I recently move to a new house. As the garden was not finished, I decided to hire a gardener. As you can imagine, I was looking for someone to do a good job. After looking up some references I found someone who seems to be good.
Once I meet him, and after explaining the idea I have in mind, my first question to him was:
-Do you think it will be possible to have everything finished by the end of the month?Â
-Yes it could be, he answered.
My second remark & question was…
-I dont have too much budget, how much will it cost? ….
-We might need to come back on what you expect.Â
I looked at him and smile…
If you ever hire any service you probably went through the same experience. The following rule, which for me is the number one rule in graphic design, can also be applied to any other services.. so I want it to share it with you because is what guides me and helps me interact with customers and take decisions.
The 3 most common phrases  graphic designers hear are:
- Can you do a GOOD work?.
- I don’t have too much budget, how CHEAP could it be?
- I need it by the end of the week, how FAST can you do it?
But the reality says that you can only combine 2 of them..
First, if you are asking for something that is  GOOD & CHEAP, it will not be fast. A graphic designer can do good work, he can probably give you a discount, but your work will be done after the work of high paying customers. You are not a priority. The delivery time will be long.
Then, if you are asking for GOOD & FAST, it will not be cheap. Most probably you will be the #1 priority customer, meaning that all other jobs will be postponed and extra daily hours will be done to finish your work… so you can imagine that it will be expensive.
Finally, if you are asking for CHEAP & FAST, it will not be good. A good design takes time to brainstorm and analyze different alternatives. Interaction with the customer is needed in order to understand the message he wants to deliver. It can’t be done fast & for a low price. Consider this as the worst alternative of the 3.
Coming back to my garden story… As I didn’t have a lot of money to invest at the time, I end up requesting a cheap budget & a good job. After 3 weeks I can tell you that the work that is being done is really good and is definetly not as fast I was expecting.. But I understand that I’m not a priority customer to him.
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Leave a comment if you found this article useful.
Let me know in the comments which was the first rule you learn!Â
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