Client said my logos looked 'too stock' and I realized she was right after checking my portfolio

Had a meeting last Tuesday with a boutique coffee shop owner in Portland. She pointed at my mockup and said 'this looks like something I could buy on Envato.' Burned at first but then I scrolled through my last 10 projects and yeah, they all used the same font combos and layout tricks. Spent the weekend redoing my portfolio folder and actually started sketching by hand again. Anyone else had a client call them out on something that stung but ended up helping?

3 comments

3 Comments

knight.dylan1mo ago

Three projects isn't really a pattern, that sounds more like a rut you can climb out of in a weekend. People love to act like using a font you've seen before is a crime but half the time the client wouldn't know Envato from a hole in the ground. Hand sketching is cool and all but a solid layout trick still works if the client's brief is actually interesting to begin with.

olivia_moore1mo ago

Three projects is enough to see a pattern if you're honest with yourself about it... I think hand sketching forced my brain to slow down and actually think instead of just plugging in what worked last time.

hugoj121mo ago

Honestly my buddy Sean had almost the exact same thing happen. He was doing branding for a local brewery and the owner straight up said "this looks like it came from a template." Sean was pissed for like two days but then he showed me what he was making before and yeah it was all the same stock fonts and generic icons. He started drawing his own mascots and lettering after that and his work got way more interesting. Sometimes you need someone to be brutally honest even if it stings at first.