October 25, 2021
These powerful boundaries will help you stay on track with your creative process—some of these suggestions pop designers in the spotlight, and, get us to look at how we can rein ourselves in.
Hands up those designers who quote a project and allow 4 hours for a part of their process only to find they are still deep diving 8 hours later? Yep—we see you. And, we’ve been there.
Not being able to set boundaries for ourselves, can be as crippling to our business as clients who go rogue. Implementing the following boundaries will result in a win-win for you and your clients.
That dreaded feeling when you present your designs to a client and they stare at you blankly—They clearly don’t understand a word you have said. Or worse, their expectation hasn’t been met and they don’t like it.
Suggested Boundaries: Ensure you receive signed approval on your brief. Clients must approve the brief prior to the commencement of any creative work. Use words in the brief that your client has used so that the wording is familiar to them. Make sure the brief articulates exactly what is going to happen.
This can be a potential red flag client. Being wishy-washy can translate to “I have no idea what I want, I’ll know it when I see it”. And as a discerning designer we don’t have time to play guessing games.
Suggested Boundaries: You simply don’t proceed if you cannot extract a clear brief. It’s your job to communicate that this information is imperative to the success of the project—and the project will be on hold until it is completed.
If additional meetings are required to handle this type of client, this could be covered as agreed additional costs.
Avoid approval via committee at all costs!
Suggested Boundaries: Simple—get your client to sign off and agree that one contact only is to be the final decision-maker and project liaison.
Even having this discussion will bring awareness to the client. Otherwise they may simply assume that every Tom, Dick and Harriet will be able to have input.
Another boundary that you need is a powerful, watertight rationale. So if your design solutions do get shared about, all parties will be fully informed of the brief and the mutual goals set by you and your client liaison. This removes subjectivity and ensures comments and feedback are objective.
Come again…we are doing what now? Ebbing and flowing in and out of ideas is usually the result of a loose brief or a super creative entrepreneur who is overthinking things.
Suggested Boundary: With respect, bring your client’s awareness to the significant change in direction, and if needed, suggest a re-quote with the revised scope of works—but only after discussing if the direction genuinely needs to change.
It is NOT your fault if the client pivots or changes direction mid-way through a project…so many designers cop it on the chin with this one and fold the additional work into the original quote.
It’s no secret that we believe you should only present one concept to your clients. Yep that’s right, one—just one…with confidence!
In fact, we have dedicated a previous poddy to just that Episode 8 How to present one concept with confidence!
Suggested Boundaries: Explain your one concept process; explain all the steps you take to ensure it will be designed to answer the brief and that it will be the most strategic, successful solution possible.
You are scrolling through instagram and the beautiful brand you created for your client is hardly recognisable—they have made some interesting decisions and your heart breaks! And…what if people think YOU were responsible for this monstrosity?! It’s a horrible feeling to worry that your professional reputation is at stake.
Suggested Boundaries: Be the design police!
Reach out (have a script prepared) and communicate how it is diluting the power of their brand presence and also diluting their investment.
Ask them if they are ready for a change in brand direction?
Often it will be an innocent mistake or a rushed decision and all that is required is a gentle reminder of the investment they have made and your desire to ensure that the integrity of their beautiful brand is maintained.
We’ve all been there….diving down way too many creative rabbit holes seeking the perfect answer. Only to find that our profit margin on this project is practically non existent.
Suggested Boundaries: This is where you need a boundary around your own creative process and time!
Super simple—set time limits for creative exploration. Do this by using timers.
If you need tips on being a graphic design time management boss, check out episode 14 of our podcast here.
Also, it may just be that you are simply not charging enough. High end creative and strategic work does take time! Track your time to see just how long projects take you.
A gentle reminder that boundaries take courage, beautiful people.
We are not saying that it always going to be easy to implement clear boundaries. But when you do, your business will feel lighter, you will see things more clearly and best of all—your business will run smoothly.
A respectful, firm boundary is so much better than resenting your business. Here’s to running graphic design businesses that we LOVE.
With love
Kris & Donna xo
[00:00:00] Donna: Hello.
Excited to be presenting the last in our series of setting boundaries. And this week, this episode is all about boundaries around the creative process. So let’s dive in Kris.
[00:00:16] Kris: Yeah, this one, we spin the focus a little bit onto ourselves as designers and having some boundaries around our own actions. Also client actions as well. Like it’s always about setting boundaries to the clients as well, but there’s definitely some things in here that we’ll touch on that we need to put in place for ourselves as well.
[00:00:37] Donna: Yep. And we sometimes don’t like to hear that. Ah, but it’s essential that we understand what we bring to the table with regard to our own time management, our own creative process and to, to manage that and be accountable for that.
[00:00:54] Kris: Yeah. So number one, is clients not liking or getting the creative direction of what you’ve created. What do we about that?
[00:01:03] Donna: Yeah, they don’t understand it. They’re like, what is this? Idon’t get it. I don’t understand it. I’m not, it’s not resonating for me and I’m, I’m really not getting it. So what do we do? That’s exactly right. And that can happen if there is not a really, really clear brief from the outset. So that’s the boundary a really clear beautifully articulate brief that you are working towards and the client understands. So there are no surprises when the conceptual and creative work is delivered.
[00:01:37] Kris: Yeah. And one of the most important aspects of the brief is that you get your client to approve it.
[00:01:44] Donna: That’s the big thing.
[00:01:46] Kris: If you don’t run it by them, if they’re not signing off on it, it’s not really very useful. It’s not really very useful because it’s, you’re not really getting them to buy into it.
[00:01:57] Donna: Yes, absolutely, kris. So that, that technically is the boundary really? Isn’t it? The boundary is the sign-off that’s because the brief, a brief is nothing without approval. You absolutely need that. So that’s, that’s essential. Yeah.
[00:02:11] Kris: All right. Another problem is that clients are vague and wishy washy with what they want. So they’re not really giving you a clear brief.
[00:02:22] Donna: Yeah. They kind of know when they’ll see it, that type of client we’ve had clients confess this to us. Haven’t we Kris? I fall into the category of, I’ll know it when I see it kind of client and they know, they know that is a bit of a shortcoming, not to have clarity and a clear direction around what they want, but sometimes this just gets missed. In the communication that they’re wishy-washy and vague. And until we actually deliver a really clear boundary on how to pull them back. If they remain wishy-washy and vague. Goodness knows what you’d end up with. I wouldn’t take the job on you just wouldn’t wouldn’t do it.
[00:02:59] Kris: Yeah, it depends on how you’re doing your brief, but if you’re getting a response, like not applicable or N/A,, you know, if all the responses and they’re just being half hearted about the brief, or they’re not really honoring the briefing process and the power that it has to deliver exceptional design results. Well, then that’s a little red flag. We had a red flags episode, but also there’s a boundary that needs to be in play. And that is, you’re not going to proceed any further. You can’t provide them with a proposal. You can’t provide them with any work until you get that clear brief from them.
[00:03:35] Donna: Yes, that’s right, Kris. It is imperative for the success of the project to have a really clear, articulate brief. And if you can’t move forward, you can’t quote on something that’s wishy washy. You just can’t do it. So it’s a really clear boundary to not go any further until you have all of the information that you need in order for you to create a really clear cost proposal for the client.
[00:04:01] Kris: Yeah. Yeah. So It is your job to communicate the importance of the design brief, and it is your job to get that beautiful brief from the client as well, to ask the right questions, to make sure that you have a clear pathway, that it isn’t wishy washy.
[00:04:18] Donna: Yeah,
[00:04:18] Kris: and the project will be on hold until you get that. So if you’ve got a client who needs a bit more handholding, you might need an additional meeting to cover it as well, but these additional meetings could be covered as additional costs. If it is a complicated client who needs that extra hand-holding that shouldn’t be on you. It shouldn’t be on your time and your. you should be renumerated for that extra time that you’re going to spend with that client.
[00:04:43] Donna: Yes, absolutely. And being wishy-washy and vague doesn’t always mean that they’re the type of client that we’ll know it, when they say. It actually might mean that they’re really scared of getting it wrong. So sometimes the best defensive, if people think I’m going to get it wrong is not to say anything at all. So that’s where that little bit of nurture and handholding might come into play because you’ll have to guide them to the answer and really help them and take them step by step through the brief to get to that answer, because it’s just fear holding them back. They don’t want to make a mistake. They don’t want to get it wrong or waste your time. So they’d just rather say nothing at all. So we have to really, again, reiterate the importance of that information and why it’s critical for you to be able to quote really accurately for them. So, yeah, it could be a couple of things. It could be the wishy-washy I don’t want to commit to anything or it could be that I’m really scared. So try and work out exactly what it is for your client.
[00:05:42] Kris: And a really good brief is going to ask the questions that feel easy to answer. They’re not going to be tough to answer. So breaking it down step by step, making sure that everything just rolls off. It’s a really easy answer. For the questions to be. Like an intuitive response for the client so that you can tap into that intuition and get those really interesting, beautiful solutions.
[00:06:08] Donna: And safe, uh, the briefing process should feel safe for your client. They should feel really safe in there in being able to answer that with real confidence. So, yeah, that’s that’s great advice.
[00:06:21] Kris: Safe and nurtured. Another problem.
[00:06:24] Donna: Yes. Too many cooks in the kitchen, Kris. This can happen a lot approval via committee. There’s all sorts of things going on, all sorts of people with their hand in it. And it, really does confuse things. It really does slow the process down and makes the whole process congested. And we want to avoid that at all costs.
[00:06:48] Kris: We’ve got maybe the marketing manager and then the director and the co director and then their partners. And then maybe the receptionist is having a say and it’s just becoming a melting pot, a big mess, a big confusion. Yeah. We can’t have too many people involved, simple boundary to put in place here is when you are briefing ask, who is the person who is responsible for the final approval. And then include that in your proposal and in your contract. It’s very clear. It’s their responsibility and that they’re your go-to. They are your liaison. And they are the ones who are signing off on the brief and on proposal.
[00:07:31] Donna: Yep. And they are the only person you deal with. So if you, have somebody else from the company, reach out to you and ask you a question, or even provide you with an asset or provide you with copy or, or anything, they might reach out and think that that’s okay. Because they’ve been in that initial meeting that they’re going to give you information or ask you a question, always come back to the person who is on your brief as being the person for sign off and the person for all the decision-making and everything needs to come through that person. Otherwise it gets incredibly messy and you’ll be getting assets and, and copywriting and all sorts of things from all sorts of people. And it becomes one big mess. So it’s imperative that it’s clear it’s on the brief it’s on the proposal who that person is and that they are the person that the decisions get made by, but also they are the conduit for that company because big companies need that one person you need that it’s imperative. Otherwise it’s just all too many cooks in the kitchen. It’s all too hard.
[00:08:37] Kris: Yeah. And it’s just about awareness and education, isn’t it? Because they might not have thought about. They might not have thought about it in that way and just bringing it to their attention in that initial meeting that you have. And in all those touch points, as Donna mentioned, that’s all you really need to instill this boundary, but people are people and they are going to share, especially when you present your concept, people are going to show other people. They’re going to run it by other people. That’s our nature. We’re going to do that. We’re going to get excited. Somebody might say something that’s not too pleasant about it, or they might not have understood the brief. And so they’re, they’re not getting the right picture. So another boundary that is really important to have in place is whenever you present something to have a watertight rationale, a written rationale so that anybody who sees this solution, who sees these creative concept is going to have some words that are going with it that are reflecting the brief, that are talking about the purpose that are talking about the strategy behind all the solutions. That’s really important. Otherwise everybody is going to have a say.
[00:09:46] Donna: Yeah. And It removes subjectivity. Doesn’t it? It ensures that the person is objective. When they’re looking at the work, they will be objective. There’ll be forced to be.
[00:09:56] Kris: Hmm.
[00:09:57] Donna: Problem number four, Kris, your client is playing at director and is changing direction mid-project. Like about face mid project. Goalposts have been moved.
[00:10:11] Kris: That’s lots of fun. Isn’t it? It’s a designer’s dream when they become art director.
[00:10:16] Donna: Absolutely. Loads of fun.
[00:10:18] Kris: Look, if you’re hearing crash bangs in the background, Donna and I have been in lockdown for many, many weeks now, and our children are at home and they are eating and they’re making stuff in the kitchen and it’s just crash, bang, crash, bang, even though we’re telling them to be quiet. It’s recording time.
[00:10:37] Donna: Yeah. They think that being really quiet, they’re not,
[00:10:40] Kris: Yeah, we are not in soundproof booths. That for sure.
[00:10:45] Donna: We are in our lounge rooms people and, uh, that’s what, that’s what happens.
[00:10:50] Kris: We’re very low here. Aren’t we? Oh, if you haven’t watched us on YouTube yet don’t expect fancy camera angles and all that sort of thing. We’re just got the zoom camera on.
[00:11:01] Donna: That’s exactly right. And we feel like that’s just so special. Really. It’s just great. So special. Anyway, it does give that extra dimension and it’s a little bit of fun, but it definitely not, um, high production going on here. That’s for sure. Okay. So let’s get back to it. The boundary that needs to be set when your client is changing the goalposts, they’re moving them around. They’re changing direction with the project. What do we do about it.
[00:11:31] Kris: Yeah. So what we can do is first of all, bring this to their awareness and this can be a bit of a delicate conversation. You don’t want to be offensive. Sometimes clients actually have good ideas. Sometimes they have bad ideas, so it depends which hat you might have to put on. So it might be the excited, yay. This is a great idea. Let’s introduce this into the project, but this is a brief change and we’re going to have to requote, or it might be that it’s a real stinker over an idea, and you’re going to have to figure out a way to gently let them know. So generally you can blame the brief. You can go back to the objectives, the intentions, and you can talk about, we don’t want to dilute the impact of the brand. We want to make sure the integrity of the brand solution is very strong and it’s not fitting in this solution might work for another kind of business. But it’s not working in this situation. At least it doesn’t fit in with what we’ve worked out in the brief together. So is there a need for a brief change? Put that question to them and then they’ll probably be like, oh no, no, no, no, no. You’re, you know, you’re, you’re the designer now. I trust you. I trust you, but it’s sometimes a conversation you need to have. Otherwise it can be very frustrating moving forward.
[00:12:49] Donna: It’s an awareness thing. That’s exactly right, Kris. Awareness is everything. And remember, it’s not your fault if a client pivots or changes direction, and often midway through the project, everything is going along. And then all of a sudden, there’s this massive change and what designers often do is they just take it on the chin. Oh my goodness. Now we’re going off in this trajectory and I’ve now got to do this extra work and they see it as their fault. Like, they’ve missed something like they’ve done something wrong, so they’re playing catch up and they’re screaming into the other direction because that’s what the client wants. So it’s not your fault. So bring that awareness to the client, be brave, have that conversation with them. And like Kris said, you may be surprised that are just like, oh my goodness, I didn’t intend for that. I didn’t mean for that to happen, but you have to have to be brave to have the conversation, whether it’s a stinker of an idea or a fantastic idea, you should not have to do extra work and not be paid for it. So either way, there’s got to be a brief change. There’s got to be additional time billed and you need to be able to talk about that. So this one takes a little bit of bravery.
[00:13:58] Kris: Yeah. That’s a brave boundary. That one.
[00:14:00] Donna: it is. Yeah.
[00:14:02] Kris: Yes. So number five, problem that we want us to talk to you about is when clients are requesting multiple solutions. And we have a whole episode dedicated to this. It was episode eight. Why graphic designers should only present one concept, which Donna and I have been doing for decades with success. So you definitely don’t need to present more than one concept,
[00:14:26] Donna: yeah,
[00:14:26] Kris: but the solution here, the boundary is you need to explain your design process.
[00:14:33] Donna: Absolutely. That is the key, the key is for the client to understand that you are an authority that you are going to present an elevated solution. And what’s involved exactly what is involved in your process that will help you to arrive at the most successful solution for that client. It will be the best solution you will be putting the best solution forward. And there’s no point in putting multiple solutions forward because it could become a smorgasbord where the client goes on a bit of this, a bit of that and a bit of this, and it’ll dilute the intention behind each of those concepts that you presented, it’s your job as the designer to be discerning and to distill it down to a single most effective outcome. And they have to trust you that that’s what they’re paying you for to come up with that single most successful solution. In your opinion, based on your water tight brief, that’s the key, and then presented in a way that actually uses what we like to call design poetry. When we speak back to the client about the solution that we’ve arrived at and how we arrived at it, using words that will really sell that concept in such a beautiful way. So that’s another boundary, having a really amazing written rationale that supports your design concept. So that’s at the other end, but at the beginning, When they ask for it, we have to speak to our process. That’s the boundary we speak to our process. We explain why one concept will be plenty, will be ample if they trust you with this very discerning process that you have.
[00:16:22] Kris: Even more than just that amazing brief that you’re taking. They will see if you communicate your process. If you educate them on your process, they will see the amount of design strategy and thinking that you’re doing all that conceptual work, all that research to come to this solution. And you nailed it on the head before Donna, when you said it’s a diluted solution, they will be getting three diluted solutions. If they ask for three, it just won’t be the strongest. It’s impossible for a designer to put all their discernment and all their strategic thinking into more than one solution. Certainly not in the way that Donna and I approach our process, it would be extremely time-consuming.
[00:17:04] Donna: It’ll be three. If we were asked to come up with three concepts, that’s three different tangents that we would go off and we would have to explore and exhaust those and come up with three equally discerning solutions, which you could do. But it’s three lots of that deep dive work, and clients are not going to be able to afford for you to do that. That’s just not, not sustainable. So yeah, it’s not to happen.
[00:17:31] Kris: Yeah. And so if your client doesn’t like, or your potential client, doesn’t like the sound of this well then the boundary is bye-bye bye-bye client. And that is scary. That can feel really scary, but it’s like, well, this is the way I work. This is my professional process.
[00:17:48] Donna: Yeah,
[00:17:48] Kris: They can take it or leave it.
[00:17:50] Donna: I love that, Kris. That is a really brave boundary, but we back you on it. I think that is the best line that you can place in the sand saying that I will not compromise on my process. I just won’t do that. And so yep. Go for it. Be brave.
[00:18:08] Kris: A lot of these boundaries are connected to bravery and courage. A lot of them, most of them actually.
[00:18:16] Donna: So the next one we have is your client is going rogue with the designs that you have delivered. So you’ve done a beautiful brand for a client. They’ve ticked all the boxes, potentially even a dream client. They’ve, you know, let you go and the solution is, is just beautiful. Then you hand it over and you have your project launch and hand it over. And then they go rogue. They have an event coming up, so they decided they’ll just take it upon themselves because they don’t want to worry you with it. So they’ll take it upon themselves and they’ll create some collateral around the event and they will do something disastrous with your beautiful brand or not with your beautiful brands, there you go, that’s how passionate we get about our brands. Isn’t it Kris? We still like to think that they’re ours, they will do something with the brand that they have invested in with you that actually completely compromises the brand and think that they’re doing a great job and you spot it. It might be a restaurant and you go in for coffee and you spot it and you go, oh my goodness. What have they done? What are they doing? Oh my goodness. So some boundaries around when that happens, when clients go crazy with their brand and take it off brand, what do you do?
[00:19:31] Kris: So the boundary is you’ve got to step up and be the design police. Now this is bravery as well. This takes a bit of courage. You need to reach out and have that conversation. And it could feel like a bit of a scary conversation, but reaching out and say, You could have a little script prepared, perhaps just as a side note, um, that you’ve noticed that, um, maybe it was a social media graphic, you noticed this social media graphic and, it doesn’t seem aligned with their current branding. Was that intentional? Is there a change to the direction of their business? Are they wanting to have a slightly different brand presence? You could talk to them about that and discuss the possibility that they are diluting their investment. They’ve invested a lot of money with you with the branding, they have spent a fair bit of money with you. And so it’s a dilution again, there’s that word again? Dilution of their investment.
[00:20:27] Donna: Yes.
[00:20:28] Kris: They don’t want that. And chances are, they’re going to be like, no, I didn’t know. I didn’t know. I’m sorry. So we just need to be the brand police and make sure that the education and awareness is there.
[00:20:41] Donna: That’s exactly right. I think there’s so much that we could speak to about this one. So let’s dedicate a bit more to this, Kris, and maybe we’ll pop this in its own podcast because there’s lots of little bits and pieces that we can talk about because often it’s an innocent or a mistake or it’s a rush decision and, and we’ve got some strategies around making sure that you are the person that they speak to before they make any decisions. We’ll we’ll actually unpack this a little bit further, um, outside of this podcast, I think.
[00:21:10] Kris: Yeah. Sounds like a plan. Yeah.
[00:21:12] Donna: Yeah.
[00:21:12] Kris: All right. So last one we wanted to talk to you about today. We’re going to spin this around and we’re going to put the focus on you for a moment. You’re going to be in the spotlight right now. This is a boundary for you. So something that we know designers have a tendency to do is spend too long on design projects. Spending hours and hours and hours
[00:21:38] Donna: guilty.
guilty Yeah. Yeah. And simple boundary. Isn’t there for this one. really simple. It’s a pain in the neck, but it’s a really simple boundary, and that is to use timers. That’s it set time limits and stick to them and really honor the time that you’ve allowed for this project. So make sure that you have the time allocated and dedicated to it and set that timer, whatever system you’d like to use for that. But do it. Use a timer it’s essential.
[00:22:12] Kris: So if you’ve allocated, say two hours, ideally for a component of a project, that is what you should be spending on the actual project. I’ll give you a really simple analogy, which is say a dress maker, this dress maker, isn’t going to quote on a dress and estimate 10 yards or meters of fabric, and then make the dress using 20, you know, you’ve got to have a limit somewhere and that’s a physical example, but there’s other time-based examples as well. You need to be accountable for your time. Because otherwise you won’t be profitable. Your business just won’t work. It’s just a model that won’t work. If you are consistently spending more time than you are allocating in the project budget.
[00:23:02] Donna: That might be a little red flag for you. If you are consistently spending more time, then you’re allocating for the budget. You may not be charging enough because high end design work does take time. It takes more time than a couple of hours. So if you are constantly spending over the time over the budget, then really address your prices as well. That could be something that you should look at.
[00:23:28] Kris: Hmm, for sure. So when you use a timer, be really strict with it, you might think that your creativity needs unbounded time, but actually parameters around creativity can be surprisingly productive and helpful and beneficial. So give it a go. I think a lot of designers, you know, how we have, we pull the all nighters or when we know there’s a deadline looming, it’s like all of a sudden everything clicks into gear. All that creativity just flows out because you have to. Setting a timer is a little bit like that. It’s like, right, it’s on, I’ve got two hours and I need to sort out this inspiration, or I’ve got two hours and I’m going to do the research on this project. So set those parameters. Otherwise your hourly rate’s going to end up being some terribly low amount, like $5 per hour. And we don’t want that for you. We want to make sure that you have a professional income and to do that, you need to make sure that you aren’t spending more time than you’ve allocated in the proposal.
Absolutely. That’s exactly right. Everyone loves a deadline. Creatives love to work to a deadline. I know I do what I can’t say everyone, but it is a really, really good strategy to have that timer and honor the time, because that little deadline will really help. It will be the firecracker that you need.
[00:24:50] Donna: So there you have it. Boundaries take courage, beautiful people. So. Saying that it’s always going to be really easy and super clear to implement boundaries. But what we are saying is have the courage to set them in the first place. So just start thinking about where boundaries can be placed in your business, where there can be placed in your process, where whereabouts can, can you place a boundary start thinking about it and thinking what’s on repeat for you? What is it that I need to stop, that particular thing happening on repeat, what can I do? What boundary can I set? And hopefully over the course of the four podcasts that we’ve presented, there’s something in there that will help you to help you elevate your process and elevate your business. We really hope that.
[00:25:38] Kris: And When we think about boundaries, it is all about education. It is all about having that beautiful heart centered connection with our clients. We don’t want to be the big, mean designers and insisting on all this behavior, but we want to encourage behavior that’s going to be really helpful to your business, because the other alternative is you’re going to feel like you’re being walked over and you’re going to start resenting your business. We want you to love your design businesses. And some of these boundaries are simple right? They’re they’re simple little boundaries. There’ll be problems that we haven’t discussed that are going to come up for you to start thinking about what could I say, what could I put in place that could help ease this problem and make the process of working with your clients a lot more of a, uh, positive collaboration.
[00:26:34] Donna: Yeah, I love that Kris. That’s beautiful. That’s a really nice note to end on. It’s all about the heart centered approach to business, and it’s about making it good for us and our clients. We want the best outcome for our business and we want the best outcome for their project. So if you go into any boundary setting with that intention, it’s sure to elevate.
[00:26:56] Kris: Yeah. All right. That is a wrap. Reach out to us. We love hearing from you. And have a beautiful week.
[00:27:06] Donna: Yes. Have a beautiful week, everyone. Bye.
[00:27:10] Kris: Bye.
[00:27:11] Donna: Always do a little way
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