The client who asked for 'more pop' and then hated every version I sent for 3 weeks
Had a coffee shop owner in Portland tell me they wanted their new menu board to look 'fun and loud,' but after I showed them 11 mockups in 21 days, they kept saying it was too busy and too plain at the same time, so do you think it's better to push back early with a clear style guide or just keep iterating until they figure out what they actually want?
Did your friend ever deal with a bakery owner who wanted "a beach vibe but make it classy"? My buddy spent a month on this logo, showing sand colors and seashell shapes, and the guy kept saying it was too beachy and not beachy enough. Turned out he just wanted blue and white because those were his wedding colors. After that mess my friend started making clients pick three words and two colors before any work began. Saved him so much time. Sometimes pushing back with a tiny style guide up front works better than 11 rounds of guessing.