Class

An incredibly talented photographer client phoned to say her conversations with other photographers yielded feedback that her website needs to include more work, show it bigger, and update it more often (BiggerBetterFasterMore!). So, having heard about sites developed by a company that caters to photographers and produces photo books, she checked out cost-efficient templates. Apologetically, she blurted that she was telling me—before she went live—that her daughter redid her website using templates from Visual Server.

First: what thoughtfulness and class. Many clients would have simply gone live. Like any expert collaborator, I want respect. At bottom, my (former) client owed me nothing; but she was decent and gave notice.

Second: In a fast, digital, DIY world, good design means something that's easy for the client to do him/her/itself. Heck; our Designerbs diablog is a template you adapted. Another Heck: Paula Scher did letterhead templates for HP. I regret the end of the particular project, BUT I understand the need for a smooth way for a client to control fate in a money-challenged world. I hope the designers and programmers of the Visual Server make some money/residuals from their formats.

Third: The client also paid her daughter (a college student and a photographer) for her time, which makes the client double decent.

All the above said, I do feel wistful. I'm not sure whether I'm sad because the client was so stressed about delivering her bad news to me or because she let BTD go. I'll post the link to her great work once the new site is live.