Don’t accept a project without discussing what is expected on both sides. 

Make sure you understand what your client wants you to do, how much time they are giving you to do it, and to what extent they expect you to include them in the process. If you think their expectatio...

There are many reasons that the details of a project may change, so you must plan for that when drafting your contract and discussing your work process. You should cover the steps a client may take when requesting changes to the original design plan, and this includes adjustments to the t...

Don’t give a price quote until you’ve thoroughly discussed the needs of the client.

There are some things that justify an increase in your rate, but you may not know that those things apply until you’ve thoroughly discussed the project. If they expect you to put other p...

Offer clients a first and second phase to control unrealistic expectations and nonstop additions.

Clients come to you because they don’t have the knowledge needed to take the vision in their heads and turn it into a functional product. This is why many successful designers ...

Stay in the design business long enough, and you’ll run into at least a few clients that are on fire for their projects at the beginning but drop out of sight somewhere along the way. These are often clients with big dreams and a shortage of ambition or funds.

As long as y...