Rant: That freelance gig where the client asked for "more pop" and I added 50 layers to a logo

Last month I had a client in Austin tell me my portfolio piece needed "more creative flair" after I showed them a clean minimalist brand system. They pointed at a white space I left on purpose and said it looked unfinished, making me realize some people just don't get modern design principles. Has anyone else had a client completely miss the point of negative space?

2 comments

2 Comments

schmidt.blake14d ago

Wait, he called your intentional white space "unfinished"? That is wild to me. I had a client once ask me to "fill in the empty spots" on a brochure layout that was literally following a grid system. They wanted me to add clip art of like, random coffee cups and lightbulbs to every gap. I just stared at the screen for a minute.

the_eric13d ago

Three coffee cups and two lightbulbs later, I bet that brochure really told a story @schmidt.blake. Man, I feel your pain those "fill the empty spots" requests make me want to print out a blank page and frame it just to prove a point.