Informed clients are better clients, and they make for better

In the serene and disciplined world of creation, where the craftsman seeks to give form to vision, Kelly Wearstler, the modern oracle of design, once declared: “Informed clients are better clients, and they make for better design.” These words, though born in the studio and the workshop, reach beyond the realm of art and architecture—they speak to all endeavors where human minds must work together to bring forth beauty from chaos. They remind us that true creation is not the labor of one, but the harmony of many; that knowledge, when shared between maker and receiver, becomes the foundation of greatness.

In the ancient ages, the master builders of temples and cities understood this truth well. When the pharaohs of Egypt or the kings of Greece commissioned monuments to the gods, they did not merely demand—they listened. They spoke with the architects, the sculptors, the artisans of stone and spirit. The great Parthenon itself was not built by the will of rulers alone, but through the understanding between Pericles, who envisioned a symbol of civilization’s glory, and Phidias, the artist who shaped that vision into marble. Without this meeting of minds—without the ruler informed in meaning, and the artist informed in purpose—the temple would have been only a shell, not a symbol. So too in our own age: when the creator and the client both walk in the light of understanding, their labor bears fruit worthy of time’s remembrance.

To be informed, as Wearstler teaches, is not merely to know facts, but to see with awareness—to grasp the essence of what is being shaped. A client who understands design does not seek to control the artist; they seek to collaborate in truth. Their knowledge refines their taste, sharpens their decisions, and inspires trust. Likewise, a designer who works with an informed soul is freed from the burden of persuasion and can instead rise into the realm of artistry. Their dialogue becomes not a transaction, but a partnership of vision, where each nourishes the other’s wisdom. Thus, informed clients do not merely improve design—they elevate it, transforming work into creation, and creation into legacy.

Consider the tale of Lorenzo de’ Medici, patron of Florence, who walked among painters and sculptors like a gardener among his blooms. He did not command Michelangelo or Botticelli with ignorance; he studied, listened, and learned. He understood proportion, story, and symbolism—enough to nurture without constraining. Because he was informed, the artists flourished, and Florence became a cradle of the Renaissance. This is Wearstler’s wisdom given flesh: that great creation is born where patron and artist share the same language of understanding, where knowledge builds trust and trust births greatness.

There is also humility in this teaching. For to seek to be informed is to admit that one does not know—and that is the beginning of wisdom. The uninformed client, blinded by ego or indifference, commands with impatience and judges without insight. The result is confusion, mediocrity, and discord. The informed one, however, steps into the artist’s world with reverence, learning the balance between form and feeling. They know that every curve, color, and shadow speaks of something deeper. They do not ask only how a design looks, but why it must be so. In this sacred curiosity lies the seed of true creation.

The deeper meaning of Wearstler’s words is that knowledge brings harmony. Where ignorance divides, understanding unites. Informed clients make for better design because they invite collaboration instead of conflict, and dialogue instead of domination. The greatest works of the world—whether temples, poems, or cities—were not born from command, but from communion. When both sides—the one who dreams and the one who crafts—move with shared understanding, their creation becomes a reflection of divine order, an echo of the harmony that holds the stars in place.

So let this be the lesson passed down to you, O seeker of creation: be informed, in all that you commission and all that you craft. Learn the language of those whose work you guide. If you are a client, study the heart of the art; if you are a creator, teach those who walk beside you. Let knowledge be your bridge and empathy your guide. For when wisdom and artistry walk hand in hand, the world is adorned not just with beauty, but with meaning. In that sacred union of understanding, every design—whether of stone, word, or dream—becomes a testament to the highest harmony between human minds.