Toxic clients exist, and it is not the exception in the area of Design and Architecture.

 

If you are in this field of work, surely you will be able to identify more than one client who caused you a lot of problems when carrying out their project. If you have not yet had that unpleasant experience, it is surely because you are just beginning to practice your profession or for your own good, you have had better clients. 
 

Although there are many factors involved in having a good professional relationship with our clients (such as the region where you work, the experience and prestige you have, the type of project to be carried out, etc.), we leave you with some brief advice and opinions about what is the most appropriate thing to do when faced with a project with a “toxic” or problematic client.
 

To begin with, you must be aware that there are all kinds of clients, and that each case will always be particular. For this reason, from the beginning, the most important thing is the good communication that there must be between us, the professional servers, and our beneficiaries, in this way we will avoid misunderstandings and confusion. Within the communication, it will not only be our relationship, but also knowing our clients: all their needs, their specific tastes, their desires, among other information that must be clarified from the beginning, since that we must always remember that we are in charge of transforming all that information that the client provides us, into a design language, that is, into works that we know how to do according to our specific profession. 
 

So how do problems arise with our client?
 

Conflicts or differences usually come after poor communication, which is why we emphasize this great importance at all times. However, as already mentioned, there are clients of all kinds.

 

To mention a few examples, there are those who want to do the whole process (and the project itself) as they have in mind. These people tend to be rigid (foolish), and want absolute control of what we are carrying out. But they forget that they come to us because we are professionals in doing what they do not know. They want to execute a work that normally comes from other ideas already carried out, without understanding that each project is different. Each home has a different story, and for this reason they limit themselves too much, because instead of creating their own historia embedded in their new home, they prefer to clone that of another person that they often don't even know. 
 

For these cases, there are three options for us:

 

The first is to try to convince the user that a much more interesting project can be made if it is built around it, that is, it has its essence captured (both functionally and aesthetically). If the client continues with the same mentality, or believes that they feel satisfied doing a project based on entrenched ideas, then there are two things left to do: if you want to get along with them and not let go of a project, you should do everything as he asks you, at the end of the day who is always in charge is the user. This, taking into account that you should be aware that you are probably breaking the ethics of your brand by copying ideas without contributing anything of your own. If so, it makes no sense to continue, since it is also absurd, for someone to attend with you to ultimately do what the client wants. In that case, of It is useless to seek professional help. This would be the last option, reject the project.
 

The other types of toxic clients would be, for example, those who constantly ask us for changes to the project. But above all, not valuing our work, believing that it is easy to start from scratch without any damage.

   

There are also those who belittle our talent and profession, even people who want to put a price on our work, or who beg for lower costs, as if we were offering them a product from the market.Likewise, there are the clients who give us complete freedom from the beginning, to make their project our style, and who, in the end, are dissatisfied with the results. Something that honestly has no argument that justifies his position. 
 

In general, although there are many types of common and particular cases, regularly everything is derived from the communication that exists between us and our clients. But in cases like those already mentioned, it depends to a large extent on your willingness to face what may happen in the future. That is to say, if your brand has quality and prestige, or you are simply disciplined before your style, and you value you will not have many cases that you know with problems of this type. If you do your job impeccably, always (or almost always), you will do well and you will have the luxury of choosing projects that are best for you. On the other hand, if you prefer to continue your career without fixed principles, you may have more projects, but many times they will be incomplete, undervalued and, above all, without the imprint of your brand embodied, falling in a certain way, into conformism._cc781905-5cde -3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58d_
 

If you're just starting out with your personal brand, chances are you'll run into problems with clients and projects like the ones mentioned. But it's up to you how far you want to continue with a half-baked, or opaque style, or seek new challenges and an identity that makes you stand out. Bearing in mind, of course, that our clients (toxic or not) are the ones in charge. But the brushstrokes of the designers should always be noted. A balance and combination of the mind of the user and the artist. 

 

 

 

 

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