Why Do We Tolerate Difficult Designers?
Through Be A Design Group, I have become even more embedded into the fabric of the graphic design sphere. While most of what I see in our profession I find encouraging, I find the tolerance and celebration of arrogant and rude designers puzzling. Maybe I shouldn’t, since most other professions deal with some of the same issues on a larger scale. NPR recently had a story on Tom Cruise and other public figures that are being reprimanded for their bad public behavior. Should there be ramifications for belligerent behavior in our profession?
Of course, being a part of the blogging world, we probably encounter a few more rude designers than the rest of the world, but most of the behavior on our site doesn’t bother me. A good heated discussion can be healthy, as long as those involved can keep it on a non-personal level. It is when personal attacks start flying that I start to get disgusted. The part that puzzles me most, is that some of the most personally abrasive people are put-up-with or even celebrated as adding “personality” to the mix. Even some of the bigger names in design blogging seem to celebrate the most annoying and personally abrasive “flavors” out there.
Of course, arrogant designers are nothing new to our profession. In the mid to late nineties you might be hard pressed to find a local AIGA chapter that wasn’t in some way shafted by David Carson and his antics as an event speaker. I’m sure the list of practitioners goes on through this past century.
Of course we can’t reprimand designers for being arrogant, and if they keep getting clients then they must be doing something right. But we also need to remember that being a decent person is a valuable trait to being a good designer as well. Just like the NPR segment pointed out, there are some immeasurable draw backs to difficult personalities. Drawbacks could include, losing a client because of that arrogant (but talented) designer you hired, or a famous designer giving our profession a black eye. I recently heard of a designer that wasn’t considered for a job, because he wasn’t abrasive enough to get fired from his current job for pushing for ground breaking work. Let’s do our best to not celebrate the immature, and instead look to what is best for our profession. The loan prima donna does nothing for our profession but make us all look like a bunch of arrogant, self absorbed, wannabe celebrities. This also makes the process of design look like fickle, personality based decisions rather than purposeful and thought-out design.
There are plenty of great designers out there that do amazing and compelling work but still remain gracious and humble. Both Sagmeister and Bierut seem like they have kept a real world perspective despite their enormous success in the industry. While rewarding designers for great work will always, and should always be common in our profession, we should also work to celebrate those designers that are great human beings as well.
August 25th, 2006 at 2:42 pm
Because we’re just that damn good!
August 25th, 2006 at 4:34 pm
Well, this all depends on what you consider to be “difficult.”
Acting like an ass all of the time as a personality trait? That is not tolerable to me.
Acting like an ass for 5 minutes during an internal meeting to push the boundaries of good design? That should be encouraged, in my opinion.
August 25th, 2006 at 5:04 pm
Standing up for the quality and effectiveness of the work in face of ignorance of design should be a required item on every designer’s resum√©. That may come off as being arrogant, but oftentimes we stand as the lone defenders of quality against a sea of decision-by-committee laymen. And if we have to stomp our feet on the ground and shout real loud and wave our god damn hands in the air rather than let our clients and our businesses run straight down the road of mediocrity than SO BE IT. We should all be prima donnas.
Except on the web when we hang with each other. The jerks can cool it over here.
August 25th, 2006 at 5:08 pm
well put, nate
August 25th, 2006 at 5:19 pm
There is a difference between being confident and arrogant. Arrogant is what Hollywood betrays as the stereotypical ad man. Our profession doesn’t need that. We should be able to sell our ideas without resorting to some sort of sixth grade misguided arrogance. They client should be able to see passion not pompous.
I’m not saying we should be push overs to our clients either. Stand for what you believe in, but this profession doesn’t need a bunch of arrogant know-it-alls. If you act like a baby in a meeting, the client will only give into your tirades for so long. Sooner or later they will find a mature designer that can explain things in a rational way and actually work with the client.
Nate, Is any tactic actually effective when working with committees?
August 25th, 2006 at 5:30 pm
I know a designer who was recently fired for the very reasons you are stating. For a while he was able to win people over with his arrogance. Eventually, the clients and everybody else realized he was a very successful phony. It wasn’t easy to fire him, though. Maybe the question shouldn’t be “How do you put up with a difficult designer,” it should be “How do you not put up with a difficult designer.” Let’s face it, there is something attractive about arrogance and extravagent personalities. If there isn’t any substance beneath it though, the relationships won’t last. I think that is the difference between confidence and arrogance that Bennett pointed out.
August 25th, 2006 at 9:02 pm
My question does not exactly pertain to this thread, but would someone be kind enough to point me in the direction of how they made the logo shiny and dimensional in this Homestarrunner cartoon. I know it’s considered over the top but I’d still like to know how it’s done. Many thanks,
Franklin
August 26th, 2006 at 10:05 am
I’m realy engaged in the discussions in this website.
Yesterday i posted a comment at Adrian’s article about anti-sit, here is a part of it:
And if the client wants a starburst filled with a ALLCAPS label, just give him a pencil, a sheet, whait for him to draw, while you face him, after that convince them that the drawing is awful and it’s not his job to do such thing, it’s ours, they pay us to do that. If he still wants a starburst, ok: “Do it yourself! It’ll be cheaper and as bizarre as if you tell me what to draw.‚Äù
If you, in US, face that kind a problem try figuring out how much it happens in the third world, like here in Brazil. I whould say Very often. I work with graphic webdesign. Once I has visiting a client, a lawyer office, for prospection. His assistent, and a future lawyer, showed us a website he has found and trown the following:
“It’s simple. Just copy this site and change the names on it. Whould be a very quick job, how much will it cost?”
I was perplex. Why the hell I spent 4 years in university! What this guy think about my prefession. I couldn’t speek a word and left the room. My business partner finished up the meeting agreeing to show them a simple website project which we made together. I didn’t attended that client anymore and the project wasn’t accepted by them because of its’s price (R$600,00 less than USD 300,00). It was a fully customized site based in no template or such thing and included the development.
Last week we met the owner of the office. He told us that he still needs a website and the assistence doesn’t work with him anymore. Quiet, I thought: Damn, I should have said everything I had to say to that jerk.
Further I realised that fight fire to fire wasn’t the best way. I should have hold my anger and told him patiently what he do, eventhow he didn’t deserve my patience.
Now I question you all: What whould you do in such situation?
August 26th, 2006 at 10:17 am
I drop the ad industry because of excessive interference of client and devaluate of professional’s work in benefit of starbursted-appeling-short-term solutions. They can’t see further than their next profit report.
August 26th, 2006 at 12:03 pm
Adrian (Neuhaus), That situation, the one you’ve just described in detail, pops up here a lot. Let’s just say “often.”
Now I’m not saying we need to go prima donna on all fools like that assistant, but certainly in that case we should not be afraid to tell them that plagerizing the work of others is not something we’re in the business of (and if you are; shame on you!). I’m sensitive to that because in my days I’ve seen too many people who just say “okay” and get on with it. And to me, that’s a client we should all be walking away from.
August 26th, 2006 at 10:34 pm
I has eager to tell him some of my best bad words combos. But it wouldn’t change nothing important but my image with the owned of the office, which is better to be of a guy that is lacky and leave the room in silence than of a possessor of superspecial naughty combos.
Try to educate that poor little bean whouldn’t be very effective as well: probably at the end of a law course and ignoring the laws in such a manner.
That’s not a wise guy to me. I may be wrong.
Left.
In the hall, me and my cigarette, thought about judge bribery, lawyer distorting the law to take advantage of it. Gosh, what they taught in law college. Sorry lawyers (better preventing) that’s the image y(no, not you… who to blame..) mass media have build on me. He is just a newbe, gave me some relief.
Finally it took some time to deliver the project propose, schedules, price, this things. A waste of time. I guess they just didn’t forsaw the power of internet as a communication tool. Actually not much a waste, it has shown them our competence. Once it may become a great client, since the guy came to us again and they changed assistence.
Shame on bad lawyers.
“to go prima donna”. Know what means, just do not see a concise relation between the expression an the meaning. In the other hand in portuguese we have expression like “soltou os cachorros” (released the dogs) and “subiu nas tamancas” (got over the heels), that describe metaphoricaly this act. Didn’t go that deep in the metaenglish. Any one can tell me?
August 27th, 2006 at 11:23 am
WHAT THE HECK??
This forum is littered with trash comments…like the one above.
Anyway…
I TotAly AGreE, i tHiNk ThAt pEePs iN tHe dEsIgN WOrlD sHOuLd bE CoOl bECauSe dEsIgn iS coOL.
C-O-O-L … cool!
I think this article should have given some specific exaples of what BA is talking about because I think a lot of readers thought you guys meant that being strong-willed in the board-room is the same as being arrogant, concided and condescending….hmmm…..WAY DIFFERENT. BA was not talking about being fearsome but being proud. ba RoCKs!! nUF sAiD.
Wait…I can’t believe there is no spell check on a graphic design blog…are you trying to teach an old dog new tricks?
August 28th, 2006 at 4:12 am
Thanks William
See your point.
I agree, we are COOL, we ROCK. But sometime, druged by this thoughts of superiority, we may forgot that we are not god. Nether in our profession. This situation may leed to arrogance, and so, to be a bad designer as I understood from Bennett words.
I believe that when you go visit a new client you must know his work process from nose to tail to have subsidy to start fixing him a graphical solution.
It’s a moment of listening and learning.
Each day you’ll learn things that don’t seem to have nothing to do with design, but, whatever it be, it does.
Again, sorry for the awful english and literacy fevers.
August 28th, 2006 at 9:24 am
SHUT UP I HATE YOU ALL.
just kidding.
August 28th, 2006 at 1:10 pm
What did David Carson do?
August 28th, 2006 at 3:40 pm
I know I’m getting pretty close to personal attacks on this one, but it’s hard to make this point without examples. When Carson pulled stunts at regional and local events I don’t see it as a personal attack but attacking his professional behavior. I haven’t heard much about Carson in the last several years, so it is entirely possible that he has changed his ways. I’ve heard first-hand-accounts of several stunts he pulled on small local AIGA chapters. Here are a couple examples. . . he pulled out of a major local AIGA chapter event the day before without a good excuse and he has also skipped sessions he was supposed to be leading when he was flown out to a location.
As for other examples of what I am talking about, I will be a little more general. First off, confidence is a very good thing as is sticking to your guns. This profession needs push-overs as much as it does arrogant pricks. I’m just pointing out that being a decent human being is also a very important part of being a good designer. We may know more about design and aesthetics than our clients, but we shouldn’t act like we are better people.
The other part of this post is directed at those designers that turn heated and interesting blog conversations into a forum for personal attacks. I’m not making it my mission to censor those people on this blog or anywhere else, I just wanted to make a point to encourage others to be a little more civil. It would also be nice to see some other blogs not celebrate those that are the worst offenders.
August 29th, 2006 at 1:32 pm
Couldn’t agree more with your post. Designers should be first and foremost professionals, not spoiled brats.
August 30th, 2006 at 11:06 am
Talented people with passion are often arrogant.
Unfortunately, this leads to people thinking all arrogant people are talented and passionate.
It’s like assuming a Ferrari is a great car because the paint is red. Painting another car red won’t make it a Ferrari.
Buy a Farrari. Fire the red paint.
August 31st, 2006 at 8:50 am
I’ve been working for a web company for three years now who are mainly concerned with the development and functionality of sites as opposed to the design.
Having grown up with a pen and paper practically glued to my hand, my mind (and eye) has often wandered into the world of design, which I honestly did think was full of arrogant people. I’m glad to say after taking a closer look, my view has been completely reversed and I find myself wanting to know more and more about this industry.
I have come across some arrogant designers on my travels but for the most part, this industry seems to be in a catagory of it’s own, full of people who share their ideas rather than keeping them close to the chest for personal gain. Mr. Cameron Moll is a prime example in my book.
From the point of view of an outsider (I am very much an outsider at the moment) there is a subtle difference between being confident and taking pride in work you have produced, and being arrogant. It all depends on how the designer puts him/herself across. Screaming “Look at me, I’m amazing!” from the rooftops is a clear indication that someone’s been overfeeding their ego. The approach of “Here’s my latest work, I think it rules, but what do you think?” seems to work best.
Have I made a valid point? I don’t know, I shall leave it to you good people to decide.
September 6th, 2006 at 7:33 am
I think it becomes a major challenge for any successful designer to remain humble.
The better we get as designers, the more critical we become.
The ability to criticize and have discussions on what is good design, and what is bad design inevitable overflows into all other areas of our lives, until we our even having critical discussions on what is good personality and what is bad personality.
This is what is often viewed as arrogance by people outside of the design community.
Not that people outside of design don’t do this as well, but ‚Ķ you get my point.
September 6th, 2006 at 1:57 pm
Fascinating discussions on this site. I’m not actually as arrogant as my first comment might suggest, but I do stand up for my work.
September 7th, 2006 at 9:31 am
I used to work for an agency called Affinitas and the Art Director I replaced was allowed to go to a different firm in KS for this very reason. The creative director at the time said…”We could have counter offered, but he just wasn’t worth it.”
That shed a bit of light on the topic for me. I’ve dealt with a variety of clients, designers and photographers… all of which have their own personalities… it really gets down to if it’s appropriate for the atmosphere your in and your clients your in charge of.
I personally don’t see anything wrong with being confident. Being arrogant however shows that you believe that you have become the best in your given element. Waiting for this type to change or accept alternative ideas is easily compared to waiting for a train that simply doesn’t come.
September 10th, 2006 at 1:05 pm
I subscribe to a daily e-newsletter about advertising called the AAF Smart Brief. Its quite interesting.
This post made me remember something I just saw about “Office Divas” and how they get some slack if they contribute to a companies bottom line. I think they should get smacked on *their* bottom line for being such BEE-AH-CHEZ, but apparently they are tolerated in certain circles and even admired (by weasels, I assume).
Just another perspective of what words are worth.
Respectfully,