Design by Committee

I was visting one of my favorite design blogs today, Speak Up, and found a very interesting article right on the homepage. It talks about the concept designers refer to as "design by committee" (a.k.a. working with two or more clients that take such an active interest in the graphic design process that they offer their "helping hands").

While many designers, including myself, view the client's input as a valuable tool and seek it out, others may feel that they are not being allowed to use their creativity to the fullest extent; that the client is simply "holding them back." The following is an excerpt from Speak Up's blog:

"Realistically, they are the group of people you work with, to varying degrees of involvement, from the start of a project until the end. Whether they are note-takers, brand managers, vice presidents or CEOs, they are the people that you talk to and e-mail with, they are the ones that brief you on the project and sit through the presentations of your work, they are responsible for informing your process and ensuring that the work is beneficial to their organization… they are the ones you celebrate with once the project is completed. They are real and they make or break your days, weeks, months and years. And this is why using “designed by committee” as an insult or an explanation for poor work, even if meant as a joke, is detrimental to our profession, and perhaps an underlying thread of why graphic designers are less prone to be taken seriously — if we don’t respect the decisions made by those we work with, why would anyone want to respect ours?"

I find it rare to see an article like this. Sadly, many design magazines and blogs promote the opinion and expertise of the designer and downplay the thoughts of the client. While clients may not be trained in the field of design, they are trained in their occupation and in their business. How can designers design if there are not clients with a thorough enough understading of their position/company to relay this information to us?

I recall being told by a college professor once that if clients are unhappy with a design and are resorting to "tweaks" such as, "make this bigger", "move this to the top", "can we use a darker red?", that the cause is usually one of two things. One, there is something wrong with the design. It's noticable to them. They just can't quite put their finger on it, or don't know how to say it. Tweaking is their remedy.

The other cause may be that the client isn't getting the right "feeling" about their business/service from the material. It lacks a warmth or a sense of class, for example, that should be there.

While I believe that it is the designer's job to visually communicate the client's objectives through design and that the client should trust these abilities, I also believe two heads are always better than one. And if you, as the design professional, can communicate effectively enough with your clients to have them understand your concept and rationale, then the process shouldn't be a headache. It should be an enjoyable challenge to find the design solution with your client.