Had a client last week who said my prototypes looked 'too polished' - made me rethink how much finish to show

I was showing a wireframe set for a local bakery app in Austin. The client, this older guy who runs the place, looked at my screen and said 'this feels done already, how can I give feedback on something that looks final?' It totally caught me off guard. He had a point though - I spent 3 hours making drop shadows and rounded corners before we even agreed on the flow. Now I'm wondering, do you all show rough sketches first or polished mockups? When does polish actually hurt the conversation?

2 comments

2 Comments

emma_ramirez1d ago

Always thought smooth was right but @avery721 has me rethinking that.

avery7211d ago

Wait but isn't the whole point of showing something to get their real reaction? If you show a bunch of rough boxes and lines they might focus on the wrong things like "oh that corner looks weird" instead of actually feeling the app flow. I had a client once who kept asking for bigger buttons until I showed them a polished version and they finally realized the layout was all wrong. Your prototype being clean let them see the bigger picture, not just the ugly details. Its like bringing a half-painted canvas to a gallery review - they miss the art and just talk about the primer.