember 20, 2009 at 1:12 PM

    Ooo, I'm gonna flip over to that site right now! I also work in the graphic design/layout world as my day job, and I'd love to hear the stories of others- sort of vicariously venting...

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  7. jessilongNovember 20, 2009 at 1:13 PM

    I just found this blog yesterday too. Way too funny.

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  8. BJ LantzNovember 20, 2009 at 1:48 PM

    I contributed a story there some time ago about a client I was doing a logo for. Besides wanting far too many item represented in her logo, she kept changing her mind about the style/look of the "sun" element. After several go-arounds I told her I was out of suns. She actually said to me, "BJ, I know you must have a million suns in your computer."

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  9. DKANovember 20, 2009 at 1:48 PM

    After reading the 'nuttiest, most epic email exchange' on this site, I am 85% sure that "Mike the Client" was once my boss. No joke. Not during the time of this exchange, but before. He is now on to something new yet again. I wish I could chat with the contributor and find out for sure.

    Funny site! Thanks for sharing!!

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  10. AnonymousNovember 20, 2009 at 1:55 PM

    Ugghhh. I can't decide if the stories are funny or sad. They really remind me of emails I've gotten in the past too, but the really nutty customers are the ones who email you 60 times over the course of a month, and there is just too much there to show exactly why they were a pain.

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  11. Emily ClaireNovember 20, 2009 at 2:26 PM

    From the site:

    I was meeting with a prospective client to work on a children’s picture book about a wounded cat who finds a happy home. The author asked me to produce a sample drawing, which she described as follows:

    “There must be maggots in the cat’s cut. I want them to be detailed and life like. The maggots should be the focal point of the drawing”.

    Oh. Oh my.

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  12. AnonymousNovember 20, 2009 at 2:32 PM

    Whoa! Mu sympathies to all of you who have to deal with that stuff!

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  13. IsaNovember 20, 2009 at 2:35 PM

    Thank you for the laugh!!
    It was very funny reading :-)

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  14. AprilNovember 20, 2009 at 4:49 PM

    Loving this website! thanks

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  15. RyanNovember 20, 2009 at 5:35 PM

    You must have known what my week has been like. I just shook one of these types of clients yesterday, and am feeling 20lbs lighter today.

    I work at a marketing firm, and you'd be surprised how many of these types of ignorant comments come from the poeple who WORK here.

    Thanks for sharing!

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  16. amybluestarNovember 20, 2009 at 7:35 PM

    I work with graphic designers every day - I hope I've never tortured them. I try not to.

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  17. KaviareNovember 20, 2009 at 8:11 PM

    That's fantastic! My latest one was someone wanted an arrow in a flow chart to be 'zingier! You know... with more floof!'

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  18. Elisa @ What the VitaNovember 20, 2009 at 8:25 PM

    hilarious site, except for that story about Mike.. I feel bad for him.. I want to give him a hug.

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  19. Mary KellyNovember 20, 2009 at 8:52 PM

    NICE! I will share that with my fellow designers at work. We know these clients all too well, also a graphic designer here.

    :)

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  20. joy.November 20, 2009 at 9:18 PM

    My favourite by far was, "The unicorns aren't realistic enough."

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  21. Little Paper DogNovember 20, 2009 at 9:18 PM

    "The unicorns don’t look realistic enough."

    That one is my favorite :)

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  22. brooke @ claremont roadNovember 20, 2009 at 9:47 PM

    This is so hilarious! Thanks for sharing... I could add a few gems to this one ;-)

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  23. Jessica NicholsNovember 20, 2009 at 10:46 PM

    Super entertaining and hilarious. People are amazing.

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  24. AnonymousNovember 21, 2009 at 4:15 AM

    Oh thank you thank you thank you for this! I could add so much here...

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  25. steph kNovember 21, 2009 at 9:50 AM

    oh my... I so needed that!!! Thank you thank you!

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  26. Jessica JonesNovember 21, 2009 at 11:46 AM

    Yeah, more floof!

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  27. Anna M.November 21, 2009 at 3:53 PM

    These are hilarious. I'm kind of glad I'm not a graphic designer.

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  28. AngeNovember 22, 2009 at 4:00 AM

    Ahh - I wonder how many other industry sectors could do the same!!! Would be a hoot to regroup a number of the clients from hell from all over the world. Black humour ;-) But worthwhile over a glass of bubbly!

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  29. Larissa HollandNovember 22, 2009 at 1:00 PM

    wow. that took me down memory lane. have you contributed any anecdotes?

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  30. TonyaNovember 22, 2009 at 6:43 PM

    That site is hilarious. I think I could add about 100 stories to it.
    tonyadusold.blogspot.com

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  31. LarraineNovember 23, 2009 at 10:58 AM

    My 2 favorites are the suggestion that the client should "sit with you guys" amd the plea to make the circles "rounder." Funny!!!!

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  32. LetterpressNovember 23, 2009 at 4:18 PM

    Terrific. I'm sending this over to my son, who owns a web/graphic design shop. However, I'm a professor and Mike the Client sounds waaaay too simliar to one of my students!

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  33. LOVNovember 23, 2009 at 5:01 PM

    Chickens, Ducks and "Shiny Black Men." Hilarious.

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  34. Vacuum QueenNovember 24, 2009 at 2:25 AM

    Umm, is it wrong that I SO want to find Mike's current site (probably free blogspot if he's smart) and stalk him? That guy was a trip.

    Having said that, when my mom started using email, she would often call me in a panic that people weren't answering her emails she sent a few minutes ago. Sigh. I guess you gotta start somewhere.

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  35. AnonymousNovember 24, 2009 at 8:44 AM

    Wow, there is some really offensive language in that blog you linked to.

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  36. care-inNovember 24, 2009 at 10:23 AM

    I showed that to my brother who is a graphic designer and he enjoyed the laugh and could identify!

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  37. AnonymousNovember 24, 2009 at 4:49 PM

    Have you seen www.notalwaysright.com? :)

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  38. SarahDecember 6, 2009 at 9:49 PM

    Hoo boy. I am starting website design and am dreading the barrage of similar clientele commentary I will get. Funny and tragic stuff!

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  39. мультфильмJanuary 23, 2010 at 10:35 AM

    Veri funni blog :)

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  40. MiriamMarch 26, 2010 at 1:37 PM

    This made me feel like I am not alone in the world of the unreasonable requests! Very funny!

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