When I started my freelance journey I would say YES to every job that I came across. I’m not sure if it was because of the money or just the excitement of starting a new project but I would take it without realizing it may not be worth it.
After some time and some bad experiences I learned that I couldn’t always say YES, it doesn’t fit my way of life. I first started freelancing so I could do what I love and saying YES to every job may bring lots of things that I don’t love as much.
I got myself into a few projects where I wasn’t the designer anymore; instead I was just taking orders from a client and doing as he pleased. I realized this happens a lot on the design industry, where clients who don’t have any knowledge of design but have this idea in mind of what the final product should look like. So they hire a designer to execute their ideas instead of using their expertise, which is what they are actually paying for. This quote really hits home in that regard.
“ You don’t see people hiring a doctor and tell him exactly how you want him to work, that’s not how it goes. You tell him your problem and hope for a good fix. It should be no different with design.”
I would be lying if I said I had never been a client’s puppet before. I got through it just so I could get paid but at the end was it worth it? Well, not even a minute of it. It’s stressful to do something I know isn’t best for the client; it’s shameful to work on something that I’m not proud to say I did. Thanks to all that I learned to say NO.
The Art of Saying NO
I understand that a lot of times financial situation may get ahead of us and it gets hard to turn down projects, but I believe in the Gods of Design and I like to think that it takes a few NO to bring a good YES. Therefore I have been saying NO to many projects, and been blessed with many YES. To be honest it feels good to turn down a project that you know it would be nothing but a headache.
When I turn down a project before saying NO this project isn’t a good fit for meand sending the client out the door. I try to educate the client as much as I can, show him the best options and why I would say NO to the direction he wants to take. My philosophy is to always do the best work, but after going over the options and educating the client, he still wants it his way, a big NO is my way of ending it.
Being in Peace with saying NO
At first it can hurt you a bit to say NO, you can always think ahh, I should taken that project, but once you start realizing most of the clients that you come across are a NO instead of YES you will start appreciating even more the work you say YES to and be thankful for saying NO to certain projects.
Once I started saying NO I have not worked on a boring project, I have been focusing on creating the best work for my clients and let my experience lead the way and deliver great results to those who believe in my work. I hope you can learn from my mistakes and say NO when necessary.
Further Reading
- No One Nos: Learning to Say No to Bad Ideas
- 8 Essential Strategies to Saying “No”
- Learning To Say “No” Nicely — How to Keep From Burning Bridges
Hope you enjoyed the ready and I invite you to share some thoughts on the subject.
Great article!!! Tottaly agree!!!
Trick question. Have you ever said NO and regretted later on? What are the traits that make you want to say NO. I have seen a few to be honest with you.
Hey Marco,
There are a few things that make me say NO. First is the simple NO where people are looking for some type of work that I don’t do. Other good NO is if the client is not willing to pay for the services. But the one I had in mind while writing this post was when a client think he knows exactly what he wants but he doesn’t really know anything and doesn’t give you any freedom to execute your profession. Those are the type of work that really give you a headache and for me are not worth it.
Most times I’m able to find out what the client is all about within the first meeting and that is the perfect time to bail out if necessary.
When I say NO is because the project is not a good fit so no regrets in the end.
itz great ……..
m 2 agree this article………
i agree but i thnk that sometimes there r other reasons too becuz of which the client doesnt want to allow you to do it ur way like if we have been to many doctors to find a cure to a certain illness and then we again get caught with the same illness that time when we visit a doctor we just tell him that” i have this illness and previously when i took a certain medicine i got well so i thnk i should take the same medicine this time as well” and most of the chances are that the the doctor will say “yes you should”.What i want to say is that these things like yours mostly depends on how experienced the client with the people he works.
I wish I could tweet or share your point of view, I tried to start freelancing enough to feel identified with the frustration, your words are perfect to describe that bad scenario.
Very interesting read. Something for me to keep in mind when I start up doing freelance work.
Dear Paulo,
thanks for the article, I love it, when I got some project I always ask,” can I play with it?” cuz when client ask for your ‘taste and ability to design’ then u have to give ‘em 100 % but if they keep make you feel like you’re a 13 yo boy treat you like their left hand, to do, write, sketching, something that based on their own brain, then you have to stop it, unless you’ll never be professional at all … Hail to all pro Graphic designer …
say no it’s Good.. now i know…
i like this article and your work is really nice am a designer but still learning with little experience
nice article, i can try it…
I admire your work; its all I have on my computer. I agree with you and I sent the article to my Creative Director of Marketing and told her to hold us to these standards. Her work has shown that she is to be trusted and I never want to stifle someone’s creativity or experience. Thank you.
People cannot say no mostly beacuse of the money. If everyone could say no and pick projects that they want, it would be great. And it is already written in stuffs like project venus..
Wish you all that you can say NO whenever you want to!
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Hey thanks for the advice. I’ve recently quit my job and started designing as a freelancer. very happy to know you’re keeping the design community as informed as ever.
However the work ethic differs in every country. Her in India the client will never have any regard for the designers perspective or opinion. Just because the labour is really cheap here, the client will find someone else to do his work at half the price and supervise every detail while designing.
i hope more and more designers realise the importance of keeping in tune with their creativity than selling themselves out.