Hot take: Hard limits on design revisions are a necessary evil

I see two clear sides in our field. Some folks say endless changes make a project better by refining it. Others think too many tweaks waste time and kill the original idea. For instance, I watched a website layout lose all its punch after round after round of small edits. Now I push for three revision rounds max in my agreements. This keeps things moving and clients focused. Do you think strict revision counts help or hurt the final design?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_grant2mo ago

How many times have you seen a strong concept get stripped away by tiny changes? I totally get setting that limit.

the_miles1mo ago

It happens everywhere, not just in projects. You see a great recipe get worse with too many extra spices, or a simple plan get ruined by adding more steps. Simon's right about needing a hard stop, because that endless tweaking is just fear of calling something done. The core idea gets lost under all the little fixes. Setting a limit forces you to trust your first good instinct.

smith.simon2mo ago

Oh man, I'm the worst for letting things drag on forever without a limit. My own personal projects are a mess because I keep tweaking them into oblivion. That's exactly why I need that three round rule now, it saves me from myself. Lets the good idea actually finish cooking instead of me just poking at it until it's mush.