My office-mate John always sends me great quotes.
From a 1993 interview with Steve Jobs about working with the legendary graphic designer Paul Rand on the logo for NeXT:
I asked him if he would come up with a few options. And he said, “No. I will solve your problem for you. And you will pay me. And you don’t have to use the solution. If you want options, go talk to other people. But I’ll solve your problem for you the best way I know how. And you use it or not. That’s up to you. You’re the client. But you pay me.”
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4 comments
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September 9, 2011 at 2:45 pm
visualingual
I’m borrowing that for the next conversation I have with a new client!
September 11, 2011 at 12:48 pm
Helz-Design
love it too – what a great way to deal with certain customers
September 11, 2011 at 2:46 pm
Sarah
At this point in his career, Rand had over 50 years of experience under his belt and had certainly earned the right to the perceived arrogance of this statement. But the other side is that taking the time to really understand a client’s problem can bring a whole lot of clarity to the end result. We may use design exploration as part of our process, but we usually know when we’ve hit on the solution that works best. Coming up with one exceedingly well-thought-out option is just as much (if not more) work than churning out ten different ones.
October 3, 2011 at 8:08 pm
Writerguy
Agreed, Sarah. I think “options” reveal the designer’s attitude toward the project’s discovery phase. I think what Rand was saying is that his discovery phase was thorough and he knew it.