Experience

Recently I took on a commission to design a logo for an independent company, although it didn’t go the way I’d expected or hoped it to, it was a very valuable experience.

I was really excited about taking on this task, it was a little different to anything I’d done before, but something I thought my work would be well suited to. After all, a logo should be eye-catching and not over complicated! I think that actually sums up my approach to my practice fairly accurately. However this is not what the client wanted, they asked for quite a lot of different details to be included in this logo which I was more than happy to accommodate, so they’d have something that was unique to them and their company, whilst advising that all of the different elements may be too much. 

After finishing the logo, my client realised that there was too much detail and was more of an illustration than a logo. They asked for a lot of revisions, which effectively worked out to be a whole redesign of the logo. After informing them that their budget wouldn’t cover all of these changes, and adding an extra charge, they then decided they were unable to carry on with the commission. In my opinion I think the extra charge was fair and necessary. As a student it wasn’t a high charge but still showed that I value my time and work. I wouldn’t expect anyone else to value my work if I don’t value it myself. I need to learn how to price and sell my work professionally, so I’m confident in asking what I’m asking for without underselling myself.

It was a lot different to any of my other work, but because this was a commission I felt like I had to adapt my visual signature to something that it is not. I partly felt like this because the client asked me to do this brief based on a recommendation from a mutual friend, rather than looking at my work, then determining from there whether I’d be able to produce the logo they were looking for. In hindsight I think I should have just evaluated what they’d asked of me and showed them what I could offer looking for a compromise, rather than doing something completely different that didn’t feel was true to my practice. I think if I had stood my ground I’d have been able to produce a logo that was a lot more striking and that might have pleasantly surprised my client, offering an alternate perspective.

This was a really beneficial experience for me! I acted in a professional manner in what is potentially an awkward situation with a client. With this, I also managed to detach myself from my practice enough to try and complete the brief to a high standard, without feeling insulted when the client wasn’t happy. Although it didn’t work out well, I’m pleased I had the opportunity to experience this and handle this, whilst I’m still studying and while there wasn’t such a large amount of money at stake.