In my previous post, Communication Design Is not Subjective I spoke about removing the subjective conversation points from the design discovery phase of a project. After reading this post a couple of times with fresh eyes, I felt it necessary to ammend some parts of the advice given therein. A big influence in the decision to do this was listening to Andy Rutledge's Podcast on deadlines. Also our awesome account service team has given me valueable insight since this post. I'm presenting this information more as a list of key points than as an article per-se. Feel free to contact me in the comments if you need further clarification.

• Clients opinions and insights matter. As a designer, it is important to realize that what may come across as a subjective request could very well be information that is available only through your client's experience. Always trust them to be the expert in their field, and you'll be seen as the expert in yours.
• Trends don't have to be bad. We have a tendency to be oversaturated with the latest trends because of the amount of design research we do. Because of this, we can become blind to ways to help our clients appear relevant in their industry. Don't discount a trend or technique based on your own oversaturation, if it suits the client and the concept, try it.
• Trust your account team to be the resident client expert. This can be a difficult lesson to learn, but the account team spends the most time with the client day-in and day-out, so they are going to know them better. Try to deliver solutions that work within the suggestions of the account team. If you do have an idea that you think will be a better solution, deliver the requested solution first, and spend extra time to present your alternate idea as well. I've never had an account rep turn down multiple ideas when I've first delivered what they asked for.
• Be flexible. BE FLEXIBLE. BE FLEXIBLE. BE FLEXIBLE. nuff said.

These items/lessons continue to serve me well on a daily basis, but that last point is probably the most important across the board. A lack of flexibility can be found at the root of most misfires when it comes to balancing creative needs and client needs. If we're open to the idea of clients and account service teams being valuable assets in the creative process, the work can then become a source of pride and accomplishment for everyone involved.

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