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Read Time: 6 minutes<\/p>\n
Hello<\/p>\n \u201cAhhhhh, it’s time to relax, So go on, indulge yourself, \u2014Intro, SMASH, Offspring<\/a> (all time favourite album)<\/p>\n Welcome to Chapter Nine. We\u2019re picking up where we left off two weeks ago. Why the disappearance, Paul? Where were you, bruh? Okay okay, we\u2019ll deal with it, albeit, in a moment. I know I have some explaining to do.\u00a0<\/p>\n Side note: I have updated T\u2014S\u2014F<\/a> with open files from July. Yay!<\/p>\n Today I’m going to share my worst client experience. Thinking of it makes me recoil, grind my teeth \u2014 ensuing violent thoughts \u2014 and shudder in disbelief. Emotions best expressed in the song \u201cBad Habit\u201d by Offspring<\/a> (last reference to the album, promise).<\/p>\n As designers (and creative folk at large) we love to talk about bad clients. Those evil clients. Argh! The number of times I\u2019ve found myself in a heady and downward spiralling debate, nursing a glass of scotch. So if you think this is one lengthy rant bitching and pissing about a shitty client\u2014you\u2019ve come to the right place.\u00a0<\/p>\n Additionally, as freshmen, and like most amateur designers, I let one fucking misconception become my excuse: That, good clients are reserved and exclusive to \u201cbig\u201d companies and \u201cgreat\u201d designers. Over time I learned this belief to be a false assumption. I subscribed to it out of fear\u2014 believing in not being the best and deserving.\u00a0<\/p>\n Truth is, you\u2019re never going to be perfect or the \u201cbest\u201d at something. What we see as great is another man\u2019s average. There\u2019s always someone better than you to inspire and motivate you. Take note Michael Phelps, Joseph Schooling beat your ass.<\/a><\/p>\n Stop waiting. Just put yourself out there and do your best. That\u2019s the secret. It\u2019s all you can do anyways. Not trying isn\u2019t an option. I assure you everyone has access to the same pool of clients\/people. Don\u2019t believe me? Let Michael Beirut, Partner at Pentagram tell you<\/a>.<\/p>\n Having said that, we also often confuse a tough client with a bad client. Sometimes your best efforts are not enough. And that\u2019s okay. Here\u2019s what I mean in this context. Tough clients are actually good clients.\u00a0<\/p>\n What you see and comprehend to be a bad client\u2014 who doesn\u2019t get it or is too demanding \u2014 could just be a tough client you lack the experience or understanding to handle.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cA players hire A players; B players hire C players; and C players hire D players.\u201d\u00a0\u2014Steve Jobs<\/p>\n No one person has all the skills or answers or experience to solve every client problem. Not knowing what to do is acceptable. But what you don\u2019t know you can cover in leadership.\u00a0<\/p>\n Being defensive, fearing being wrong in front of your peers and the client will constantly put you in ego battles. No one wins that conflict. Not even your ego. You\u2019ll be surprised at how many clients will become your fans by being transparent and letting your guard down. Good clients will empathise and bad clients may attack\u00a0you personally.\u00a0A neat little filter for you.\u00a0<\/p>\n Instead, focus on what\u2019s the best way to solve the client problem. Think of the people (A players) you can bring on board. Come from a collaborative, proactive stance\u2014 leading a team. This will help build trust and a good\u00a0client will see you as being on their side. \u00a0<\/p>\n I know, in those situations, to admit it and become vulnerable and open with the client is scary. But, trust me, it is your best bet. Letting the client know the solution is beyond your expertise will reduce the stress and burden on your mind.\u00a0<\/p>\n With all the free space you can focus on solving the real problem. Not having the skills and bandwidth to lead a group of people smarter than you to help resolve the issue is okay too. You can always ask for help and take counsel of senior people in your field. Don’t\u00a0fear asking for help or looking dumb.<\/p>\n Tough clients or the ones challenging you to do your best are not bad clients. At the end of the day, clients need solutions to resolve business problems. And if you can orchestrate and deliver, there is no reason for them to go elsewhere.<\/p>\n A common example of this can be a graphic designer with five years of experience doing only print design required to deliver a responsive web design with code.\u00a0<\/p>\n The designer could either try and do it himself or tap into his network and get a developer and web designer on board. The indisposable leader becomes evident quickly. \u00a0<\/p>\n And now, to the main event of the evening. By the way. Those of you who made it down here\u2026 *slow clap.<\/p>\n If I ever write a handbook on toxic clients \u2014 this client (the one on the bottom half of this rant), without a doubt, will play the (Oscar-winning) protagonist. We got to hand it to the villains. I wouldn\u2019t wish bad health or bad clients on anyone.\u00a0<\/p>\n Plus, I promised to not drink and cry myself to sleep after writing this. Not rolling a joint either. Seriously, closure on this nasty episode has been long due. And by sharing this dark memory I intend to, once and for all, put the matter to rest.<\/p>\n Let my words, this chapter, be the racing fire truck \u2014 red and white flashing lights, blaring siren \u2014 a visible and audible warning signal from miles away.\u00a0<\/p>\n Before we dive into the deep end lets quickly summarise and agree on what good clients look like. We all know those, don\u2019t we? Those fucking rare unicorns. Drawing a contrast will help us better understand the two species. \u00a0<\/p>\n Good clients are mindful and collaborative. They trust you and solicit your opinion even if, at times, it contradicts with their way of thinking. They value the work you do (design or whatever creative service you offer), your time and you. They are fair and open-minded and never shy from sharing credit for the work. They also demand your best work. They don’t micro-manage or breathe over your neck or play mouse jockey \u2014 “Make this a little bit smaller and move it to the left,” sound familiar?\u00a0<\/p>\n My worst client experience began with these awful words.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll know when I see it,\u201d the client said, sitting across the table, sipping on coffee, when I asked him what he wants. This was our first meeting. My partner, on hearing this person talk for two minutes, got up and left the room. \u00a0<\/p>\n If I can go back in time and undo something, this would certainly be one thing on my list. On arrival, I\u2019d ask this man to leave my office and never return again. Shoo! You fucking twat!<\/p>\n From obscure ideas, the conversation quickly turned to a show of the client\u2019s vision and knowledge (only gassy claims I could tell). He went on to talk about proving ourselves and the exposure we\u2019d get by working together (or being his servant, politely speaking).\u00a0<\/p>\n At the time, out of the ten (leads) people that walked into our studio, eight of them carried this pseudo air. And, my partner and I, would take a call. Had we got salaries and bills around the corner? Those times, bringing in money was the only reason to say yes to whacked clients and jobs \u2014 ignoring all tell tale signs. \u00a0<\/p>\n Remember, the \u201cI will introduce you to my network and all my friends\u201d category\u00a0\u2014 the freeloaders \u2014 will never stop knocking at your door. Or the \u201cYou\u2019re too expensive\u201d or \u201cHow hard will it be to replicate this work,\u201d who clearly don\u2019t understand and see value in what you do.<\/p>\n That reminds me, good clients value branding, not just identity design but brand strategy \u2014 the why, what, when, how, where and so on. Putting lipstick on the gorilla, anyone?\u00a0<\/p>\n Trade-offs had to be made. And, they sucked\u2026 \u2026to be continued in Chapter Ten. (We’re, like, at 1400 plus words here dude.)\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Before you go<\/strong> Share your views on today’s Chapter either by replying to this email or tweeting<\/a> me. Always happy to improve, learn and answer your questions. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Have an epic week!<\/p>\n Yours truly, Access the\u00a0Locker<\/a> to read any\u00a0Chapter online or T\u2013S\u2013F<\/a>\u00a0to download 365<\/a> open files. The Locker<\/a>\u00a0&\u00a0T\u2013S\u2013F<\/a>\u00a0are classified and exclusive to squadron only. (Password: <\/em>topgun)<\/em><\/p>\n TWITTER<\/a>\u00a0\u2014\u00a0INSTAGRAM<\/a>\u00a0\u2014\u00a0ELLO<\/a>\u00a0\u2014\u00a0OFFICE<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u265b Chapter Nine Good, Bad &\u00a0Ugly Read Time: 6 minutes Hello \u201cAhhhhh, it’s time to relax, And you know what that means, A glass of wine, your favourite easy chair, And of course reading this chapter in your email inbox. So go on, indulge yourself, That’s right, kick off your shoes, put your feet up, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"{title}\n\n{excerpt}\n\n{url}","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"rank_math_title":"","rank_math_description":"","rank_math_canonical_url":"","rank_math_focus_keyword":""},"categories":[91],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-90009","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-digest-archive"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/paulsyng.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90009","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/paulsyng.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/paulsyng.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paulsyng.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paulsyng.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=90009"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/paulsyng.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90009\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/paulsyng.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=90009"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paulsyng.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=90009"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paulsyng.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=90009"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/paulsyng.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/dd9fb09e-0bba-4c5b-ad56-e5375608141f.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n
And you know what that means,
A glass of wine, your favourite easy chair,
And of course reading this chapter in your email inbox.<\/p>\n
That’s right, kick off your shoes, put your feet up,
Lean back and just enjoy the story.
After all, reading soothes even the savage beasts.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n
I encourage you to fill out this\u00a0survey.<\/a>\u00a0Tell me a little bit about yourself, it only takes seventy-two seconds. Your suggestions are appreciated and help me shape and improve the SQUAD.<\/p>\n
Paul Syng<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/paulsyng.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/5b4d6904-2752-4a73-bbd6-a0dd004631a9-scaled.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n