Comments on: Dealing with Fragile Artist Syndrome

By: cantueso

cantueso — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 09:22:57 +0000

This is a very sad story. It is a pity you don't have a picture of the design that you did not like.

By: maclover

maclover — Thu, 14 May 2009 19:36:09 +0000

Unfortunately, artists in particular can be mentally unstable, it's simply the nature of the game. I've dealt with a few bipolar people who are also artists, and you can't imagine the topsy turvy world they live in even though they are extremely talented. Reasoning doesn't always work, you have to acknowledge they have different issues than other people, they shouldn't be grouped as such, and you simply may not be able to communicate with that person through no fault of their own. You wouldn't call a CEO a 'fragile business person' because of his character, and if they are unstable, people often ignore it because money is involved, so artist are more frequently implicated as being 'difficult'. The bigger issue is understanding that mental health is everyone's problem, it's not a 'syndrome' and can't always be 'talked out'. Disregarding mental issues, you are still dealing with people who may exclusively use either the right or left side of their brain, and it could feel like juggling a grenade if you personally have the capacity to see both points of view, but they don't.

By: Scott Baradell

Scott Baradell — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 01:46:23 +0000

And of course, there ARE actually times when the designer isn't right

By: Amy

Amy — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 22:07:26 +0000

The real secret isn't deferring, it's letting the client see that you know more about design than them but not making them feel like you're owning the show. Frankness, compromise and the occasional sneaky way of making them think they made the decision! Sure, if they keep at it, you gotta let them have their way, but confidence and wording things correctly can have a frowning client smiling!