Loading…
2
Showerthought: A client's 'simple favor' turned into a 10 hour unpaid redesign
I was having coffee with another designer yesterday and she mentioned a client asked her to 'just move a logo around' on a finished brochure. She did it as a courtesy, but then they demanded the entire layout change to fit a new slogan, expecting it for free. She said she spent a full workday on revisions before finally sending an invoice they refused to pay. It hit different because I've done that 'one quick thing' so many times. How do you guys handle scope creep on already finished projects?
3 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In3 Comments
rosepark5mo ago
Oh my god, a TEN HOUR unpaid redesign? Honestly, that's not a favor, that's a whole new job. They went from moving a logo to a new slogan and layout? Tbh, that's a full project change order right there. I'd be so mad. Sending that invoice was the only move, even if they refused.
5
paulnguyen5mo ago
Yeah, the "full project change order" point is key. People miss that this isn't just about the time, it's about the mental shift. You closed the file mentally, then had to reopen the whole creative problem. That's a different kind of work than the original job. It's like being asked to fix one sentence in a book you already published, but then you have to rewrite a chapter to make it fit. The brain cost is real and it's why those "quick favors" drain you more than a planned project.
3