Good, Fast, or Cheap? You can only pick two.
Strategic Design takes time. Here’s why.
“Can you do it cheap and have it ready by Friday?”
That was the request from a client last week. And it posed a familiar dilemma. The turnaround was going to be a problem, and in all honesty, I was concerned if I could achieve it within their time frame. In the studio, we normally require a minimum of two weeks lead time due to our regular scheduled design commitments. It was already Wednesday.
I submitted a proposal, priced it fairly and waited. Eventually, I got the polite “Thanks, but we’ve gone with someone else.” It turns out that the winning quote was considerably cheaper than mine, in fact, too cheap, I thought, for me to match without compromising on quality.
That’s fine, I thought. That’s not how I work, and that’s okay. I’d rather walk away from a project than overpromise and end up delivering work I’m not proud of.
Then, late Friday afternoon, just as I was packing up for the weekend, my phone rang.
It was the client again. Slightly panicked.
It turns out the cheaper company had delivered the work, but it creatively missed the mark. It wasn’t on brand, lacked cohesion, and felt rushed. The client asked if I could help. There was still a hard deadline. The project needed to be ready by the end of the weekend.
My schedule for the next week was fully booked. So I said I could come in on Saturday.
They asked me to drop my price. I politely declined. I had already quoted fairly, and now I was giving up my weekend to make it happen. Fast and good doesn’t come cheap.
I got to work and analysed where the previous design had gone wrong, in an honest discussion with the client.
When I quote on a design project, I’m not just dropping in text and images; you have Canva for that.
It is crucial as a designer, that I ask the right questions:
Do we have the right photography? If not would you consider stock images in your budget.
Are those images aligned with your audience?
Do they reflect your brand tone?
Do they need editing or rebranding?
These aren’t extras. They’re what makes the design work. And they take time.
By early Saturday evening, I delivered the completed project and gave him a quick call as I was packing up.
The client’s reaction?
“You’ve answered the brief spot on.”
And then the magic words: “No changes.”
That one line made the extra effort worthwhile.
The moral of the story?
Good. Fast. Cheap. Pick two.
Fast + Cheap = Not Good
Good + Fast = Not Cheap
Good + Cheap = Not Fast
Good Graphic design isn’t about ‘decoration’, it’s about communication and strategy. When you invest in it properly, you don’t just get something that looks nice, you get results that align with your brand, resonate with your audience and stand out for the right reasons.
Do you need a designer who prioritises getting it right, not just getting it done?
Let’s talk.