What clients don’t see
Clients will ask for prettier buttons — when the real problem is the broken flow.
Clients will ask for prettier buttons — when the real problem is the broken flow. Your job is to see through the noise.
There’s a quote by Steve Jobs:
Some people say, "Give the customers what they want." But that's not my approach. Our job is to figure out what they're going to want before they do. I think Henry Ford once said, "If I'd asked customers what they wanted, they would have told me, 'A faster horse!'" People don't know what they want until you show it to them. That's why I never rely on market research. Our task is to read things that are not yet on the page.
That’s not arrogance — it’s awareness.
Most clients aren’t bad at giving feedback. They’re just too deep inside the problem to describe it clearly.
What they think they need — a sleeker UI, a new feature, or a “bit more polish” — is often just a symptom.
Your job isn’t to build what they ask for. It’s to uncover what they actually need.
Surface wants vs invisible problems
Here’s the thing: people express problems using what they can see.
Design is visual, so the feedback becomes visual.
“Make the logo bigger.”
“This page feels empty.”
“Can we make it more fun?”
But underneath those requests, there’s often a mess:
A broken flow
No narrative clarity
Confusing priorities
Unclear goals
They say “can you add more color?” → What they mean is “this doesn’t feel trustworthy.”
They say “make this part pop more.” → They mean “users are skipping over something critical.”
They say “we just need something simple.” → They mean “we haven’t done the strategic thinking yet, so we’re winging it.”
The better you get at recognizing these disconnects, the faster you shift from being a pixel pusher to being a creative partner.
Read between the lines
This is something I’ve learned the hard way: take feedback as a signal, not a command.
When a client says:
“It doesn’t feel right” → Ask: what’s the goal we’re not hitting?
“We want something more modern” → Ask: what does modern mean for your audience?
“We like what X is doing” → Ask: why? what outcome are they getting that you want?
And instead of asking “what do you want to see here?”, I’ve started asking:
What’s the biggest risk if this doesn’t work?
What do users usually get stuck on?
If we only fixed one thing, what would move the needle most?
The goal is simple: stop designing solutions to surface-level feedback. Start designing to solve business problems.
Show, don’t just ask
Sometimes, showing an alternate flow or direction is the most effective way to shift the conversation. Clients don’t always know how to describe the solution — but they know when they feel it.
Don’t wait for perfect briefs. Look for patterns. Ask better questions. Be the one who connects dots instead of coloring within the lines.
The more you do this, the less your clients will see you as “the designer.” They’ll see you as the person who makes things work.
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Keep exploring, — Alex