S3 E9: Difficult Client Stories

Earlier this year we asked you to share your difficult client stories and today those stories—as well as our own—are live! Although they are SUPER entertaining, we make sure to also share how the designer could have avoided the problem in the first place so we can all learn together.Giselle opens the episode by telling the story about her $400 website project and Jen shares what she learned from a difficult contractor relationship from the beginning of her business.We talk all about making sure our values align with our work and finish up the episode answering the question: “What is your philosophy as a designer?”Giselle and Jen believe that there is so much to be learned from difficult client experiences. While going through them can be hard, reflecting and sharing them with a supportive community can make us all better designers (see what we did there?)Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/betterbranddesigner/Website: https://www.bettebranddesigner.com/Better Resources Page: https://www.betterbranddesigner.com/resourcesLinks Mentioned: Brand Mentor by Alex from The Routine CreativeThe Contract ShopEssentialism by Greg McKeown: https://amzn.to/39VtLh7*Required Reading CopywritingWander Design’s PhilosophyThe Futur CORE Framework Advanced Strategy Bundle* Giselle says the bundle is worth getting over just the Framework course, because it has hours of genius advice from previously recorded membership calls regarding facilitating, selling, mindset, etc.Quill & Co’s Brand Clarity Academy Waitlist*Affiliate links: we receive a small commission to help support the podcast at no cost to you

Om Podcasten

Better: The Brand Designer Podcast, founded by Giselle Field of Wander Design Co. and Jen Davis, was founded on the belief that designers need community. We find that the branding world often feels secretive, competitive, and sometimes just plain old confusing. When we realized that our honest, soul-chat-level convos could potentially help other designers, we realized a podcast was only natural! Better: The Brand Designer Podcast was officially born.Giselle passed away during a climbing trip in Peru in summer of 2020. We encourage all listeners of our podcast to listen to our two Celebrating Giselle episodes. Giselle's adventurous, kind, funny, and supportive presence is missed every day—each and every episode that we record is dedicated to her legacy and her vision for this podcast. It is our honor to continue recording episodes in Giselle's memory and we know that she is with us every time we sit down to record.In winter of 2022, we welcomed Esther Knox-Dekoning from Sereth Design as a new co-host. Esther brought an incredible and fresh perspective to the pod—her transition from agency to design studio as well as her love for web design, sustainability, and world change brought new guests, ideas, and amazing episodes to our listeners. She departed the pod in spring 2023 to dedicate more time to her studio's growth, and will be greatly missed!Now, Jen runs the podcast solo and is beyond excited to continue interviewing guests, having interesting conversations, and sharing the behind-the-scenes of running her design studio.