It is different from art, and while there are boundaries or restrictions or parameters needed to define/contain the design, there is still the fact that the best design happens when there is freedom to make it happen. Yes, I work poorly when micro managed and nitpicked to death in the name of feedback from a whole host of opinions. When that happens, I’m too cautious, I design for approval, and I really just want the project to be over.
But when I’m working in a client/designer relationship where they do what they do and I do what I do, the benefits of such a relationship reap a multitude of benefits, both trackable and untrackable. I generate more ideas, I use my time better, and I deliver what I would consider to be a higher quality of work. There is also the extra time spent day dreaming about the project, noodling over here and over there, and looking for opportunities to take things to unexpected levels. I’m not just looking to complete the project, I’m looking for the best outcome possible.
You might say I should do that all the time, regardless of the relationship. To which I would say, I’ve been doing this long enough to know that just ain’t how things shake out.
