Freelancers and contractors have certain perks in their work lives; the freedom to pick and choose projects that seem the most interesting and challenging is great, plus you can decide how much you think your work is worth and set your own schedule.
Image credits: seriousstudio
However, there are downsides too. Demanding clients can suddenly shift deadlines and budgets, micromanage your work until it’s no longer your creation anymore and don’t even get me started on paying taxes…
Sometimes completing a project is only the beginning. Then comes the feedback, the excuses for incomplete payment, the complaints and the “just one more thing.”
Image credits: seriousstudio
Philippines-based design studio Serious Studio have obviously been there many times before and decided to turn their terrifying client experiences into a series of vintage horror movie posters. As you can see, they make perfect sense!
Image credits: seriousstudio
Spooky story #1: “It’s 4pm and I’m about to wrap things up and call it a day when all of a sudden, a client calls, demanding a turnover for a new concept by the end of the day. Sometimes, at night, I can still hear the shrill echo of a voice taunting me to make that deadline…” – Anonymous Advertising Creative
Image credits: seriousstudio
Spooky story #2: “A few days ago, my client wanted me to just copy his competitor’s logo to save time and back-and-forths. He was persistent that I should just copy it because ‘it just works’. I wanted to tell him that if he’s just going to literally copy a restaurant, he should just forget about starting one. I didn’t tell him because I’m just sitting here eating my popcorn, waiting for this trainwreck that is just about to happen.” – Anonymous Graphic Designer
Image credits: seriousstudio
Spooky story #3: “My small agency just finished a project that went on for months. By the time we started to talk about billing, my client told me to talk to their accounting department. The sad part is they really don’t have an accounting department— I was actually talking to their intern, who was a really bad liar. He ended up just saying that his boss suddenly can’t pay our agency. ” – Anonymous Finance Guy
Image credits: seriousstudio
Spooky story #4: “My client told me that I shouldn’t get paid for this because they’re just a startup. The best they can do is pay me in exposure, and get me when they’re way bigger. After all, he said, it’s called freelancing for a reason. Also, who lives on exposure anyway?” – Anonymous Freelancer
Image credits: seriousstudio
Spooky story #5: “I’m at my daughter’s ballet recital, and out of nowhere my boss asks me to fix some site bugs that could easily be done on Monday. Here’s to the weekend!” – Anonymous Web Developer
Image credits: seriousstudio
Here’s the last one. The lesson in this one is to never pitch for free. Spooky story #6: “I pitched a brand campaign to this company last July and they loved it. A week later, they told me that they didn’t have a budget for it, so they went ahead and executed it with someone who could do it for cheap.” – Anonymous Advertising Creative
Image credits: seriousstudio
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