Hi my name is Nic. and I'm a designer. That doesn't mean I make pretty pictures and I can't fix your email; like the bio says — I identify, investigate, and validate problems, and ultimately craft, design, test and ship solutions.

Over the past 20 years I've been lucky enough to travel the globe, work with some of the most recognizable brands in the World and some of the smartest people in the industry but, there have also been horrible bosses, infuriating co-workers, frustrating clients and so many stupid questions?

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Solna, Sweden have just discovered that stupid questions do, in-fact exist. The discovery has been made in collaboration with researchers, designers and developers around the World.

"This is quite a breakthrough for all of us. For so many years we've been told 'don't worry, there are no stupid questions' and now we know that's just not the case," says Freelance Web Designer and Developer Ian Mic.

The study not only confirms the existence of stupid questions but theorizes that they may actually be quite common.

"I love your design but one quick question; on the map, is the blue part water or sky? That's a stupid question, I know it, you know it, we ALL know it," said one tearful web designer. "It's WATER! It's clearly WATER!"

Fine, stupid's a little harsh but as designers we're often asked questions that are insensitive, not thought out, unclear and sometimes mean.

"It's nice, I really like it but I'm just not feeling the love; know what I mean?" is the feedback I received from the VP of Sales at one of the largest web design agencies in Canada.

"No, I don't actually," I responded.

"Just add some love or make it pop," he told me as he walked out the door.

Want better results?
If you want better results from your designer, learn how to speak with them. Here, let me get you started.

No, I can't make it pop because I don't really know what you mean by that and I'm not willing to change things over and over again until it, well, until it pops.

See? Now, let's try some more;

• no, I can't just make it pretty;
• no, I won't do this one for free because you'll pay me double on the next one;
• no, I won't do it tonight;
• no, I won't keep designing and designing because you think you’ll know what you want when you see it;
• no, I won't lower my rates because your Receptionist is pretty good making things look decent in Powerpoint;
• no, I won't zip up all my files and send them over to you, or your other designer or your Receptionist;
• no, I won't just copy somebody else's site and change the colours and fonts;no, I won't just design you a logo while I'm at it;
• no, I won't provide you an estimate when you can't provide me with any details;
• and no, I can't make black just like 25% lighter but, not grey because here's the deal — black, 25% lighter has a Hexadecimal code of #404040, a DEC code of (64, 64, 64), an HSL code of (0, 0%, 25%), a CMYK code of (0%, 0%, 0%, 75%) and is more commonly know as GREY.

I get it, working with creatives can be difficult. They're moody, self-centred, narcissistic and — wait, maybe that's just me.

Regardless, when asked to give feedback on design work just remember to be clear, concise and understanding.
Now go hug a designer, they could use it.

By Nicolson Aitken. January 16th, 2020

It's Not a Blog.