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A Book Apart #12
You're My Favorite Client
Whether you’re a designer or not, you make design decisions every day.
Successful design projects require equal participation from both the client and the designer. Yet, the design process remains a mystery to the very people who buy it. Design is not sausage. You’ll enjoy it even more the better you understand how it’s made! Once again, Mike Monteiro demystifies the design process and helps you prepare for your role. Well-informed clients make for smoother projects, that are run more effectively and ultimately cost less. Ensure you’re asking the right questions, getting the right answers, and working with the right people — and you’ll have the confidence to hire people who will challenge you to make your product the best it can be.
Successful design projects require equal participation from both the client and the designer. Yet, the design process remains a mystery to the very people who buy it. Design is not sausage. You’ll enjoy it even more the better you understand how it’s made! Once again, Mike Monteiro demystifies the design process and helps you prepare for your role. Well-informed clients make for smoother projects, that are run more effectively and ultimately cost less. Ensure you’re asking the right questions, getting the right answers, and working with the right people — and you’ll have the confidence to hire people who will challenge you to make your product the best it can be.
127 pages, Paperback
First published September 30, 2014
30 people are currently reading
1438 people want to read
About the author
Mike Monteiro
16 books185 followersSome say the clothes make the man. Others say it’s opinions. Co-founder of Mule, Mike likes to have a bet both ways. His 2012 book, Design is a Job, was a love letter to hard work, self-awareness, and the importance of a good tailor.
Mike cultivates his reputation around being serious about design, human rights, a damn fine joke, and the Phillies. His philosophy of supportive antagonism helps Mule create great internal and external projects. He has given talks about the responsibility of designers in client relationships at conferences such as CreativeMornings, TYPO, and An Event Apart.
Mike received his BA in Fine Art from the Tyler School of Art at Temple University, and his MFA in Graphic Design from University of Texas, Austin.
Mike cultivates his reputation around being serious about design, human rights, a damn fine joke, and the Phillies. His philosophy of supportive antagonism helps Mule create great internal and external projects. He has given talks about the responsibility of designers in client relationships at conferences such as CreativeMornings, TYPO, and An Event Apart.
Mike received his BA in Fine Art from the Tyler School of Art at Temple University, and his MFA in Graphic Design from University of Texas, Austin.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews
March 15, 2019
not what i was expecting
February 8, 2015
Good stuff, though I'm a little annoyed by the overly funny-rude tone.
February 25, 2019
I like it! It's a good lesson on how to better work with designers, and in general how to better employ/work with outside experts. I already see how to apply it in my day to day work! The style is also direct, conversational and easy to read. Recommended
March 16, 2018
Monteiro's writing is fresh and funny. Would recommend this book to anyone who works with or has worked with a designer.
February 11, 2015
I can see how this would be very helpful on the client side, and that's great because they are clearly the target audience for this book. However being a designer it's mostly review of things you already know and have previously read in other places (like Monteiro's previous excellent book). Not to say there aren't some gems to be found in here, and fresh perspectives from the side of your clients. There are. You'll definitely take away a few things that you'll want to implement in your own process and client liaisons. But fans of "Design is a Job" should be warned to temper their expectations a bit.
February 16, 2015
This has some great, no-nonsense concepts for feedback giving and working with design teams. I enjoyed the joking tone at first, but it eventually got tiresome, and it felt somewhat repetitive or stretched out to get it long enough to call it a "book."
August 13, 2019
Um guia completo para empregadores e clientes entenderem o que é design e como gerir um projeto de design. Um guia completo para o designer também entender as dúvidas de seus empregadores/clientes.
June 3, 2018
This book is good especially for those who have just started their career either as a designer or as a design director who has just established his/her first design studio.
This book will keep you engaged as there is so much information based on the scenarios that you can relate too and also apply in your life.
But the reason for giving 4 stars is because of the way of writing. It was filled with humor, jokes, sayings, quotes etc. At first, I was laughing at every bit but then it increased to a certain level where my mind was like "Oh God. Again!"
Overall this book is good and I think everyone who belongs to design domain should give it a shot.
This book will keep you engaged as there is so much information based on the scenarios that you can relate too and also apply in your life.
But the reason for giving 4 stars is because of the way of writing. It was filled with humor, jokes, sayings, quotes etc. At first, I was laughing at every bit but then it increased to a certain level where my mind was like "Oh God. Again!"
Overall this book is good and I think everyone who belongs to design domain should give it a shot.
November 22, 2018
I enjoyed how easy it was to read and in the beginning I loved the tone of voice. At some point I felt this tone is a bit over the top. Still found useful points to the book, but I don’t know if I would actually give it to a client!
May 29, 2022
It's a very good book!
If you're someone who works with designers - a client or a designer yourself, you should definitely read it. It's clear and to the point, with some real life examples which complete the picture.
If you're someone who works with designers - a client or a designer yourself, you should definitely read it. It's clear and to the point, with some real life examples which complete the picture.
October 4, 2017
I wrote a more extensive review here:
https://medium.com/the-ux-book-club/r...
https://medium.com/the-ux-book-club/r...
December 28, 2017
Concise, no-nonsense and bullshit-free guide to hiring and working with designers, written in Monteiro’s trademark™️ inimitable, acerbic tone.
April 12, 2018
Outstanding. I’d not only recommend this for anyone commissioning design or working with designers, but for designers themselves. It’s a book filled with hard-won, no-nonsense advice.
March 22, 2020
Great book! Definitely need to buy a couple copies and give them to potential clients.
June 6, 2022
Seriously a must read text for anyone working with clients.
September 13, 2023
Worthwhile content, I think that the author’s style detracts from the overall book. YMMV
March 6, 2025
You’ll never walk alone
February 14, 2017
This is a great great book!
I'm an animator by profession and the advice and guiding I got from this book is invaluable. I feel this should be a basic whether you're a designer (or creative professional in general) or someone looking to hire the services from a creative professional.
The tone is great, the pace of the book keeps you interested and the lessons are great. Though many of the practices stressed by Mr. Monteiro are what someone would call "basic" (fundamental) and sometimes "obvious", I found myself constantly saying "Oh right, I had forgotten that", "of course", "right?!".
Being from an environment where design is not appreciated and seen more like an "easy hobby path" than an actual profession, this book helped me boost my designer self-steem and corroborated many of the ideas and conceptions about what a good designer must work, some of which have been judged and repeled by employers, fellow designers and even some experienced designers.
I love this book and will be a good reference for quite some time while I grow in this amazing field.
Thank you so much Mr. Monteiro.
December 29, 2016
Some good quotes:
A designer needs to extend their expertise to the client's brand and industry. The design profession isn't about self-expression.
A designer needs to be able to answer: 'Why did you do that?' If their reply is, 'I can change it,' you're absolutely fucked.
No word is more useless in design context than the word 'like'.
When we hear, "I like it," our minds go crazy and get filled with weird pheromones or something. ... We want to hear it again. It's human. And designers are human too, so we start doing work that gets you to say it again. Six months down the road when the project has failed and we're all wondering why, we won't get much relief from the fact that we all liked it. ... Try "This works" or "This seems correct" instead.
Arguing is a good sign (in moderation). This means people give a shit. They're invested in what they're doing and passionate about the results. People who are disinterested don't argue. They meander from one task to another, making sure they do just enough so they don't get noticed. They go into checklist mode. They don't look for the best solution since any will do, as long as they get to check it off as done.
A designer needs to extend their expertise to the client's brand and industry. The design profession isn't about self-expression.
A designer needs to be able to answer: 'Why did you do that?' If their reply is, 'I can change it,' you're absolutely fucked.
No word is more useless in design context than the word 'like'.
When we hear, "I like it," our minds go crazy and get filled with weird pheromones or something. ... We want to hear it again. It's human. And designers are human too, so we start doing work that gets you to say it again. Six months down the road when the project has failed and we're all wondering why, we won't get much relief from the fact that we all liked it. ... Try "This works" or "This seems correct" instead.
Arguing is a good sign (in moderation). This means people give a shit. They're invested in what they're doing and passionate about the results. People who are disinterested don't argue. They meander from one task to another, making sure they do just enough so they don't get noticed. They go into checklist mode. They don't look for the best solution since any will do, as long as they get to check it off as done.
February 13, 2017
I'm a designer, but thought this would be a good read and I wasn't disappointed. This was easy to read and really gave me some good reminders to a client's point of view and what to pay attention to so both sides are happy.
February 16, 2016
A well written book with a lot of honesty, dark humor and sarcasm that will show a lot about the relationship between the profesional and the client.
My new recommendation for everyone right next to "Don't make me think".
A delightful reading that although is written thinking on designer is also applies perfectly to developers and pretty much every professional in the majority of it's concepts.
A must read for every design or technology profesional and anyone hiring them.
I would easily even recommend this book to lawyers or any other professional.
My new recommendation for everyone right next to "Don't make me think".
A delightful reading that although is written thinking on designer is also applies perfectly to developers and pretty much every professional in the majority of it's concepts.
A must read for every design or technology profesional and anyone hiring them.
I would easily even recommend this book to lawyers or any other professional.
December 12, 2015
I first read his book Design Is A Job and loved his style. He is a no-nonsense guy who thoroughly understands the design process. You're My Favorite Client has the same kind of approach, but told from his experience with clients. This book is about the dos and don't's of working with designers. Follow this advice if you want the designer you hired to perform their best.
I'm recommending this book to all of my clients.
I should note, that this book contains some coarse language so keep that in mind.
I'm recommending this book to all of my clients.
I should note, that this book contains some coarse language so keep that in mind.
February 11, 2016
If you've lead enough design projects in your career, you won't find any a-ha moments in this book. However, it is a great, concise collection of all things stated or unstated that you know go into making a project run successfully. I can see myself returning to this book before every major project to refresh my memory.
If someone can suggest a way to give this book to clients without offending them, let me know. It seems like it would be the equivalent of your mom gifting you a parenting book.
If someone can suggest a way to give this book to clients without offending them, let me know. It seems like it would be the equivalent of your mom gifting you a parenting book.
March 4, 2016
To the point, very concise and easy to read. The largest point I got from this great book is that a designer is a research-based, conscientious decision maker that is part of a team and works with their client, not for them. Seen as contrary to the belief that a designer is a creative artistic techie that has his work based on feelings. Great to see what Monteiro had to say to executives as a designer myself.
May 18, 2016
I found it very useful in terms of giving me a humorous lay of the land as I work on the design team from a non-design background. Maybe a lot of the stuff he is rehashing is common sense and there are no ah ha moments but I walked a way with a coherent philosophy about the phases of a design project and it was enjoyable to read.
November 8, 2016
"Some of the things you see will be right, some will be wrong. It's important you tell me which is which."
"The problem with 'like' is that it places the emphasis on success on someone's subjective mood rather than quantifiable data. A good client knows the difference between personal opinion and goal-driven, informed evaluation."
"The problem with 'like' is that it places the emphasis on success on someone's subjective mood rather than quantifiable data. A good client knows the difference between personal opinion and goal-driven, informed evaluation."
January 11, 2015
The followup of Design is a Job. For the same reasons, everybody that is serious about design should read this ASAP. Also, this one gives awesome insight for design clients that want to understand better how a design project gets done.
April 20, 2015
A great behind the scenes peek at the process of working with designers, how to communicate so things will go right and what to do if things go wrong. There are some great tips here I wish I would have known years ago both from a client perspective and as a designer.
January 15, 2016
A good read on working with design stakeholders. Reaffirmed things I had seen or suspected in my last 2.5 years in UX. Liked the comedic style, and although it came off a little abrasive at times, like others mentioned, it didn't bother me much. I'd much rather it be real than buttoned up and dry.
October 17, 2014
Good stuff. Combines with Montiero's Design is a Job to tell the story of client services from two viewpoints. Worth a read even if you aren't a client.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews