Hasta La Ideas

A few words with one of the secretive figures behind the client horror story blog

Web designers, those anonymous talents who help make sense of the sheer volume of white noise out there, are the unsung heroes of the digital age. The transition for many businesses is rarely seamless though—irrational behavior coupled with an unhealthy dose of old-fashioned racism is expressed by many of these Clients from Hell.

Consider this one:

Client: I want more ethnic people, I feel as if there are too many “white” people.
Me: I see only one picture with Caucasian people in it—you want them gone?
Client: Maybe you could just give them a tan? Or make them more “thuggish?”

Or another:

“I got this email once from some lawyer in Nigeria and when I opened it and clicked the link, the same email was sent to everyone in my contact list. I thought, hey, this is a pretty smart and simple marketing technique. When I send out this email to the 4,000 people, I want it to automatically forward to everyone in their contact list. Can you have this done for me by tomorrow?”

The Clients from Hell blog has been cataloguing these types of exchanges since 2009 and came out with a book late last year, offering a humorous form of therapy for the tech community and a rare inside look at the petty and downright insane requests to which they are often subjected.

Cool Hunting tracked down “Vincent,” a web designer in the 18-25 demographic, who is part of the shadowy team of disgruntled designers that have been running the site and recently published a 150-page book.

Cool Hunting: Which anecdotes do you find the most disturbing? Most amusing?

Vincent: The only anecdotes I find truly perturbing, actually, are the ones where the person who’s sent it (the “me” speaker) is jeering and maligning someone for not knowing something they couldn’t have possibly known. That’s not the spirit of jest, y’know. When it comes to poking fun at someone for being technologically ignorant, the tone ought to be spoofy, if not just a bit frustrated. When it comes to the real slimy characters, the ones we hear about who casually employ misogyny and racism as business models, those are the guys that you can really sink your teeth into—they deserve it.

CH: How did the Clients from Hell communities develop?

V: The way most communities develop. We settled around a body of water, or some other lush, food-bearing area and proceeded to erect houses and practice agriculture, until the crop-yield became sufficient enough that we could support guilds and artists, forms of governments, kleptocracies at first and then monarchies and then democracies. Then we abused that democracy and sold our interests to foreign investors and got mixed up in a few wars. 😉

Do you see different patterns in different countries and regions?

It’s mostly American, Canadian and English submissions, I think, with some Aussies peppered in. I always love getting submissions from people whose first language is clearly NOT English. Their delivery and word choice is incredibly awkward, but you can tell that they find what they’re saying really funny!

What kind of submissions are unpublishable and can you describe why?

Ha ha, well the aforementioned submissions where the English is horrid but the emphasis is still punchy (e.g. “And then he ask me make Sunday work for only same prices!!!”) are generally unpublishable. And we get a surprising amount of submissions where someone has clearly read one of our earlier posts and has a very similar story, so they send that. We can’t publish the same joke twice, though, I feel like telling them.

As a design professional, is the relationship getting better, worse, or does it remain the same?

I’d imagine that as the generation that grew up alongside computers begins to grow up and take over companies, that the client/designer dynamic will be less of a comedy of misunderstandings.

What effect—if any—do you think the CFH phenomenon has had on your profession?

Very little. The people that ought to be learning from it aren’t, unfortunately, the ones reading it.

How long do you reckon the CFH site will continue? Is their a clear goal aside from making a mint?

As long as there are fresh injustices or some fresh ignorance at which we can laugh or roll our eyes, there will be a CFH. If, one day, all the client relationships everywhere magically become harmonious and right, then we’ll retire it.

Travelex’s chip-based card allows U.S. travelers greater freedom abroad

Since borrowing a London-based friend’s credit card in order to use the communal bike system in Paris a couple summers back, I’ve been curious about less-complicated solutions to the lack of “chip and PIN” credit card technology available in the States. Designed specifically for traveling Yankees, I recently started using the Cash Passport that Travelex launched late last year. The smart card not only gives users access to chip-enabled services (using it currently in the U.K. made buying Heathrow Express and tube tickets a cinch), but generally eases the woes of carrying personal credit cards.

Pre-paid with Euros or British Pounds, you don’t have to worry about daily exchange-rate fluctuations, incompatible ATMs and the threat of identity theft—unlike normal plastic, the Passport isn’t loaded with any personal information. (One of the biggest implications of these types of cards is cutting down on fraud globally.)

All this safety does have a downside. Travelex’s advanced security checks makes refilling online more difficult than it should be. Though their free emergency assistance is available 24/7, it’s the kind of process you’ll only want to go through if your card is lost or stolen. Load enough money to last the duration of your trip to avoid any hiccups or time-wasting phone calls.

On the upside, consider that Travelex doesn’t charge for balance inquires, ATM withdrawals or for receiving cash back from in-store purchases. When you get home, simply unload remaining balances—you can even transfer what’s left directly to your personal bank account or get a personal check. To learn more about how to feel like a savvy traveler rather than a stupid American, head to Travelex online.

London-based Fraher Architects have completed a house extension in Islington that is wrapped in larch batons and has a flower-covered roof.

Adjoining the rear of the listed house, the timber-clad extension contains a study and a dining room with an oversized glass door to the garden.

Benches and fences lining this garden terrace are made of the same timber.

A serpent-like lamp illuminates the terrace at night, while matching orange lamps light up the new dining room beneath a rectangular skylight.

The roof over the dining room is split into two halves, which pitch in different directions and enable rainwater collection.

Modest residential extensions are common in London neighbourhoods – see our earlier stories about a house extended by just a metre and a zinc-clad extension squeezed into a wedge of land.

Photography is by Andy Matthews.

Here are some more details from Joe and Liz Fraher:

The Jewel Box

Intended for a reputable silversmith and QC the brief called for complete renovation and extension to provide a dining area and garden room. This Grade II listed building is located in the prominent Colebrook row conservation area.

Conceived as a series of jewelled boxes carefully inserted into the existing fabric, the proposals open up and revitalise what was a series of dark disjointed spaces. Timber and concrete have been combined in a simple palette of materials that wrap around the existing fabric, inviting the user through the space and into the garden. The remaining period architectural features are retained and celebrated whilst the rear addition utilises a double canted wildflower roof to bounce light deep into the floor plate.

Click above for larger image

A hidden garden study provides a place of contemplation overlooking the south facing courtyard garden.

Click above for larger image

Sustainable Scottish Larch combines with a series of green roofs to soften the junctions of the insertion and provides a habitat for local wildlife. Super insulation and rainwater storage add to the eco credentials of the scheme.

See also:

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Villa extension by O+A	Extension to Residence Königswarte by Plasma	University extension by CrystalZoo

Architects Gundry & Ducker created a pub inside a cardboard box inside the crypt of a London church.

Called the Draughtsman’s Arms, the installation formed the bar for an architecture exhibition.

Ducking inside, visitors found themselves surrounded by a line drawing of an English bar from the waist up, complete with a view of the Royal Institute of British Architects through the window.

Entitled The Architect: What Now? the exhibition was organised by architecture graduates Alison Coutinho, Dan Slavinsky and Dezeen’s Wai Shin Li.

Above: photograph by Rick Roxburgh

Gundry & Ducker were also responsible for the design of Rosa’s Thai restaurant, which opened in Soho last year.

Above: photograph by Rick Roxburgh

Photographs are by Joe Clark, apart from where otherwise stated.

Here are some more details from Gundry & Ducker:

The draughtsman’s Arms was designed by Gundry & Ducker as part of the recent exhibition and debate on the future of Architecture, “The Architect What Now”. Located in the crypt of a London Church designed by Sir John Soane.

A focal point in the dimly light space, it housed the bar on the debate night and the reception area during the on-going exhibition. Plain on the outside, it is decorated on the inside and is sliced off at dado height partially revealing the occupants. It is both a drawing and a room. The room is a 1:1 scale illustration of a typical london pub interior.

In response to the antique surroundings the CAD drawn interior is in the form of a etching. We imagined that full of thirsty drinkers it would be like a living Hogarth print. In expectation of the architect clientele, the pub interior has been modified to suit, for example, the view through the window is of the RIBA and the cigarette machine is branded by Rotring.

See also:

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Anna by ZMIK	Leo Burnett Office by Ministry of Design	Paperboard Architecture by D’art for VDP

UK studio a:b:i:r Architects have redesigned the traditional English beach hut to be accessible for wheelchair users.

Four separate huts are contained inside a single building on the seafront in Bournemouth.

Brightly coloured stripes of yellow, green and blue are painted onto plywood fins that wrap the seaside cabins.

Ramps give access to the huts from the promenade, while a sloping pathway provides a route onto the beach.

A shared drinking water fountain is located between the two pairs of cabins, which are divided internally by removable partitions.

An electrical charging point for mobility scooters is provided nearby, as are accessible toilets.

Design consultant Peter Lewis collaborated with the architects on the competition-winning design.

Other British seaside projects from the Dezeen archive include a cafe that resembles a rock and a 324 metre-long seafront bench.

Photography is by Richard Rowland.

Here are some more details from the architects:

Brighton architects deliver UK’s first accessible beach huts

New accessible beach huts designed by a:b:i:r architects and Peter Lewis will be unveiled later this month in Boscombe (Bournemouth) as the UK’s first designed specifically for people with disabilities.

‘The Seagull and the Windbreak’, which draws upon traditional seaside imagery of a line drawn seagull and multi coloured stripes of the traditional windbreak, beat off worldwide competition from 173 international entries. Voted for by the public, disabled beach users and a panel of seven expert judges, the buildings combine ergonomics with contemporary design. Funded with a grant from the Commission for Architecture & Built Environment (CABE) the Boscombe beach huts are designed to promote inclusion, health and wellbeing.

Facilities include high colour contrast surfaces and flooring to assist the visually impaired, dual height kitchen units with a gas stove and a communal outside area with a fresh water fountain. An electric charging point for mobility scooters is also available as well as improved accessible toilets, parking and a wooden beach trackway to enable easy access onto the beach. The four huts, designed as two pairs with retractable partition walls for increased flexibility, each accommodate up to four wheelchair users.

a:b:i:r architects, who are developing a reputation for seaside architecture following the award winning £1million refurbishment of the Brighton ‘Birdcage’ Bandstand, assembled a team which included Eastbourne based contractor Push Studios to deliver the project. The huts were constructed under factory conditions and delivered to site for quick installation.

Overlooking Bournemouth’s award-winning sandy beaches demand is high for the Dorset seaside retreats; each one is already fully booked. Linda Nelson from Bournemouth was quick to rent a hut for the entire season. She said: “The new beach huts are brilliant. Having been involved in the development and consultation process it is great to be able to reap the benefits. I had trouble getting in and around the old beach huts and was constantly worried about falling over. These new huts take away all those old problems; they are a tremendous asset for the area and a fantastic facility for disabled people.”

The Bournemouth suburb’s visitor numbers have soared following £13.5 million regeneration works and in 2010 Boscombe Pier was crowned Pier of the Year by the National Piers Society. The regeneration scheme has since won a number of national awards for regeneration including the Local Government Chronicle regeneration project of the year award. Andrew Emery, Boscombe Sea Change Project Manager for Bournemouth Borough Council, says the resort’s vision is ambitious but simple: “Continuing with the theme of regeneration in the vibrant Boscombe area the new huts incorporate high quality design, visual flair and unique function. We believe that they will become iconic symbols of the continuing renaissance of the British seaside resort and will open up our award-winning seafront area to new visitors.”

Construction team Architect: a:b:i:r architects
Collaborator Designer: Peter Lewis
Structural Engineers: IE Structural Engineers
Design & Build Contractor: Push Studios
Materials: Steel framed structure, Trespa board & plywood infill, Plywood fins finished with high performance, marine grade paine, Single ply membrane roof

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Dri Dri by Elips Design	Lords South Beach by BHDM	The Longest Bench by Studio Weave