Spent 6 months redoing a site after a client said 'make it pop' and I finally asked for examples instead of guessing

One client told me my minimalist design was 'too flat' and after I pushed back a little I realized they actually wanted bold gradients and big hero images, so now I always ask for three visual references before starting any layout do you think that makes me look inexperienced or just more professional?

3 comments

3 Comments

milalewis11d ago

Oh, asking for examples upfront saves everyone a lot of headaches.

rowanr8811d ago

And it stops people from wasting time going back and forth trying to figure out what someone even wants. Clear examples right at the start give everyone a real target to aim for instead of guessing. Why wouldn't you want to cut out all that awkward back-and-forth early on?

faith2711d ago

Did you see that study from a few months back about how unclear requests cause like 40% of project delays? It was in some business journal I was skimming at the doctor's office. They followed teams where people actually listed out examples upfront and the whole workflow just ran smoother. No more guessing what "make it pop" means or trying to read between the lines. That's why I always try to ask for at least two or three specific examples right when someone asks me for help, because vague instructions are basically just setting everyone up for a redo.