Wasted 2 months on a client pitch because I ignored the brief

Last month I spent like 60 hours building a full branding package for a local bakery in Austin. I was so proud of the color palette and logo. Turns out they specifically asked for a minimalist black-and-white look in the original brief, which I skimmed in like 30 seconds. The owner was nice about it, but I had to scrap everything and start over. Has anyone else lost a ton of time by not reading the full brief before jumping in?

3 comments

3 Comments

max_torres441mo ago

The real hack nobody talks about is using your own brief as a sales tool after the project. I started writing a one-page "creative brief recap" for every client based on what they asked for, then email it back and ask them to confirm before I touch a single file. Catches misalignments early and makes them feel heard. Saved me from rebuilding a whole menu design last month because they realized their own brief was wrong.

corablack1mo ago

That sounds like a ton of extra work for a problem that shouldn't exist in the first place. If your clients don't even know what they want until you send them a recap, maybe you're not asking the right questions at the start. Adding a whole extra step just delays the project and makes you look like you're covering for bad communication. A good brief should be set before any work begins, not double-checked after the fact. Relying on a recap to catch errors just trains clients to be sloppy, because they know you'll catch their mistakes later. Seems like a crutch instead of a real solution.

daniel1401mo ago

Damn, that "trains clients to be sloppy" part hits hard. I've been there too - you start doing extra work and they just expect it every time. It's rough when you're just trying to help and it turns into a crutch instead.