Why I keep a small client list

I usually work on two substantial projects at a time. That number is not a rule for every designer, but it gives me enough space to think between meetings and enough variety to avoid getting stuck in one problem. Most importantly, I can remember the details without opening a status document.

Keep the conversation direct

Clients work with me from the first conversation to the final handover. When a project needs a photographer, writer or developer, I bring in someone whose work suits the brief. The team can change, but the person responsible for keeping the decisions connected does not.

A small list also makes it easier to be honest about timing. I would rather suggest a later start than promise attention I cannot give. We agree on review dates before work begins, and I protect the days between them for making, testing and sometimes starting a piece again.

Make space for the long relationship

The best projects often continue in modest ways: a new product, a revised page or a printed piece a year later. Keeping capacity for those conversations matters to me. Growth can mean understanding a client more deeply and making better work together, rather than adding another name to the calendar.