“I’m scared of designers.”
I was once asked which people I am most afraid to work with.
To do what I do, I’m constantly looking for new collaborators.
They’re how I avoid repeating myself. New people bring new perspectives, new approaches, and new energy. They keep projects fresh.
Choosing them isn’t difficult. I look at their work and trust my instincts.
Working with them is the hard part.
A simple website. The designer wanted a low-fi prototype first, then a 15–20 person focus group.
A logo refresh. The designer wanted a positioning workshop before touching it.
Moodboards before any real work. The designer wanted visual alignment before exploring concepts.
Four product demo zones. The designer wanted one cinematic narrative to connect them all.
Now, they are all reputable designers. They have produced outstanding work, and that’s why I approached them in the first place. But good designers tend to have a working formula which brought them success, and hence, they are reluctant to work differently.
Sometimes this creates the conflict.
I hire people because I admire their work.
What I don’t see is the process that produced it.
More than once, I’ve realised that while I loved the outcome, I wasn’t comfortable with how they wanted to get there.
Sometimes it becomes painful.
The client doesn’t always need a low-fi prototype. It would be nice to have, but it isn’t what moves the project forward.
Sometimes they simply want a skilled brand designer to refine an existing logo, not to spend weeks rediscovering the brand.
Sometimes they just need rough sketches because time matters more than the number of options.
But no. Some designers refuse to abandon their processes.
Aren’t designers supposed to be adaptable?
Surprisingly, no.
It’s easy if the designer has an ego issue – cancel the project and walk away, and don’t engage anymore.
The hardest part? Many of them are genuinely nice people — just married to a certain way of working. Most of them try to make it work — by trying to work differently. Some find the experience rewarding and start incorporating this new experience into their workflow; and some, just fail.
And when that happens, it brings regrets. The thought — Could have been nice, if it worked out.
Not too long ago, a client (whom we have worked with since 2017) gave us honest feedback.
“Working with you guys is tough. You ask questions and you want clarity in objectives and purpose for the projects. Which is really good, because many others just jump straight into design options and layouts and all. But sometimes, I just wish you could give us the benefit of the doubt – keep things open, explore and try some options. When I see it, then perhaps it brings more clarity to me on what I really want to do.”
That feedback hit hard.
Maybe the problem isn’t designers.
Maybe it’s all of us.
I am no different from the designers I’m scared of.
I am also married to my own processes.
