I am strug­gling with a design. My cur­rent client has spe­cific ideas about what the design should be. They pro­vided exam­ples. The exam­ples are poor. They would be better served with a design that is more unique and reflecting their spe­cific iden­tity. How do you tell someone that what they want isn’t what they need.

My design work reflects this ten­sion. I feel com­pelled to pro­vide them what they asked for. They are the client; they are paying. They may be dis­ap­pointed if I do not pro­vide what they asked for. I also feel com­pelled as a designer – the person they hired to pro­vide visual design exper­tise – to pro­vide the best design pos­sible for their needs. My design work is there­fore falling some­where in between.

There must be a way to address both needs. The project is in the early stages of devel­op­ment. How­ever, it can be chal­lenging to create mul­tiple designs for the same project. It is hard enough to come up with a single good idea. Time lim­i­ta­tions make it even more dif­fi­cult. But that’s the job. It wouldn’t be inter­esting without the chal­lenge. At this point in my career, I should be able to meet the chal­lenge. That’s not an unrea­son­able expectation.

Found online today: The Typo­graphic Desk Ref­er­ence web­site. This is a great, simple web page built mostly on sound typog­raphy (go figure) and using a min­imum of color and image. The book also reminds me that I need to dis­tribute my wish list for Christmas. I am hoping for some nice design books.