Cheap Work Ain’t Good
“Good work ain’t cheap, cheap work ain’t good”
~ Sailor Jerry
Norman Keith Collins, known popularly as Sailor Jerry, was a prominent American tattoo artist in Hawaii who was well known for his sailor tattoos.
What
What does Sailor Jerry mean? This is a no-nonsense, straight-to-the-point phrase which has a rather cunning play on words to otherwise say “You get what you pay for!” and how much you pay can result in whether the outcome of the work is good or not.
How
How can we learn from this? Most people running a business may relate to Sailor Jerry’s philosophy but not everyone may even know of such a philosophy, let alone understand how it’s of any importance to them. Explaining this philosophy and revealing the value received as a result of good work vs cheap work can be quite enlightening for some. This benefits both client and designer by creating a mutual understanding of expectations before starting a project and avoiding any time wasted.
Why
Why is this important to design? When you pay for a service it’s wise to be sure that the job gets done right the first time or you’ll be paying to have it done again later on. The decision made between cheap and good will therefore reflect your visual appearance and determine the type of impact they will have on your brand. This is something well worth thinking about because quite simply, cheap commonly does not look good. Using a little more of your budget on good design will pay off in the long run because design is the ambassador of your brand.
FINAL THOUGHT
It requires a lot of experience, heart and soul to produce good work. These are the deep and meaningful qualities you pay for when receiving a prestigious service. Similar to the concept of a well produced, meaningful tattoo, good design will stand the test of time and won’t lead to future regret.
