My 'simple' brand refresh took 11 calls and a month in Chicago

Client asked for a 'quick logo tweak' and a new color palette. Easy right? No. Every person on their team had a different opinion. The office manager wanted blue because the CEO likes it. The marketing guy wanted purple to 'stand out'. And the intern kept sending memes as references. I spent 11 calls over 4 weeks just to settle on a shade of gray. I know people say you should push back quicker but I kept thinking the next call would fix it. Has anyone else had a supposedly small job balloon like this because of too many stakeholders?

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the_daniel3d ago

The part about the intern sending memes as references really jumped out at me. That is usually the sign that nobody actually knows what they want, they just know they want to be heard. What nobody seems to mention is that these people are not really judging your work, they are judging each other. Every opinion is a little power move to feel important in the room. So your job becomes reading the office politics, not picking colors. Once you realize that, you stop trying to please everyone and start finding the one person whose approval actually matters, usually the one paying the bill.