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That client who wanted 'everything from scratch' but stole my moodboard
Back in 2018, a restaurant owner in Austin asked me to design their whole menu system. I spent a week on concepts, then they told me they'd 'changed direction' and used my exact color palette and layout with their nephew's tweaks. Has anyone else had a client ghost after the deposit just to swipe the initial exploration phase?
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miller.paul7d agoTop Commenter
honestly I used to think clients stealing early concepts was just part of the game, you know, like you pay for the learning. but then this one time I had a logo rough draft get used almost exactly, just with a filter thrown on it, and the payout was just the deposit. that flipped my whole view, now I treat the exploration phase like a preview not a final, and I watermark everything even the messy sketches. it sucks that a few bad apples ruin it for everyone but you gotta protect the work.
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