...about 5% of my clients were like that when I started 17 years ago, It seems like its more like 40-50% these days.
This is the thing. 17 years ago, every monkey didn't have a computer with some apps and clip art on it to pass themselves off as a designer. It took a great deal of time to train yourself in the myriad of techniques in a number of disciplines to be useful to anyone. Now, we have what appears as a race to the bottom on many small and medium-sized jobs... and that's OK in a way, because it asks the pointed question of and puts the onus on professionals to identify what it is about their skills and services that distinguishes them from nephew art, particularly when it comes to the finer points of the trade, like typography for instance. It also allows a larger flow of talent into the field, where in the past, there were considerable hurdles into getting into the business.
Just recently, as part of a larger branding package that is still ongoing (and currently expanding in scope), a client who is working on behalf of a larger group, passed on a suggestion to me that we use something that one of the kids of parents in that group had done as a sketch, and to be fair, the client had no idea whether it was suitable or not, they were just suggesting ways to break a political deadlock over logo design where different committees couldn't make up their mind.
I could have huffily suggested that they hand over the entire body of work to the kid and their parent. I could have ridiculed the idea. But instead, I treated their suggestion in good faith, took some time to explain why the sketch's idea wouldn't hold up as a logo when reproduced at 18mm across, let alone go on the barrel of a pen, as they wanted. I even quickly traced the sketch in Illustrator and comped it up, so they at least could see how it would or wouldn't work. So, by taking the time to educate the client in the processes and factors involved, I enabled both sides to save some face without unnecessary conflict, and more importantly, re-establish the authority that a designer has a consultant and ensure further work, good contacts and word of mouth down the line. They also gained a re-appreciation of the importance of their
brand in a marketing and reputation sense, as opposed to the narrow view of just concentrating on their logo.
To my way of thinking, this is key to the entire role as either someone who works in a small team or as a freelancer. It's more than just designing something that looks nice. It's about being able to steer clients away from damaging directions while enabling positions and firmly-held views to be gently nudged. The politics of corporate design are as frustrating as they are fascinating.
So, while we can have a laugh about clients, the game has changed. As a freelancer, it's not enough to be a Photoshop whizz when you're co-ordinating suppliers on one hand, massaging client's egos on the other, while negotiating schedules and other housekeeping. Production and project management, client-handling, advising, speccing... they're all just as important.