06/10/2026
I’ve only ever had one client straight up reject my original design. He’s three.
So I’m at my best friend’s house sketching her son’s birthday banner (he’s turning three, he’s obsessed with Woody, you see where this is going). My first version had him in a modern-day cowboy fit. White tee, jeans, hat, and boots. Subtle. Tasteful. Wrong, apparently.
I was gonna surprise him, but my excitement got the best of me, and I asked him if he wanted to see what I had been working on (big mistake, but also a huge lesson in mockup approvals). I played him the timelapse of my sketch, and earlier in that sketch I had him in the full Woody costume, yellow plaid shirt, sheriff badge, the whole thing, before I changed my mind. It was on screen for maybe half a second. HALF A SECOND. This child looks at me and goes, “Where did my costume go?”
And I just stood there. Silent. Because I knew my work wasn’t done.
Went home, painted the costume back on, and honestly? He was right. It looks way better. Never doubt a three-year-old with a vision.
Happy birthday, buddy. Don’t ever change (the design, again, please, I beg of you)
Swipe to the last slide to watch the timelapse and see just how fast he clocked that his Woody shirt was missing😅
