The best client-designer relationships are built on honest conversations before a single line is drawn. Here are the questions we wish more clients would ask us — and why the answers matter more than the portfolio.
How do you handle disagreement?
This is the most important question you can ask a designer and the one almost nobody asks. Every project will have a moment of friction — a direction the client wants that the designer thinks is wrong, or a constraint the designer needs to hold that the client finds frustrating. How that moment is navigated tells you everything about whether the relationship will produce great work or merely serviceable work.
What does the process look like when things go wrong?
Procurement delays happen. Contractors miss schedules. Materials arrive damaged. A designer who has never experienced project problems is a designer who hasn't done enough projects. What you want to know is not whether problems occur but how they're communicated and resolved when they do.
Can I talk to a previous client?
Yes, references. Not the two most enthusiastic ones on the designer's website — a random selection from recent projects. A designer who hesitates at this question is giving you important information.