The Turnaround-Time Truth
As a designer, I have learned that working too quickly can create more problems than it solves. It is easy to assume that getting small edits done immediately will move the project along faster. What often happens is that fast turnarounds set an expectation that every small change should always be that fast.
The problem is that not all revisions are equal. Clients who receive edits back instantly may begin to view a design as something that can be changed endlessly, rather than a carefully crafted final product. Instead of seeing the completed design as done, they start to see it as just one of many possible variations.
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"... a client guided me pixel by pixel, nudging elements up, down, left, and right until they felt satisfied."
Design With Purpose
The Never-Ending Revision Loop
Once a client sees that changes happen instantly, the requests start rolling in.
“Let us try it in black. Or blue. Can you send me both?”
“Can I get five versions with slightly different wording? It should not take too long, right? Can I have this back today?”Early in my career, I was eager to accommodate. I wanted to be helpful, responsive, and efficient. I quickly learned that working too fast does not always mean getting more done.
I have spent entire days making non-stop small tweaks for a client to a project that I believed was complete. After sending dozens of versions with minor modifications, I was not moving forward. I was spinning in place. I felt reduced to pushing pixels around one at a time.
One extreme example was a live Zoom session where a client guided me pixel by pixel, nudging elements up, down, left, and right until they felt satisfied.
“Move it left one pixel. Now, up one pixel. No, back down one pixel.”
The process became micromanagement to the point of absurdity.Not Everything Is An Emergency
The Myth of the “Urgent” Project
Urgency adds another layer of strain. Some clients treat every project as an emergency, insisting on quick turnarounds, then continuing to make changes long past the original deadline. After enough experiences like this, I started asking myself, “If every project is urgent, is anything actually urgent?” A constant state of urgency is unsustainable for both the designer and the quality of the work.
A design plan cannot operate sustainably if that plan always relies on both extremely short turnarounds and a perfect final product.
A loss-turned-win
How I Fixed the Problem
For my own sanity, I changed my approach. Instead of treating every urgent request as an emergency, I began prioritizing them like any other task. If something was truly time sensitive, I assessed it fairly, but I no longer let someone jump the line just because they wanted to.
Something interesting happened. By slowing the process, clients began providing more thoughtful and deliberate feedback. Instead of sending multiple rounds of rushed, scattered revisions, they took time to think. They began to trust me as a designer rather than feeling the need to micromanage every detail. The cycle of endless tweaks and last-minute rushes faded.
Clients tend to treat their designers like people when the designers treat themselves as such. Set boundaries, work at a sustainable pace, and create something worth publishing.
Thoughtful Design beats Rushed Design
The Takeaway: Work at a Reasonable Pace
Now I work at a sustainable pace. I do not rush for the sake of impressing clientele, and I do not let every project become an emergency. This leads to better outcomes for everyone. Clients receive higher quality work, revisions are more meaningful, and I can focus on delivering great design rather than just delivering quickly. In the end, thoughtful design beats rushed design.
"... a client guided me pixel by pixel, nudging elements up, down, left, and right until they felt satisfied."
Design With Purpose
The Never-Ending Revision Loop
Once a client sees that changes happen instantly, the requests start rolling in.
“Let us try it in black. Or blue. Can you send me both?”
“Can I get five versions with slightly different wording? It should not take too long, right? Can I have this back today?”Early in my career, I was eager to accommodate. I wanted to be helpful, responsive, and efficient. I quickly learned that working too fast does not always mean getting more done.
I have spent entire days making non-stop small tweaks for a client to a project that I believed was complete. After sending dozens of versions with minor modifications, I was not moving forward. I was spinning in place. I felt reduced to pushing pixels around one at a time.
One extreme example was a live Zoom session where a client guided me pixel by pixel, nudging elements up, down, left, and right until they felt satisfied.
“Move it left one pixel. Now, up one pixel. No, back down one pixel.”
The process became micromanagement to the point of absurdity.A design plan cannot operate sustainably if that plan always relies on both extremely short turnarounds and a perfect final product.
Not Everything Is An Emergency
The Myth of the “Urgent” Project
Urgency adds another layer of strain. Some clients treat every project as an emergency, insisting on quick turnarounds, then continuing to make changes long past the original deadline. After enough experiences like this, I started asking myself, “If every project is urgent, is anything actually urgent?” A constant state of urgency is unsustainable for both the designer and the quality of the work.
A loss-turned-win
How I Fixed the Problem
For my own sanity, I changed my approach. Instead of treating every urgent request as an emergency, I began prioritizing them like any other task. If something was truly time sensitive, I assessed it fairly, but I no longer let someone jump the line just because they wanted to.
Something interesting happened. By slowing the process, clients began providing more thoughtful and deliberate feedback. Instead of sending multiple rounds of rushed, scattered revisions, they took time to think. They began to trust me as a designer rather than feeling the need to micromanage every detail. The cycle of endless tweaks and last-minute rushes faded.
Clients tend to treat their designers like people when the designers treat themselves as such. Set boundaries, work at a sustainable pace, and create something worth publishing.
Thoughtful Design beats Rushed Design
The Takeaway: Work at a Reasonable Pace
Now I work at a sustainable pace. I do not rush for the sake of impressing clientele, and I do not let every project become an emergency. This leads to better outcomes for everyone. Clients receive higher quality work, revisions are more meaningful, and I can focus on delivering great design rather than just delivering quickly. In the end, thoughtful design beats rushed design.
Matthew A.
Owner of Predi Designs
Matthew began as an online content creator in his teenage years, crafting Flash animations and games for internet audiences and collaborating with other young creatives worldwide. He later graduated cum laude from Texas A&M University’s Visualization Program, where he honed his skills in design, animation, and interactive media. He has owned and operated Predi Designs since 2016.
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