URGENT! I need this right away!

U.R.G.E.N.T.

Something about the way these letters sit next to each other, in all CAPS like that, sends instant panic though me.

URGENT, is usually accompanied by something serious:

•  URGENT Surgery Required!
•  Fire – URGENT Evacuation!
•  Robbery in Progress – URGENT Response Required!

Your banner design is NOT URGENT.

“Patience is power. Patience is not an absence of action; rather it is "timing". It waits on the right time to act, for the right principles and in the right way.”― Fulton J. Sheen

I couldn’t possibly count the number of times this word has unnecessarily plagued my inbox. I have tried unsuccessfully to explain the frustration, headache and unpaid overtime that has followed the use of this word. URGENCY opens the gate for error and unprofessionalism. It causes stress and panic. Working under these conditions are in no way effective.

URGENT = the one word guaranteed to reduce productivity.

When used too often, for matters falsely labelled “URGENT”, it becomes the boy who cried wolf. The impact dilutes, and the word loses value. You, the user of the word, loses creditability.

“This is the industry in which we work in” they say…

I beg to differ. It’s the boy’s incompetence. It is a lack of respect for what a designer does; lack of attention to detail. It is the comfort of having a dependable designer. It is laziness.

I searched my my inbox for the word "URGENT" and this is what I found...

I am very much aware that, sometimes, you get a great idea at 5am in the morning for a project that's due at 6am. But a great idea with poor planning and execution, is nothing. It might as well have never been. It is a waste of an idea.

People unfamiliar with good ideas, think that they’re all good. They see themselves as revolutionary thinkers and innovators. What they fail to realize is what makes an idea revolutionary and innovative, is not just the idea, but the planning, the organization, the execution.

Throughout history, it is proven that ideas are nothing impressive, without proper action. I use the word 'Proper', because I am a firm believer, in that, a well-executed, bad idea, is more effective than a rushed good idea.

I tell my clients, you can get two kinds of work, rushed work, or good work. I'm no stranger to deadlines, but, more often that not, I receive requests with unrealistic deadlines.

"Must be completed and approved by the end of the day." Received one (1) hour before the close of business.

Or clients that need work done URGENTLY, but no clue what they want, so you end up doing the back and forth, for three days, and then they blame you for taking long to complete graphics. What I have a hard time getting clients to understand is, I don't mind receiving change request from clients, but it must be within reason.

EXAMPLE: You cannot send me a calendar, saying you want something like this, THEN, completely change your mind without notifying me. Only to send a complete layout change two hours later, when your calendar design was almost complete. That is inconsiderate.

Sample Image -
This was received from the client,
as an example of what they wanted.

Rough draft of calendar layout for the client.

After a week of back and fourths and changes after changes,
 this was the final product.
(Which looks NOTHING like the original file requested)

The point to the seemingly meandering rant is that if you are having second thoughts about the work you are requesting, don't title an email, "URGENT! Needed Immediately." When everything is URGENT, nothing is.