Expectations are important.
“Clients seem to get the advertising they deserve. The good ones, they’re risk takers. They’re willing to risk failures for extraordinary success. The bad clients? Fear dribbles down from the top. No one says so, in so many words, but you know no risks will be tolerated, no rules will be broken, that mediocrity is the measure by which your work will be weighed.”
Luke Sullivan quoting Lois Korey in: Hey, Whipple, Squeeze This: A Guide to Creating Great Advertising
“Price and audience are not compelling motivators. Your sense of quality is.”
Twyla Tharp and Jesse Kornbluth, The Collaborative Habit
That being said,
1 See creative collaboration as an opportunity to challenge the status quo. However, think carefully about where you want to start.
2 The design process should always allow for continuous experimentation. A process that doesn’t allow for validation of a premise relies unnecessarily on design.
3 There is a difference between purpose and practice. There is no design without a purpose. Practice without a clear purpose is called decoration.
4 There is no excuse for poor design.