Hell community, I’m here to have your opinion about a discussion I had with a graphic designer:
I asked her for the classic 3 images that are requested by Facebook to create ads, so, as Facebook asks, I asked for three images specifying that I needed 3 images of 16:9, 1:1 and 1.91:1.
I thought it was all she needed to do the work:
Image size
use: Facebook ads
From this started a long discussion about the fact that this part of the work is mine (I do marketing), that is not the job of the graphic designer to makes this calculation and she just need the exact size of the images.
To avoid discussion I made my research on google, made calculations and gave her file sizes… But my question is:
You, as a graphic designer, don’t know this concepts?
If I ask you for those images, the infos (proportions and Facebook ads) are not enough?
If a customer (or a colleague) asks you for 3 images like that you ask more details?
Yeah, your fault.
You’re confusing the situation by giving them proportions and file sizes. Tell the designer the dimensions in pixels. That’s all they need to know. Neither you nor the designer need to calculate anything. Just use the dimensions that Facebook recommends.
Facebook’s current preferred dimension for the feed is 1080x1080 pixels. The first number should always be the horizontal length, the second is the vertical length.
Yes. And I charge them for the time it takes for me to explain it to them.
You’re not a designer, and no designer should expect their clients to know random pieces of technical information they hired the designer to know about. After all, one of the reasons people hire designers is for their technical expertise in dealing with these sorts of things that they might not be familiar with or comfortable with.
It took me less than a minute to find the correct pixel dimensions for ads on Facebook’s site based on the aspect ratios you provided. It’s probably not something I would have even mentioned to a client. Your designer should have done the same. I don’t think you’re at fault.
Fault? Is this the place for such a question? If so, I would also like to hear the designer’s side. Audi alteram partem
In principle, I am of the opinion that it should always be clear up to where the client is responsible and from where the contractor is responsible, if such a relationship is involved. Sometimes the client wants to determine more, sometimes less. Both have to agree to the conditions beforehand. Each is responsible for his or her actions.
In my experience, this definition of conditions often has something to do with money.
Some clients think they save money by taking on more (sometimes without doing it properly or at all).
Some designers then withdraw and only work according to instructions.
This makes both unhappy and is often because the designer doesn’t say no where she or he should say no but can’t because they don’t want to let clients down, or can’t or won’t pass up the assignment.
I, for example, work best with as much responsibility as possible and an open fee budget. My long-term clients trust me in this way and I will never abuse it. But they already know from past projects what kind of effort I work with.
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Just saw your typo “Hell community” Feels more like heaven to me.
I spotted another fault—I always asked that each number be listed as “H” for height and “W” for width. For example a 16:9 could be interpreted by a designer to read as 16 inches High or 16 inches Wide, by 9 inches High or 9 inches Wide. The designer is screwed without Height versus Width designations.
That’s a good point. Width is always supposed to come first, but not everyone knows this. When a client provides measurements to me, saying, for example, something needs to be 10.5 x 14 inches, I always write back to double-check about their measurements being height x width instead of the other way around; sometimes, they really do get it backward.
There’s a similar problem when clients provide dates — for example, 05/04/2023. When it’s not otherwise apparent, I always double-check to see if they mean May 4th or April 5th.
He has been talking to designers—and highly professional ones at that! I’ve been a professional designer for over 56 years which might be long before you were born. And by the way, the professionals on this forum are here to help other designers, so I for one, have little patience for amateur critics who condescendingly call us simple contractors.
Width is only first in Graphic design. For the rest of the world, essentially drafting, Length is always first. It can be a thing when interfacing with set designers and architects.
One of my vendors requires length first. Then width. Though you can send backward if you use W and L in the dimensions.
Hi PopsD, please excuse me for not being clear enough. I did not mean to attack anyone with my statement.
I didn’t mean “a” designer’s side, but “the” designer, which is the other unheard side of the discussion between client and designer described by the client who created this thread. We haven’t heard anything from her herself. I myself would care before making a statement about whose fault it is. Since that probably won’t be possible, I’ll hold off on that. (I have only been working as a graphic designer for 30 years).
Thanks for the clarification. “The Designer” makes a big difference in the meaning of your post.
And I admit I’m a bit sensitive about calling a designer a “contractor” because to me, that’s a bit like calling an attorney an “ambulance chaser.” In my career I’ve had potential clients who had that attitude with me and I dropped them like a bad habit.
I’ve never had any negative associations with the word contractor. To me, it’s a neutral term that means someone hired through a contract rather than as an employee.
Sometimes, I used to preface my responses here with, “Based only on what you’ve told us…”. I finally stopped doing that since it was a bit wordy and probably could be assumed. But yeah, you’re right; hearing the other person’s side of any story is necessary before deciding how to distribute blame.
Thank you. I’m not a native English speaker. In my native language, German , these contract terms might be a bit more neutral, such as Auftraggeber (like assignment giver) and Auftragnehmer (assignment taker). #lostintranslation
We hire contractors all the time. Designers are too expensive to keep on staff and they are hired as contractors. Illustrators, the same. Painters are contractors. Wallcover installers are contractors. The Union labor we have to overhire are contractors. There is no shame in being called a contractor.
, these contract terms might be a bit more neutral, such as Auftraggeber (like assignment giver) and Auftragnehmer (assignment taker).