There is nothing more painful than sending a logo you spent so much time perfecting, only for the client to hit you with: "Hmm, I don't think this works for my brand."

It hurts. You immediately want to defend your work. But your client is not a designer.

When you look at the vector, your brain sees the vision. You see the billboard in Lagos or a slick app screen. But the client is just seeing lines. They honestly don't have the imagination to see what you see.

And really, that’s not their job. It’s yours.

That is why you should stop sending naked logo files without doing a presentation first. If you want to avoid most of the back-and-forth and just get to the "send account details" part, you need to translate for them.

The Mockup

Mockups are basically the cheat code. They bridge the gap between "I'm not sure" and "I love it."

If a client can’t decide on a color, show them that color on something. It could be a delivery van, a branded tote bag, a manual, whatever.

That is when it becomes real to them, without you having to explain semiotics and blah blah. Same with logos.

But please, don't be a fish (I don't like to be derogatory, so have that if you do what I'm about to say):

I see some people using mockups that are not relevant to the brand. An example is MODUS, a modular shelving brand (I recently concluded the brand identity).

Placing the MODUS logo on a streetwear hoodie or a disposable cup represents the brand wrongly.

But that's a topic for another day.

So yeah, stop expecting your client to imagine the result. Show them the result. It makes life easier for everyone.