There’s a phrase. You know the phrase. You have, at some point, said the phrase.
“Make it pop.”
And look — I’m not going to pretend it means nothing. It means something. It means you looked at the work and something in your gut went not quite. That instinct is usually right. The problem is what comes out of your mouth next, which is “make it pop” — the instinct with all the useful information surgically removed.
Yes, we design feelings. That’s the job.
Here’s the part people get backwards. “Pop” is a feeling, and designing feelings is the entire job. It’s what we do — make a thing feel expensive, or calm, or urgent, or fun. On purpose. All day. So when you ask for a feeling, you’re not asking for the impossible. You’re asking for the possible without telling me which one.
Because “pop” could mean bolder. Or brighter. Or more expensive-looking. Or louder. Or more fun. Or more serious. Those are six completely different designs, and “pop” points at all of them at once, which is the same as pointing at none of them. I can build any feeling you want. I just can’t guess which feeling you’re picturing. That part — the picturing, the one happening inside your head — is the single service we don’t sell. I’m a designer, not a psychic. There’s overlap in the hourly rate, not the skill set.
A destination with no address
“It needs more energy” is the same move. Sure it does. What kind? A birthday has energy. So does a car alarm. So does a funeral, if we’re being technical. “More energy” tells me you want to feel something different and nothing whatsoever about which direction to walk. You’ve handed me a destination with no address and asked why I’m not there yet.
The fix isn’t design words. It’s the feeling, named.
Here’s the relief: you don’t need to learn a single design term. You don’t have to say “increase the contrast” or “tighten the kerning.” You just have to name the feeling — or name the thing that’s bugging you.
“It feels cheap.” “It feels cold for a bakery.” “It looks like everyone else’s.” “The headline gets lost.” That’s the entire ask. Now I know which feeling to build, so I build it — and we skip the four rounds where I redesign the same layout trying to read your face.
Why it’s worth thirty seconds of your time
Every “make it pop” is another round of me guessing and you reacting. Guessing is time. Time is money. Specifically it’s your money, because you’re the one paying for the round. (This is closely related to the other thing people say to us, but that’s a separate grievance.)
“Make it pop” isn’t an insult to your designer. It’s an IOU for the feeling you haven’t named yet. Name it and we’re designing in five minutes. Until then I’m standing here holding the mouse, waiting for you to describe the thing only you can see. We do bill for the standing around — but we’ll stand there.