The Client and The Creative
Series: Build The Creative
A better creative with client encounters
As a creative, I have experienced immense growth in my craft. Furthermore, I have developed a deeper understanding of my expectations and those of my clients. This dynamic has helped me infuse my passion and dedication to elevate those who hire or collaborate with me. One that highlights each time the importance of creatives in pursuing client projects and the value of creating personal projects to build radical confidence. These encounters serve as a school that cannot be overlooked or avoided.
The revealing trait of the unknown brief and unexpected creative solutions.
The Client and The Creative
This dynamic has been revealing since day one of my creative journey. As a newbie, you crave that first real client and are eager to overdeliver. You are passionate and want to prove to your client, peers, family — your entire support network — that you made the right choice. This is it: your first client. Often, these early clients feel like beta testers. For reasons only they know, they took a chance on you, even though you may not have had the credentials. But your youthful spark is refreshing. In that encounter lie opportunities for personal growth, strategic insights, and a clear cut.
Clients teach creatives about what they want more (to experience)
Every client is different, each one is searching for different things. What you learn from one client and project can often be applied to the next collaboration. Each client helps prepare you for future opportunities. Especially, if you can identify red flags and set clear boundaries (knowing what not to overdo). It is also important to understand the reasons behind the joy in collaboration as they fuel the bond.
A discovery of hierarchies and dynamics
Creatives can place the role of craft, technicity, and dedication at the center of the conversation. Often reframing them as “expertise.” Creatives can identify a client’s pain points and bring them to the table with wisdom and confidence. This awareness will offer strategic solutions to address them. It is a monetary and skill exchange yet, it is also an encounter of professionals. One that can grow into long-term collaborations, decline, or simply end. Like any service or product, the client’s point of view rules. Yet, as creatives, we still hold a mindful power in our hands. This allows us to magnetize those aligned clients with whom we will thrive and better our craft.
Creatives are solution-driven
Each time I have the opportunity to collaborate with a client, regardless of their field I learn a lot. I have matured enough to understand my place in the encounter and how I can dare to offer more than what they came to me for. Part of the creative role and mindset is to view the problem from all angles. This brings in creative solutions that provide clarity and insights. Whatever the project, we are more than creatives — we are creative thinkers and strategic doers.
Clients push boundaries with their perceptions and expectations
They think they know what they want — until you reveal what they hadn’t even considered. It’s fascinating how clients (myself included when I am a client) can be unaware of their most urgent priorities. For, it is rarely what they initially assumed. We enter each project more like creative “doctors,” observing, analyzing, and identifying. Both the issues clients express and those that remain unspoken. In this process, the dynamic is almost like a therapy room. One that benefits both the client and the creative.
Clients can become mentors and friends
I have had clients I will never be friends with. Still, I have encountered clients who, over time, became mentors and friends. This is a subtle yet meaningful transition. I have found that the ingredient to this connection is resonance. It starts with care (or service), curiosity, and a mutual sense of “I get you in some way” that leads to building trust. Each milestone reaffirms that the match was the right one. From there it leads to a deeper bond. This applies not only to client work but also to collaborations with peers and partners. Friendship may be a strong word, yet it’s a potential outcome over time.
Next we will look into ‘‘The Project and The Creative’’.
