Top Design Mistakes Clients Make (And How We Fix Them)

Being a designer isn’t just about making things look good, it’s about solving problems, managing expectations, and translating a potential concept into something functional and beautiful.

It is safe to say that everyone has experienced their share of challenging projects throughout their career, especially when dealing with first time clients or overly complicated website briefs.

Here are the top 5 lessons our head designer has learned and the solutions that now keep her sane and productive.

1.⁠ ⁠Vague Briefs Are a Red Flag – Ask Questions Early

The Problem:
Clients often come with ideas that are vague or emotionally driven: “I want it to feel modern but vintage,” or “Just make it pop.”

Without clear detail and visual references, I’ve found myself halfway through a project only to realise that we weren’t really aligned on the basic design direction.

The Solution:
Learn to dig deep early on. The best way to get inside your clients head is for them to supply visual references and explain what they like about it, and what they don’t.

Here’s some important questions to ask that might help:
• What websites do you love and why?
• Who is your target audience?
• What are the primary actions you want users to take?

Always remind the client that they are creating the design or website design for their target audience (Not for themselves!).

Creating a quick creative brief or supplying visuals has saved hours of backtracking and updating.

Clarity is everything.

2.⁠ ⁠Clients Like Options

The Problem:
Some clients want to art-direct every pixel. “Move this section to the left,” or “Can we try a different font?” It’s easy to feel like a mouse being dragged around instead of the creative expert that you have studied long and hard to become.

The Solution:
Part of the designers job is to hold your clients’ hand and educate them about the process.

This helps to eliminate the room for error from the get go, and makes everyones lives easier.

Create different layout designs in the concept stage (Three Homepage look and feels) with totally bradifferent fonts, font sizes, layout structures, images, buttons, icons and colours.

By giving the client different options, it makes the process smoother.

The client is part of the process and decides on a preferred style guide, and you stick with it.

3.⁠ ⁠Scope Creep Is Real (And Costly!)

The Problem:
What starts as a 5-page ‘Brochure Website’ can easily turn into a 15-page beast with third party integrations, Multimedia functionality, and potentially e-commerce add-ons, etc…

All without budget or design and development timeline adjustments.

The Solution:
Some clients are sometimes unaware that additional scope creep, like new pages and sections – after the design/development brief has already been approved – will incur additional time and cost to the project.

Make sure the client knows anything they add afterwards is extra.

Politely send the client an updated quote and project timeline.

Boundaries aren’t rude – they’re professional.

All additional cope creep needs to be quoted for, and approved separately before you continue.

This is the best way to avoid unnecessary tension and misunderstanding (The sooner you inform the client, the better for everyone).

RELATED ARTICLE: ‘What you need to know before selecting a Website Design and Development Agency’

4.⁠ ⁠Design Isn’t Just About Looks. It’s About Function

The Problem:
Sometimes, a website looks great but performs terribly.

Fancy animations or massive images can slow it down, users can’t find key information, or mobile responsiveness is an afterthought.

Sometimes the client wants something that just is not functional from a user-friendly perspective or the development would be more complicated than they realise.

The Solution:
Approach every website design as a user-first experience.

Test flows, simplify interactions, and obsess over mobile usability before promising the client anything.

Design isn’t just about how it looks, it’s more about how it works for the viewer.

Educate the client on what works best for the best flow of content.

Sometimes certain things can’t be done, everything has a limit.

Going back to the client with bad news before its too late, is better than the website breaking and not being functional.

That’s what makes KNOWN the best website design agency in South Africa.

5.⁠ ⁠Communication Can Make or Break the Entire Project

The Problem:
Silence leads to assumptions. Assumptions lead to mistakes. Mistakes lead to stress.

Whether it’s the client ghosting us for weeks, or us not checking in with the client, the result is usually the same: confusion and tension!

The Solution:
Regular check-ins are included into our process.

Manage client expectations upfront about response times, milestones, and feedback loops.

Also use clear language (no industry jargon or assumptions).

Rather over-communicate if required.

Clients aren’t mind readers, and neither are you.

Final Thought

Designing complicated branding or websites, and managing difficult clients can quickly overwhelm anyone.

Use each issue as a learning curve (Never repeat the same mistake twice!)

With clear boundaries, intentional communication, and a user-first mindset you can turn chaos into clarity and confusion into clean, compelling design.

If you’re a designer just starting out, trust me: it gets easier when you stop trying to please everyone and start treating yourself like the professional you are!