Re: Design Philosophy

This is a great topic Katie that I don't yet have a solid answer for, but thanks for the challenge. I guess that's part of becoming an expert at what you do. You have to first understand what your approach is to every project. I can at least touch on my experience as a makeup artist as I feel much more confident in that field at this point. 

I've come to view every customer as someone who seeks to learn or receive a service that they are incapable of doing on there own. So that means I have to be the expert. I'm not sure if that's a concrete philosophy, but that is how I approach everything. 

Lets say I have someone come to me and ask, "can you find me a lipstick that matches my complection?" (which I'm asked everyday) The customer is expecting me to pick one random color in less than five seconds that's the perfect match for every moment of their lives. And I'm thinking, "(sigh) here we go..."  If I actually choose one random color that I think works, the customer usually hates it and then takes a good 30-45 minutes before they get sick of trying on different colors. They'd either decide to come back another day or never again. I used to dread these types of customers because there are so many factors that go into choosing the right lipstick.There are layers involved, the biggest being an individual's personality. I believe everyone looks great in a red lipstick, but many don't have the confidence to pull it off. Then I need to know when they plan to wear the lipstick, what type of lipstick finish they like, and so on and so on. The problem with this is that many times customers don't know the answer to these questions because they weren't prepared to answer these questions. They simply came to me expecting to get a quick response to one question because I'm the expert. What they don't realize is that I haven't become an expert at choosing the perfect color for them, rather an expert at getting them to make a choice based on my knowledge of the product.

With all that said, customers come to us as designers with the same thought process. Some believe we are just experts at using a computer. Some just want something that looks pretty. Few understand our true expertise. So I guess its important for me to come across as a true expert. The biggest challenge I've had as a makeup artist is knowing what questions to ask, along with how to communicate the most perninant information that empowers my customers to make their own decisions. I think for me to be a true expert, my customers should leave knowing what they want and like rather than what I want and like…hey, maybe that's my philosophy!