Following last night's discussion on the ability of designers to communicate with clients, I came across this article by Michael Beirut on Design Observer.
Our whole conversation about being able to communicate using our client's language really comes down to bullshitting - trying to explain your tastes and thoughts to someone who isn't you, someone who will never be able to be completely understood, or completely understand you.
Beirut quotes a book called On Bullshit by Harry G. Frankfurt. Frankfurt states that bullshit is "not designed primarily to give its audience a false belief about whatever state of affairs may be the topic, but that its primary intention is rather to give its audience a false impression concerning what is going on in the mind of the speaker."
That brought a lot of light to our discussion. When talking to a client, we're trying to rationalize a series of what are essentially irrational decisions, and make them see that our solutions are the right ones for them, even though there may be a multitude of decisions that would lead to an equally successful result.
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