Had a client tell me they wanted "something simple" then rejected 8 concepts

Last month I met with a guy who runs a local landscaping company here in Portland. He said he just wanted a clean logo, nothing crazy. I showed him 3 variations. He said no. Came back with 5 more. Still no. Finally he pulled up a Pinterest board with all these super detailed illustrations and said "like this." I just sat there for a second. Simple means different things to different people I guess. Anybody else run into this gap between what clients say and what they actually want?

2 comments

2 Comments

angela_wilson781d ago

...so I used to be all about giving clients exactly what they asked for down to the letter. I thought "simple" meant clean lines and basic shapes, no fuss. But then I had a client who wanted "modern" but kept pointing at these super old school fonts. That's when it clicked for me. Nowadays I ask them to show me what they mean instead of just telling me. Pictures really do say a thousand words and save a ton of rework.

val_taylor1d agoTop Commenter

You ever read that thing about how people describe colors different based on their language? Heard a podcast about it once. Like some cultures have one word for blue and green so they see them differently. Reminds me of @angela_wilson78, how "modern" can mean totally different things to different folks. It's wild how our brains just fill in the blanks with our own ideas. Asking for examples probably saves everyone a headache. Good tip.