Success Over Likability

Are You Still Presenting Three Design Options to Clients?

Let’s have an honest conversation about a habit that’s holding our industry back. Are you still presenting three design options to your clients and asking them to choose? If you are, I want you to look closely at why. We do it because it feels safer, because it’s what we were taught, or because we’re trying to avoid the friction of a "no." But here is the uncomfortable truth: clients only expect what you teach them to expect. When you offer a buffet of choices, you aren’t being "collaborative"—you’re quietly signalling that design is subjective, that your work is interchangeable, and that their personal taste is the ultimate deciding factor. You are teaching them that you are a decorator, not a leader.

Preference Is Not a Strategy

When we ask a client which option they “like,” we are abdicating our roles as experts. We are effectively asking them to evaluate the work based on their own biases and experiences rather than audience needs, behavioural psychology, or business objectives. We must remember that the client is not the user; the client represents the business. They hired us precisely because they do not know how to translate their vision into something that resonates with a real audience. Asking them to validate the “rightness” of a design based on their gut feeling undermines the very expertise they are paying for.

This Is the Difference Between Art and Design

There is a fundamental difference between art and design that many professionals choose to ignore for the sake of comfort. Art invites interpretation and asks how it makes you feel, but design is a tool built to solve a specific problem. When you present multiple aesthetic directions without a single, clear recommendation, you are positioning your work as art to be debated rather than a solution to be implemented. Design exists to reduce friction, influence behaviour, and support business outcomes. A design that the client personally loves but fails to convert or engage is, by definition, a failure. The only people qualified to validate your work are the end users, and they do so through their actions, not their opinions.

Clients Don’t Need Options. They Need Leadership.

Presenting three options is often a mask for uncertainty. It shifts the weight of responsibility away from the designer and onto a client who is usually not equipped to make that technical decision. This creates a cycle of unnecessary debate, endless revisions, and project delays. Strong partnerships are built on trust and clarity, not on giving the client more homework. A healthier, more authoritative approach is to present one intentional solution. You must be able to articulate how it supports business objectives, addresses user needs, and respects constraints. This reframes the entire relationship from “Which do you like?” to “Here is the solution that meets your goals, and here is the evidence why.” That isn't just service; that is leadership.

Three Options Devalue the Work and Dilute the Budget

From a business perspective, the "three options" model is a waste of resources. Every additional concept costs time, splits your focus, and forces you to spread your effort across versions that will likely never see the light of day. Instead of going deep on the right solution, you are refining “just in case” directions. This does not protect a client’s budget; it squanders it. Most clients would much rather pay for one robust, well-reasoned solution that actually works than three mediocre ones that look nice. Design value is not measured by volume; it is made valuable by impact.

The Goal Is Not for the Client to Like It

At the end of the day, the goal is not for the client to “like” the design—the goal is for the design to work. A client should value a design because it connects with their audience and helps their business grow. When the work drives results, the business succeeds, and the client wins. Everything else is just decoration. As leaders, we have a responsibility to move this industry forward by challenging outdated practices that prioritize comfort over effectiveness. Stop asking your clients to guess. Start giving them a clear path forward. Your work, your clients, and your bottom line will all be better for it.

The Wink Collective specializes in navigating these exact high-stakes conversations. We work directly with design teams to increase their value and profitability by refining their processes and elevating their authority. If you are ready to stop diluting your expertise and start leading your clients, let’s talk.