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I put a fake 'client feedback' note in my portfolio as a joke and someone took it seriously
I was showing my portfolio at a local design meetup in Portland last month. I had this one project page where I added a fake sticky note that said 'Client Note: Make the logo bigger. And maybe add a unicorn?' as a joke about bad feedback. This one guy, Mark, looked at it for a solid minute, then turned to me and said, 'So, did you add the unicorn? I think it could work if you made it more subtle.' I had to explain it was a joke. Has anyone else had a portfolio joke totally misunderstood?
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bailey.sandra4mo ago
Oh man, that's painfully funny. I did something similar with a fake "client requested comic sans" note once. The person reviewing my book just nodded and said "classic client move" like it was a real critique. It taught me that inside jokes in a portfolio are a total gamble. People are just scanning so fast they miss the sarcasm. Now I keep it totally straight, which is boring but safe.
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wendy_clark4mo ago
Honestly, Mark sounds like the kind of client who would ask for a unicorn and mean it. The fact he studied it for a full minute is the best part. I’ve learned you can’t put anything even slightly ironic in a portfolio because someone will always take it at face value. It’s like that one friend who doesn’t get sarcasm, but you’re stuck talking to them at a networking event. Next time just write ‘client was perfect and paid in gold bars’ and see if he asks for the bullion dealer’s contact info.
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