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morea
04-25-2005, 04:29 PM
Yet another story of the logic-impaired.

I'm designing a nice flyer to advertise our showroom. The main thing that my boss wanted included were photos of our main displays.

I brought in my digicam like a diligent little employee and took the photos, then cleaned them up in photoshop. As I was working on them, my boss came in and told me that he didn't really *care* what the photos looked like, he was more concerned with the body copy.

(What?!? How can you not care what the photos look like?!?) WELL!

I asked him what he wanted to copy to include. He gave me another flyer from years ago and told me to model it after that. Ok, so far so good, right?

If only!

Well, I started typesetting the copy from the old flyer and the boss said, "oh, that looks good... what we will do is put this flyer and the old flyer in a folder and send them out to customers."

Wait a minute... what in the world would be the point of sending out two flyers with the exact same body copy? I mentioned that... only to be told that he would get me the copy he wanted on the NEW flyer.

This was a week ago. I have mentioned my lack of copy every day since, to no avail. I just made something up and put it on there for now.

This is typical though. I am told to design "something" and not given any idea what it is supposed to look like. Then when I present it for approval, THAT is when I am told, "oh no, I wanted this and this, and it is supposed to target THESE customers, not THOSE ones!"

I try not to complain, because I am paid by the hour, but this hurts my productivity, and that drives me crazy!

Well, in the mean time, I finished up the work on the photos and found a perfect stock photo for the top of the flyer. I asked my boss if he would mind purchasing the photo, because it was JUST what I was looking for. He told me that would be fine.

I told him that the photo would cost $3, but that the minimum purchase for the site was $10 in credits.

He said, "well, I don't know. Why don't you just put a photo of our building across there?"

I explained that even digicam couldn't take a photo with the resolution I needed... so he started talking about hiring a professional photographer to come and take a picture of the building... and asked me what I thought!

Well, I just came out and said it. "I think that hiring a professional photographer is going to cost you a lot more that $10 in stock photo credits."

"Hmm..." he said... "you're probably right! But maybe since I only want one photo, he will do it for free!"

Anybody else think this is likely? Ugh... my brain hurts.

Ulysses
04-25-2005, 04:32 PM
My brain hurts for you too, morea. He sounds like a nightmare.

Patrick Shannon
04-25-2005, 04:35 PM
>"Hmm..." he said... "you're probably right! But maybe since I only want
>one photo, he will
>do it for free!"

Ho-ho-ho-ho, good one.

Mein fuhrer's son is always doing something somewhat similar, I'll get started on a project and he'll conveniently leave out details that forces me to go back to the drawing board and redo the entire thing.

Far as I'm concerned, if a customer (or in this case, boss) doesn't have all the details and they don't know what they really want, then there is no real job to do and there's no point in wasting a designer's time.

D-Zine
04-25-2005, 04:36 PM
OMG!!!

JUST GIVE HER THE DAMN $10 DOLLARS BOSSMAN!!!!! :eek:

its not like you aren't gonna need the credit for future projects good gawd! And no one (unless he has a friend!) is going to take that photo for free.

Your boss just irritated me when I read that!

Ulysses
04-25-2005, 04:38 PM
I had a client who was happy to pay £300/$600 to edit a person out of a photo for a brochure (5 minute's work), but then complain at a £100/$200 overdue invoice (an hour's work).

GrfxGawd
04-25-2005, 04:45 PM
How about this?

"Well, I only have one fractured vertebrae. Maybe the neurosurgeon will do it for free!"

Is that the sort of thing you really want for free?

Morea, hun - do us all a favor and hire someone to cap this guys knees for $10. (Maybe we can get a collection going.)

Isn't Tonya Harding On Ice in your town this month? I hear she takes requests...

EC
04-25-2005, 05:10 PM
Morea, hun - do us all a favor and hire someone to cap this guys knees for $10. (Maybe we can get a collection going.)

Isn't Tonya Harding On Ice in your town this month? I hear she takes requests...

Maybe if it's just the ONE knee she'll do it for free?

morea
04-25-2005, 05:11 PM
Lol!

morea
04-25-2005, 05:12 PM
on a positive note, I am earning GREAT material for a graphic design comedy routine...

D-Zine
04-25-2005, 05:34 PM
Here here morea!

:cheers:

axoi
04-25-2005, 06:40 PM
These rants seem more like a novel. Maybe we should gather all these horror stories and produce a book!

- Bill

morea
04-25-2005, 06:42 PM
I love that idea, axoi! They *do* say that you have to suffer to write, and heaven knows we *do* suffer!

ROFL!

Ulysses
04-25-2005, 07:01 PM
Perhaps if you tell a publisher (or your boss, morea) that you only plan to do the one edition, they'll also publish it for free!?

God, we could really keep thse coming, couldn't we!?

greyghost
04-26-2005, 05:19 PM
I think we could all write a book. lol.

Maybe if each of us only sent one story, the editor could look it over for free too?

Ulysses
04-26-2005, 05:20 PM
And if we proof read one word each, we could have it proofed for free too.