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Clients from hell
clientsfromhell.net
I agreed to do a website for a vegan
restaurant. The client was loosely related
to me, so I gave her a bit of a deal.
Client: This is a rush job! The restaurant is going
to open soon and I need a website up.
Me: That’s no problem. I can turn it around
quickly, I just need some information from you
before I start.
Of course, it took five weeks for her to send
me the details I needed.
Still, once she did, I put together a site and
everything went pretty well. She seemed happy,
giving minor suggestions that were easy to
implement. Then, a day before launch, she
dropped this bombshell.
Client: I don’t think this is working out. I’m going
to hire someone else.
Me: What? If you have any complaints I’m more
than willing to address them. Do you really want
to hire someone else the day before you open
the restaurant?Client: No, sorry, my mind is made up.
Of course, she refused to pay me because she
wasn’t using my work.
Instead, she found a design student to hire
and put up a new site a few days later. It was
virtually identical to the one I had done, except it
was created in WordPress and ALL of the
content – text, photos, everything – were
embedded as a single, enormous JPG. It took
absolutely forever for the site to load, had no
usable hyperlinks and just... just what? What
was she thinking?
She paid me in the end, after I threatened her
with legal action for stealing my design. I even
gave her the option of using my build but no, she
preferred the new version.
Her website is still an enormous photo.CARBON COPY
CLIENTS FROM HELLExclusively for net: The latest in a series of
anonymous accounts of nightmare clientsWhether it’s a call to action or a
specific piece of design you’re
particularly proud of, getting
someone to focus in the right place
is a crucial part of a designer’s
task. We put the call out to
@netmag’s followers and asked
them to share some of
their insights.THE EYES HAVE IT
“Understanding IX (interaction
design) is crucial and how eyes
track and visualise information is
the first rule in my opinion.” So
said @MattStenquist.
He adds: “But most important is to
draw a person’s attention by
adding visual emphasis to a
specified area using shadows,
glows, bold font, etc.”UNIQUE FEATURES
Standing out on the page requires
you to do something a little bit
special, said @JoannaKosinska. “If
it is a fixed element of the page, I
would go for unique features like
the pop of colour or [some]
simple animation.
She adds: “If it is a limited time
element a disruption of design
order might be the best solution.”DITCH THE CLUTTER
@ClaimScoreUK says it’s all about
getting rid of anything that might
distract the user from what you
really want them to focus on.
It said: “Less is more :) remove
anything unnecessary AND really,
really think about what your visitor
is looking for when coming to
that page.”GET THE USER TO
FOCUS ON A
CERTAIN SPOT
HOW TO