In our weekly installment of Clients from Hell, a hilarious collection of anonymously contributed client horror stories from designers, we present “His Idea.” For previous posts, click here .
I work at a small print shop that also offers graphic design and illustration services. At the end of the day, despite the fact I should have left work 15 minutes prior, someone called me.
Client: I am a designer, but I do not have any tools like Photoshop. Can you create the print file for me based on my idea?
Me: If you can give us a rough sketch we can generate a design, but we charge $X per hour for that.
Client: Oh no, I’m designing it. It is my idea.
Me: But I still have to be the one to make it printable, and that takes time and work.
Client: Ah. Now, I don’t want to diminish you, but do you have artists that know what they’re doing?
Me: Yes.
Me: Are you sure?
Me: I’m one of them, and I’ve won several awards for my skill in illustration and design. I know what I’m doing.
Client: Okay. I want to make sure, I want to retain my copyright - no one else gets to use the image on my card that I am designing for a doctor.
Me: Once it’s paid for it’s yours and we won’t use it elsewhere. If you fail to pay, it’s ours and we’ll use it as stock imagery.
Client: Good, good. Now, how do I get my idea to you? It has light, the Doctor’s name, and footsteps, you know?
I’m not sure how you’d go about copyrighting “light, a name, and footsteps,” but to be fair, it was “his idea.”
