Lately I’ve been in need of some peaceful reflection; some calm karma; a bit of restful repose. And guess what? I found some on AM RADIO!
My FM on my car is busted so I’ve been relegated to the dismal world of conservative talk radio and sports. I’ll take sports, but not that other crap! It’s “The Soul Of San Diego”, a gospel station on AM 1040, and they play great music (I tend to see it more positively spiritual instead of spiritually positive). Check them out on the web at http://www.thesoulofsandiego.com and prepare to feel inspired!
What does this have to do with design? Well, in our crazy lives we either work 3 or more jobs at once or nothing at all so it’s important to know how to relax. Even when there’s no cash flow. Especially if there’s too much work to do and not enough time to do it!
I’ve gotten some calls out of the blue in the past week, and they have all had the same theme: a previous designer couldn’t see the “the vision” of what the client wanted, and the client now wants me to save the day with much less time left on the clock.
My answer to these clients is to enlist them a bit more in the pre-design/design process. I make sure to get them to take a deep breath (gotta remind MYSELF that!) and that I’m here to help. Then I take out a pencil and paper and we just draw it together, even though it’s very rough. I think this step is vital for visual communication. No computer. No mouse. The old fashioned way.
[edit: These days I use Balsamiq just as much, if not more than, pencil and paper.] 29/2/09
How do you deal with stress? Difficult clients and/or situations?
Nathaniel, you are very wise. Working with a client in that manner is a very good way to deal with the situation.
Stress is a tough animal, because it can be awoken by any number of reasons even in the most perfect of jobs. Exercise helps…IF YOU CAN GET AWAY for a few minutes! Ha HA. Also, laughter helps too, which is something you can do at your desk 😉
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