How not to deal with your design firm (TechCrunch Edition)
Designers have a hard job at times. Trying to please the client. Trust me I’ve seen both ends of this stick. I’ve been a hard client to deal with, and I’ve had to deal with hard clients. So when I see this post. I about lose it.
Then I head over here. I’m livid. This is crazy. This is exactly how not to treat a designer. And clients have to realize designers have souls. They are humans. They have reputations, They have feelings,emotions, feelings. I have to stand up for Rach here and just call Bullshit really loudly. He makes this look like it was Rachel’s fault for his suggestions. Heck maybe it was her. Maybe it was him. Either way. This is not how you deal with it. By getting another designers’ suggestion and posting it on your blog in the public domain like that. And then acting like everything is great. Howdy do.
OY.
Update: My boy Chris has a much better critique up over at his site.
I agree, thats loud BULLSHIT **/loud**
Evan said this on May 15, 2006 8:31 pm
What happened is definitely unfortunate, it’s one of those things that you hope doesn’t happen to you as a designer.
I’m a big fan of Rachel’s, though I’m not privvy to what has transpired, she clearly doesn’t deserve to be slandered like that. I do think that the kicker was Mike pretending that all was swell. It was mean and uncalled for.
Donna said this on May 15, 2006 11:54 pm
My thoughts exactly. Rachel is one of the best blog designers out here and this is the best way to offend such a wonderful and influential person.
More than all the critics, I think that single post did the trick.
Seriously Mike arrington could use some tact.
Chrono Cr@cker said this on May 16, 2006 4:05 am
that design is FUGLY. She does much better work then that and was obviously being creatively squashed…smart move to resign
Evan said this on May 16, 2006 6:38 am
Lets face it. Ex lawyers are fucking idiots when it comes to design. Luckily he had frederico who he no longer talks to, to do the design of the first version. He finds rachel, who cant manage high maintenance quality or strong colours and has a bad font and spatial sense too. What Arrington should be doing is paying top dollar to his UK friends, except he has left the old design up. Its like an episode of House.
Ballmer Bezos said this on May 16, 2006 7:08 am
Thats no way to behave at all.
TechCrunch got what they deserved in losing such a good designer.
Pete said this on May 16, 2006 7:21 am
Mike,
You’re fired!
The Donald said this on May 16, 2006 8:21 am
Hard to hear a human voice…
Joerg Petermann said this on May 16, 2006 9:25 am
[...] Rachel resigns | 5ThirtyOne | JOAB | Pearsonified | ProBlogger | Solo Technology | Names at work | Vox’s Bookshelf [...]
resiny.org » Blog Archive » Utterly lacking in class said this on May 16, 2006 10:31 am
Hey now… I’m an ex-lawyer and I had the good sense to let Chris Pearson do whatever he wanted with my design.
That’s got to count for something.
Brian Clark said this on May 16, 2006 3:23 pm
Jumping jesus on a pogo stick.
It’s Mike’s site.
The designer’s work is for hire—Mike can use some, none or all of it.
The needs of the business are the issue, and Mike’s giving props to the community of readers and keeping them in the conversation is probably an important part of this process.
Essentially, you’re saying that respect of the designer’s “feelings, emotions, feelings” should be a paramount concern, as opposed to say….the input of the community, or the business needs of the site.
And a public resignation? Wow—that sounds professional. Nice.
Get over yourselves.
Chris said this on May 16, 2006 3:40 pm
It wasn’t a public resignation. It was announcement that she had resigned.
Regan said this on May 16, 2006 4:54 pm
Okay, there must have been a ton of stuff happening behind the curtains, because if I did a design for a client, and they turned around and showed me a design they liked after the project was done, I wouldn’t really care. I’d say, “well, there’s some good ideas there” and move on. I really don’t see what the big deal is.
If the design that was posted had a bunch of ideas that I had already suggested, I would have just said something along the lines of “Ha! I told you so. I told you about that idea (insert date here)”
So what are we all missing here?
Evan said this on May 16, 2006 5:43 pm
You all do realize that when a client pays for the design, they own it? They can do what they want with it, including not like it.
Rachel probably did the right thing to quit (why continue to put time into something that isn’t working out for the client?), if she felt that she wasn’t going to be able to create something Mike and his readers ultimately liked… but Mike did nothing wrong.
Everyone has their panties in a bunch that he posted a mock-up he recieved on his personal blog and said he liked elements of it. Gasp! Shock! He posted thoughts about his own property (the design he paid for) on his personal blog?! What could he possibly have been thinking?!
Seriously, guys, grow some skin.
Josh said this on May 16, 2006 9:14 pm
[...] Not a good last few days for Michael Arrington. [...]
chartreuse (BETA) » Blog Archive » Tuesday Remix (all text except for one video commercial edition) said this on May 17, 2006 7:16 am
How is it ‘slander’ when someone merely says something else is good? If I say the Goo Goo Dolls are good, did I just slander Metallica?
Peter Cooper said this on May 17, 2006 9:52 am
I don’t get what all this drama is over either.
The client liked a different design and plans to go with it. Designer (who got paid already) is upset. Oh no! He paid you already. The product is in his hands to do with as he pleases. Get over it.
If this is how ‘professional’ designers behave, then I don’t think I want to hire one.
Jon said this on May 17, 2006 2:24 pm
Designers can fire clients too.
Nuff said.
Those Bastards said this on May 17, 2006 2:32 pm
As a DEVELOPER, I have never, ever had a pure-designer who ever understood what work it takes to get their vision into a working format/ application/ something-other-then-just-looking-pretty.
(Designer who had expereince with coding on the other hand… it’s a different story, at least with them you can discuss and come up with ideas and solutions)
By that end, the design changes, either from higher-up or from your PM or being over-ruled by client or your creative-Director or any otehr 100 reasons.
So Mike wanted more space for his ads, fine, what’s the big deal?
And he did not ‘Diss’ her design, he just said he also liked this other design. What? He can’t like anything else but the ideas from his HIRED designer?
Damn you peeps, get over your egos. Some people don’t like same things as you and I. Deal with it.
Billy Shin said this on May 17, 2006 4:52 pm
Funny, this is the first I’ve heard of a so-called “blog designer.” Is this a person who just designs blogs???
Anonymous Coward said this on May 17, 2006 7:12 pm
Regan, you missed something, I think. She didn’t resign privately. The only way Arrington found out she was resigning was when he read her blog. She didn’t bother to tell him she was resigning, or why. She told the world, and let him find out from that.
I don’t think anyone involved in this comes out smelling all that prettily, so don’t think I’m blaming it all on her. I’m just not giving her a free pass, either.
Look at it this way: Would you want to hire a designer if you knew they wouldn’t talk it over with you if they felt mistreated in any way, but would instead just walk out—without even letting you know they felt mistreated—and complain to the world about how badly you treated them?
I know I’m not the easiest person in the world to get along with. But I also expect that if someone has a problem with me, they will tell me about it, and at least give me the chance to realize I was wrong and apologize for it.
Arlen said this on May 18, 2006 7:38 am
I don’t know why everyone thinks this Rachel chick is such hot shit anyway. I’ve see much better work from people who are designing free. If I was getting paid all the money, the product I was churning out would be way better than that. I see nothing impressive on her portfolio at all.
No one in particular said this on May 19, 2006 1:03 am
How about the designer pays ME $75 an hour and I’ll let her write badly about me on a blog!
Jay said this on May 26, 2006 2:25 am
uqxc jtxb ytcrl dzskhfilj chsynlbr tluyspz bdjmeu
rxwyhiekt nlxwbzhvo said this on August 18, 2006 7:07 pm
pqdszjt dlrsaxkvf feou lhrjyoqt ciuezmrka bujctgs bmqlnfsvu http://www.ziocjg.yoqdrxp.com
zcko sicpjwo said this on August 18, 2006 7:07 pm