Man, that's just how life works, hours of grind for seconds of shine.

Stuff like this is why I double check everything now, learned that the hard way with my car's oil gauge reading fine while the engine was bone dry. Gauges just drift over time and nobody notices til something breaks. Temp stick all the way, cheap insurance.

Did you ask him why the old one felt right to him, or just take the win for the clunky one? Because that answer is the real gold here, and it's usually something dumb specific like "this one reminds me of the sign at my gym" or "it looks like a real company, not a startup." When I did logo work for a buddy's shop, the version I hated won because it matched the sticker on his truck, and honestly that beat every good reason I had. My tip is to make three new rounds where each one keeps some of that dated, familiar feel but cleans up the worst parts, then let him pick again. You'll usually land on something people trust and that doesn't look like every other app icon on a home screen.