How to speak with a customer?

Who has not had the opportunity to communicate a business message to a customer, but definitely the customer doesn’t accept our suggestions and opinions?

Sometimes, I compare this situation when we feel sick, then we go to the doctor and finally, we don’t accept his prescription.

We finished our visit to the doctor, when we ourselves prescribe our medicines. hahaha

The question is: for what reason I need a doctor?

That same situation happens when a client does not accept the signs of another colleague as a graphic designer.

For me, Graphic Design, is like a medicine prescribed for someone who is sick and that medicine is the solution to a bad or an illness.

Graphic Designer I compared with a doctor, obviously, I maintain the differences with respect.

A professional that studies the causes of ailments, which analyzes and intervenes where to put all the science, the logic says that at least, that designer should be a professional heard.

In some institutes or universities, Graphic Design is a career that can be studied in 4 or 6 years. All this depending on the depth with which we want to learn.

The Graphic Design, like other professions, is a job that never ends in developing his theory. In the national and international environment, constantly, there are changes in graphic style, that changes are called computational tools, seminars, theories, or avant-garde styles.

In any profession, always there will be a source of study. The Graphic Design is a profession that changes its course from year to another year.

When we are speaking with a difficult customer, we must first of all, listening. The first basic law of Sender and Receiver.

If we know how to listen, we will know when to intervene and to do it correctly.

If we discussed before to listen and to analyze, is the same when we move sharply a can with stones…. (hahaha) the can that sounds more… ends winning.

Another comparison: The doctor knows all his instrumental. Perhaps, should not the designer know all their tools? Do they know fonts, combinations colors, shapes and styles?

A designer who manages a large number of tools, is in a good position to prescribe a solution carefully studied.

I think this solution is not the knowledge, but is the experience in its practice.

The repetition of a formula is not the key to a job, but the detailed method of study for each assignment.

After a careful study and analysis comes the solution (prescription).

However, there are some people want to be healed. Others, because of their illness, they want to continue sick. Graphically speaking, this “evil” can definitely put them into bankruptcy.

If a customer does not want to be healed. Not pressing the ejection’s button. Only you should analyze, think, look, and then finally act.

Do you know the Cause and Effect law?

Cultural colors… The flags!!!

Have you seen the beauty of the cultures? All colors of the world representing every culture.

The flags are the most representative of a nation. One way of life through a piece of cloth, but that encloses the full force of a country.

What would happen if we don’t have flags? What would be our color to differentiate our country?
For me, a flag is a massive sign of thoughts and life styles. It’s the history in a piece of cloth.

The history sometimes has dark colors, but also sometimes the story has brilliant colors, like the life.
Sadness, suffering and desires that any nation has experienced in its existence. For this reason we can enjoy the color of the flags.

When I traveled I could appreciate the reality of a flag. In my travel I saw several flags and each was an experience.

Each one had a different color of the rainbow, and each one unmistakably Flames.

Based on my experience, no flag is more beautiful than another flag, on the contrary, all flags have a message to deliver.

None can be erased, as the history of a nation can not be erased.

On the respect for diversity is learning to look at the different colors, no matter the HUE, no matter the SATURATION, BRIGHTNESS nor matter.

For that the colors are, for us to admire in all its magnitude.

Experiences!!!

When I think in my experiences, undoubtedly many memories come to my mind. How many years I was trying to find the correct for my work!!!

I always remember my successful experiences and also my unfortunated experiences, but after all: that are my great experiences, because the matters is not the goal, but the path to it.

This process is the real learning.
I remember my colleagues of profession. People who breathe graphic design… I learned from they.

There is a very broad stream of designers providing the profession with great passion.

Precisely from those professionals we should listen more and learn every word, because every word from them can be a solution to a commission of our customers.

The roads of life led me to this beautiful place, Vancouver, and I had the pleasant and unforgettable “experience” to meet great professionals.

How can we recognize them? We can recognize them by their way of referring the design. We can recognize them by their way of referring about color and fonts.

There is a saying that says: More knows the devil for old than for devil… Is it correct?

The experience ends doing its job.

Why is the reason for this post? Dear ladies and gentlemen, the patience precedes the experience.

If a color does not convince you; if a font does not work, you should give yourself a little more time. If any comment of a colleague or another designer you do not fell well… breath and continue to work.

Remember, if Patience precedes the experience, the experience ends for showing your talent.
Go ahead forging your talent and you will find your style, and this graphic will speak for yourself.
Rely on your instincts, but you also can trust in the instincts of others, learn to respect different viewpoints.

The opinions give you the necessary for your work.

What is beautiful and what is ugly?

When I started to understand the Design as a discipline and let my personal wrong assessments to confront a graphic piece, I understood that there is not a beautiful piece or an ugly piece, but an “objective achieved” or “objective not achieved”.

The cult of beauty comes from the Greeks. They, in their eagerness to translate and enhance the beauty or a concept in a work, whether sculpture, literary or pictorial, gave us the enjoyment of beautiful aesthetic through the centuries. Not in vain the Greek mythology, remains a subject of study in these days.

However, we express an opinion on whether something is beautiful or ugly, because we have a parameter in our minds that tells us what is beautiful and the ugly. Perhaps a prejudice acquired and inherited by our culture.

This parameter, undoubtedly, is “subjective” and depends of many factors, as well as the reality of who delivers that view.

When I think on the aesthetic characteristics of something, it’s a personal opinion and very different from what other people think, so that is good, but all of us we would be like robots, and we could be answering the same in series.

When an artist, painter, sculptor or photographer displays his work, this artist does not have to justify his work. The result of their work is only his or her vision of their own reality reflected in this “artwork” or piece in question.

Many times, I have listened to people and colleagues say that such a profusion of graphic piece is ugly! Is beautiful! or is boring!.

There were many times that I also told about the ugly, or pretty boring… My big mistake!
Immediately, I was anticipated by my masters in design, teachers and professionals who have many years of experience in this profession, saying: ha ha ha … Do not say: It is beautiful or ugly!!!. That is an opinion without foundation staff in this “beautiful discipline… (?)”.

You should not influence the opinion of others in this way… ok?
At first not understood these tips. Over the years and many mistakes in practice, I understood better. A term widely used in Chile: “doing to lose you learn.”

As designer or visual artist, I must be cautious in commenting on any work, because to give an opinion, I must know the context on which the designer or communicator did that solution. Who does not think about the work of others?

The question, How can be something beautiful being ugly? I should change it: Was the goal of this graphic piece achieved or not achieved?

I think that in some situations it depends on the prism that we look.

Something that apparently we consider ugly for their aesthetic characteristics, can be well managed for which was conceived…

No matter the graphic piece in question, the goal of “communicating must be achieved”.
Apparently, there is freedom in graphic design, but that freedom must be channeled towards the ultimate goal.

There are some lines and avant-garde breakthrough of the cultural patterns established.
But, in my opinion is that really decides and tells us that if something is well managed, is precisely the result of the communication and if it was not achieved or achieved its goal “to communicate”, about graphic design.

As they say in there, the “design is not decoration”. If this were decoration, would be nice… and if this was beautiful, it would be “subjective…” Well, that’s what I believe.