Stumbled into a client meeting in Chicago that flipped my portfolio strategy upside down

I was sitting in this conference room on the 14th floor of some generic Loop building, presenting my work to a potential client. Halfway through, the creative director stops me and says 'your stuff looks great but I have no idea what you actually did here.' She wanted process, not polish. That meeting 2 years ago made me completely redo my portfolio to show sketches, wireframes, and the messy middle. Now I get way more calls. Anyone else had a client totally change how you present your work?

2 comments

2 Comments

thomas_johnson351d ago

My buddy had almost the exact same thing happen. He was doing a pitch for a big retail brand and the client basically said "your final designs look nice but I need to see the trainwreck that got you here." He started showing his early doodles and failed ideas and said it changed everything for him.

garcia.miles1d ago

Yeah, that "show the trainwreck" thing is a good way to put it, but it's less about showing failure and more about showing the thinking. I had a similar moment where a client asked to see my process and I basically dumped a folder of like 30 versions of the same button, not exactly helpful. What really worked was picking just 2 or 3 key turning points where the idea changed direction, and explaining why I made each move. It showed I could think on my feet without making them sit through every single doodle.