Comments on: Another Web Designer Misconception

By: Ash Mashhadi (@inspirationguy)

Ash Mashhadi (@inspirationguy) — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 23:54:39 +0000

Great post and it’s an important topic that can be a real problem for many designers. At Design Inspiration we haven’t had to deal with it for a long time now as we decided some years ago not to play that game. It is our responsibility to set the ground rules when we are pitching. You are quite right that other industries don’t face this problem and we web designers don’t have to either. We never produce prospective designs for our pitches. If your portfolio and your pitch isn’t enough to convince the client to use you then they’re unlikely to change their opinions after seeing some more design options.

IMHO it is all about establishing mutual trust – if the pitch and portfolio doesn’t do that, it’s time to go your separate ways. It’s not an easy decision to take, but we have found that clients will respond well to your confidence.

By: Michal Kozak

Michal Kozak — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 15:29:17 +0000

I understand that, I just shared my point of view :).

To be honest – I’m pretty sure if financial situation would turn bad, I wouldn’t be so picky and applied for any possible job out there.

By: Phillip

Phillip — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 15:22:32 +0000

Hi Michal – Thanks for your input and I appreciate your point of view. I didn’t really think of it as being a rejection or acceptance situation. It’s not always possible for someone to turn down work and applying for the job could be easily reversed into a job offer. This can lead into the exact situation without warning, which often times is the case.

So it’s not always as easy as being accepted or rejected.

Thanks again for your thoughts!

By: Michal Kozak

Michal Kozak — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 15:12:04 +0000

How I see this:

If you DO get rejected, that doesn’t mean you’re bad or anything. It’s simple, different people = different tastes. You may not like my design, but someone else will just love it – and it can be the other way around, too.

But in case you get rejected – you didn’t win the job and you LOST your valuable time to do design the concept. That’s why I don’t agree on upfront-concept-design and don’t even apply for jobs that require this.